Today we arrived on the island of Oahu and the port of Honolulu. The sunrise was spectacular as we arrived as the sun rose above Diamond Head. Honolulu is the state capital with a population of about one million. Annually there are about four and a half million tourist. Of course for most people of our generation this is the location for Hawaii 5-0.
Honolulu is where King Kamehameha was in residence when
Captain Cook arrived in the Hawaiian Islands. Later the royal family built
their Iolani Palace in the city. It had electricity before Buckingham Palace
and the White House. Of course it is the only royal residence in the USA. The Iolani Palace is still open to visitors.
Honolulu is the military headquarters for the Pacific
Operations. The Pentagon is the second largest employer on Oahu. On December 7th 1941, Japan
launched a surprised attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack was devastating as most of the
battleships and cruisers in the Pacific Fleet were destroyed. The attack
resulted in the single greatest loss of life in a single battle in American
history.
We went to Pearl Harbor to view the memorials and honour
the dead. It would be an understatement
to say it was very crowded. During the
visit we went onboard the Missouri battleship and later went to the museum which
chronicled the events leading up to attack and the attack itself. There are many other memorials devoted to the different ships that were sunk that day.
The Missouri did not see active service until 1944, but is
noted for being the site of signing of the surrender documents by Japan in
1945. There is a plaque on the deck and
display cabinet to mark the spot where the signing took place. Our guide told us many interesting stories
about the Missouri, but the one that I will remember is about the effort of
ship’s officers to find the family of a Japanese kamikaze pilot, who had
crashed into the boat, and to let them know he had been buried at sea with full
military honours.
Next we went to Pali Lookout where we had a great view of
the city. After that went to Punchbowl
National Cemetery where over 50,000 American servicemen and servicewomen, from
many wars, are buried. The flag at half mast when we arrived indicating that a
burial was taking place.
We concluded our trip with a visit to the old section of
downtown. Here we saw the royal palace
and many older government buildings
Our tour driver was very funny and personable. He would rate in the top five tour guides we
have ever had in during our troubles. He
kept referring to us as his cousins.
Tonight we decided to go ashore and eat and partake of the
nightlife in the town of Waikiki. This
is an amazing nightlife area, with many great bars and restaurants, a beautiful
beach and expensive stores. The area is
dynamic with crowds of people just out to have a good time. We at Duke’s, which found out later was one
of the top restaurant/bar in the town.
After dinner we stop at a pearl store where we bought Marg a pearl
pendent. We are definitely glad we went.
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