Pearl Harbor National Memorial
Standing at Pearl Harbor is unlike almost any other historic site in America. The harbor is beautiful but beneath those waters rests on of the defining moments of the twentieth century. I remember how history suddenly feels very personal here.
ON the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked the United States Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. More than 2,400 Americans were killed, and the attack pushed the United States into World War II. The USS Arizona still lies beneath the water.
The site was first protected in 1962 when the USS Arizona Memorial was established under the National Park Service following years of public support and fundraising efforts led in part by Pacific War veterans and citizens determined to preserve the memory of those lost. In 1980, the memorial became part of the newly created USS Arizona Memorial unit of the National Park System. Then in 2019, Congress redesignated the site as Pearl Harbor National Memorial.
Pearl Harbor is a reflective experience. Visitors from around the world pause to consider
the lives that were forever changed that day. It becomes more than a history lesson; it becomes a place of remembrance.
An entire generation was shaped by the war that followed the actions of December7, 1941. History is found in the landscapes where ordinary lives were suddenly changed forever.
Read More From Nancy
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Walking along Aquatic Park in San Francisco, I made my way to the Hyde Street Pier and the visitor center of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. San Francisco’s identity was forged by the sea. When gold was discovered in 1848, ships began arriving from everywhere: New England, South America, Europe, China, Australia. The sea routes brought […]
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Visiting Canyon de Chelly was a unique experience from the moment we arrived. We stayed in a hotel just outside the canyon, and the environment was a bit different: dogs and even horses were roaming freely. It was clear that the rhythms of life here followed different customs. The canyon lies within the Navajo Nation, the largest Native […]
Tonto National Monument
Tonto National Monument preserves dramatic cliff dwelling built by the Salado people in the late 1200s and early 1300s. The site is located in central Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert. The monument protects two primary cliff dwellings constructed within natural limestone alcoves high above the valley floor. The multi-room masonry homes were built on local stone and […]
