Day 247: June 2, 2025 – Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

There was much in the news last week about Ukraine’s surprise drone attack on Russia. The stealth of the operation drew comparisons to the surprise attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor in 1941. How shall we remember the dead? asks a beautifully crafted documentary greeting visitors to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial on Oahu Island, near Honolulu. The memorial was created to honor the 2000+ servicemen who perished in the deadliest ever attack in Hawaii.

A short ferry ride takes you to the sunken remains of the USS Arizona, one of the naval ships that took the brunt of the attack. The bodies of many of the dead still lie beneath. Some servicemen who survived the attack later chose to be interred with their shipmates.

The event changed the course of history, and the memorial continues to be one of the most visited sites in Hawaii.