
	The Day of Infamy that launched an epic conflict with Japan took place here in the early morning hours of December 7, 1941. The tranquil aquamarine waters of Pearl Harbor were forever disrupted by the tides of war. The USS Arizona and 1,117 of her crew were among the first casualties of the Pacific War; today the USS Arizona Memorial stands above the sunken vessel and her fallen sailors, serving to remind us all of their sacrifice and commitment.


	The USS Missouri, also known by her nickname Mighty Mo, was the last battleship ever constructed by the United States. It is also the only ship in the naval fleet to have fired her guns in both World War II and Persian Gulf Wars. Most significantly, however, was her role in bringing the Second World War to its conclusion; the Empire of Japan formally surrendered to the United States on her decks on September 2, 1945.


	Commissioned May 1, 1943, the USS Bowfin submarine served an illustrious career in the Pacific War. In nine separate combat patrols in Japanese waters, she sunk a total of 38 ships and small craft and racked up nearly 100,000 nautical miles traveled before being decommissioned in 1947. In addition to her combat duties, she and her crew performed lifeguard missions, rescuing downed pilots who had bailed out in the ocean.


	The Pacific theater of World War II introduced a major paradigm shift in naval warfare, as the battleship ceded its dominance of the oceans to the aircraft carrier. Air power over the seas was crucial to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor; naval aviation too led to U.S. victory. It is here in a former hangar on Ford Island that the Pacific Aviation Museum preserves the history of the warbirds of the Pacific War.

Choose the Hawaiian Island You are Coming From

Visiting the Pearl Harbor Memorial

Tour 7A

Oahu Circle Island Tour with Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor (Arizona Memorial)
Oahu's North Shore
Dole Pineapple Plantation
World Famous Surfing Beaches
Oahu's South Shore

$69.99

Tour 2A

A Day at Pearl Harbor Tour

Arizona Memorial
Bowfin Submarine
Missouri Battleship
Pacific Aviation Museum
Historic Honolulu City Tour

$99.99

Tour 8A

WWII Start to End Tour

Arizona Memorial
Missouri Battleship
Historic Honolulu City Tour

$59.99

More Pearl Harbor Tours

Remembering Pearl Harbor

Attacks on Pearl Harbor

The Japanese thought that the battleships were the primary source of the United States strength, but they failed to realize that the aircraft carriers and submarines would be sufficient enough to stop them in the end.

Pearl Harbor “No Bags” Policy
Due to increased security measures, all purses, handbags, backpacks, fanny packs, camera bags, diaper bags, luggage and/or any other type of bag that can conceal an object are not permitted inside Pearl Harbor, the Visitor's Center, or to any of the attractions. A storage facility is available at $3 per bag at the entrance to the National Park. Cameras and camcorders are permitted.

Pearl Harbor Memorial History

In 1939, concerned over Japan’s ambitions, President Roosevelt cancelled the US trade agreement with Japan. In 1940, he imposed a trade embargo, halting exports to Japan of petroleum products including gas and lubricants, iron and steel scrap. In July 1941, Roosevelt ordered the freezing of all Japanese assets in the United States, ending all trade between US and Japan, as well as threatening Japan’s continued existence as an industrial nation. Negotiations ensued between the two nations, however a resolution was not reached.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was serving his third presidential term in office. Roosevelt had pledged the US to the "good neighbor" policy, entering into agreements for joint action with allied nations against aggressors. Although he hoped to avoid war, Roosevelt provided extensive support to the British war effort. After the attack, which pulled the U.S. into the fighting, critics blamed Roosevelt for leaving Pearl Harbor unprepared.

On December 8, 1941, Roosevelt addressed the members of Congress asking for the issuance of a declaration of war against the Japanese Empire. In his speech, he referred to the bombing of Pearl Harbor as “a date which will live in infamy” – and so it has!

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