Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Hawaii – Day Five USS Missouri

In order to get to the Mighty Mo, everyone boards a bus and drives out to Ford Island…

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By the time we arrived we were getting hungry. A stop at the Pearl Canteen took care of that!

hawaii day five 68hawaii day five 71 hawaii day five 69 hawaii day five 70 We picked up our audio tours and hopped aboard!

hawaii day five 72 Everything on board the Mo is BIG! Really BIG!!!

hawaii day five 77 hawaii day five 75 These 16” guns can fire up to 25 miles away with a 50 yard accuracy!

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hawaii day five 944 Tomahawk missiles in each box! 

Well, everything is big except for the beds and the stairwells… LOL

hawaii day five 93 hawaii day five 85 hawaii day five 86    hawaii day five 90 hawaii day five 91 hawaii day five 92The surrender with Japan was signed on the deck of the Missouri…

hawaii day five 82 hawaii day five 79 hawaii day five 80 hawaii day five 81Everything went fine until the Canadian signed on the wrong line… We gave that copy to the Japanese! LOL

It was a big day! But we decided to watch the sunset above Honolulu before going back to Kailua for dinner…

hawaii day five 97 hawaii day five 96 And once again the camera didn’t last as long as we did… :o(

We went out to dinner at a little restaurant walking distance from the Osbornes and had one of the very best meals we’ve ever had! Totally worth the walk and the 20 years of marriage! ;o)

Monday, November 26, 2012

Hawaii – Day Five Pearl Harbor

What happens when the friend you are staying with is a chaplain in the Navy??? You get the Admiral’s Tour of Pearl Harbor on your 20th anniversary!!!

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Yup! We got to take a tour of the entire harbor from the boat house of the Admiral of the Pacific Fleet! We didn’t take the boat that the Presidents take when touring the harbor but we got to see them…

hawaii day five 04hawaii day five 16 hawaii day five 15Most presidents take the larger boats but both Bushes took the smaller one. The first President Bush had to take the smaller boat when the larger one was being repaired. His son, when his turn came, chose to take the smaller one like his father. Nicely done, I think!

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Waiting for the tour to begin

hawaii day five 08After our boat arrived, we watched a brief documentary on Pearl Harbor and took a tour of the model room…

hawaii day five 11 hawaii day five 09 hawaii day five 10hawaii day five 12The Japanese planning out the attack in a rice paddy

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Then we left for a cruise around the harbor to the Memorial.

First stop: Sea-Based X-band Radar. The military's $900 million, 28-story-tall missile defense radar. It’s BIG!

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Second stop: The USS Utah. They told us a story of one of the sailors on board who had the remains of one of his twin daughters in his locker to be taken out to sea with him for burial. The ship was sunk in the harbor and her remains went with it. Divers were unable to recover her remains, but they say she is watched over by 54 of the Navy’s finest who also went down with the ship that day!

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The ship yards and towers…

 hawaii day five 25 hawaii day five 24 The entrance to Pearl Harbor…

hawaii day five 27 hawaii day five 26 The USS Nevada was wounded in the attack but the crew managed to get her going and headed for the entrance. When they realized they were going to be used to block the entrance to the harbor, the captain grounded the ship here…

hawaii day five 28 hawaii day five 29 hawaii day five 30The Mighty Mo…

hawaii day five 34 hawaii day five 31 hawaii day five 32 hawaii day five 33  Then we reached the Memorial…

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hawaii day five 36I was surprised at how many people were there…

hawaii day five 49   And even more surprised to see that it is still leaking oil over 70 years later!

hawaii day five 51Such a solemn place but what a privilege to get to be there!

hawaii day five 50 hawaii day five 37 hawaii day five 38 hawaii day five 39 hawaii day five 40 hawaii day five 41 hawaii day five 42 hawaii day five 43 hawaii day five 44 hawaii day five 45 Many men lost their lives here and many survivors have chosen to be interned here…

hawaii day five 48 hawaii day five 46hawaii day five 47 So grateful for the sacrifice they made!

hawaii day five 54 hawaii day five 52 hawaii day five 53 me & Mo

Then it was time to go…

hawaii day five 56hawaii day five 57The USS Bowfin submarine

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ships she sunk during the war

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the Memorial & the Missouri

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Aloha Stadium

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back at the boathouse

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When we arrived back at the boathouse I realized we had picked up a stowaway back at the Memorial. A poor little old German lady had accidentally gotten on our boat and then had no idea where she was or how to get back to her tour bus. We took pity on her and gave her a ride back to the Memorial.

Then it was time to go see the Mighty Mo!