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e only part of the Arizona still visible above water are the bases of the turrets for its long guns. But the presence of the ship and the remains of those aboard can be felt, especially in the Visitors Well, an opening in the floor in the center of the memorial that enables people to look down on the submerged ship — it is a place many use for personal tributes. San Diego is a military town, a fact of which I have become increasingly aware in the nearly 40 years it has been my home. Our service members have been giving of themselves in the highest degree since the founding of our nation, which I was again reminded of visiting the new Navy SEAL Museum San Diego downtown. It also has a wall of honor, this one recording the names of all the Naval Special Operators who have lost their lives since World War II. I was 10 years old when I first watched Victory at Sea. ough the events it depicts took place 15 to 20 years before I was born, the effects of watching them inform my love for my country to this day. Hawaii was not yet a state in 1941. At the time, most Americans had to look up Pearl Harbor on a map. But because of its strategic location, it was already home to our Pacific fleet and what was known as "Battleship Row." ere were eight battleships in port that day of infamy, each one named after a state in the Union: Arizona, California, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. While Pennsylvania was dry docked, the seven others were struck by bombs or torpedoes and most were hit by both. Two capsized, and the other five sank to the bottom, accounting for 1,958 of the 2,403 U.S. military personnel and civilians who were killed in the attack. Miraculously, six of the ships were refloated, and five returned to service before the end of the war. One of the ships, however, never left Pearl Harbor. e USS Arizona, flagship of Battleship Division One, was hit by two bombs, exploded in smoke and flames, and sank in place. Its hull remains on the bed of the harbor, the final resting spot for 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on the Arizona that day. is past May, my wife and I spent ten days on Oahu. We had been to Hawaii twice before, but never to Oahu, and I was not going back to Hawaii without visiting Pearl Harbor. Built in 1962, the USS Arizona Memorial is visited by more than 2 million people each year and has been featured in numerous movies and television shows including e Brady Bunch as far back as the 1970s. e Arizona is only accessible by boat, and before boarding, visitors must watch a film, where they are reminded they are touring the gravesite of more than 1,100 Americans who gave their lives for their country. Out of respect, all visitors are asked to whisper, silence their phones, and maintain a solemn atmosphere. e well-known memorial is a white concrete and steel bridge that spans the ship's sunken remains, and being there touched me as an American in a way I had not experienced since visiting the site of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. e shape of the memorial, designed by local Honolulu architect Alfred Preis, is symbolic. It sags in the middle, representing our initial defeat at Pearl Harbor, but the ends rise up, highlighting our ultimate victory. Within the structure there are three chambers: the Entry room; the Assembly Room, and the Shrine, which includes a marble wall bearing the names of everyone who lost their life aboard the Arizona that day. Focus military HISTORIC IMAGES: COURTESY PHOTOGRAPHY << ranchandcoast.com 34 DECEMBER 2025 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE