Location Of The USS Arizona Memorial And The USS Missouri
At first, the National Park Service was worried that the Battleship Missouri might overshadow the importance of the USS Arizona Memorial.
A view of the bridge of the USS Missouri Battleship. The Battleship Missouri is one of the largest battleships built for the US Navy.
A view of the USS Missouri Battleship from the Arizona Memorial Monument.
In moving the USS Missouri battleship to Pearl Harbor, the National Park Service was very particular about where and how it would be docked. It was agreed that the USS Missouri should be placed behind and perpendicular to the USS Arizona Memorial to symbolize the beginning and end of WWII.
The decision to have Missouri’s bow face the Memorial was intended to convey that battleship USS Missouri is watching over the Memorial. These measures were done to protect the individual identities of the two ships, thereby improving the public perception of having these two icons in the same harbor.
The USS Missouri Battleship shown docked at Ford Island, facing the Arizona Memorial Monument.
A view of the assembly room of the Arizona Memorial Monument. The assembly room allows a great view of the USS Missouri Battleship.
The Battleship Missouri was intentionally docked further back from the Memorial, so visitors to USS Missouri could not see the USS Arizona Memorial. And visitors on the USS Arizona Memorial would not be able to hear ceremonies at Missouri.
The decision to place the Battleship Missouri at Pearl Harbor was a home run for the destination and the public. Now individuals could not only learn about the beginning and end of World War II but spend the entire day at Pearl Harbor and learn about submarine warfare and the aviation history of the War in the Pacific.
View from the deck of the USS Missouri Battleship at Pearl Harbor, her two forward turrets are clearly visible.
