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
Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park, established in 1994 near Tucson, Arizona, preserves one of the most recognizable landscapes in the American Southwest. It is home to the nation’s largest cactus, the giant saguaro, a plant found naturally only in the Sonoran Desert. Some of these remarkable cacti live for more than 150 years and can grow to […]
Point Reyes National Seashore
A great place to walk just outside of busy San Francisco is Point Reyes National Seashore. Within an hour of the city, you step into open coastline, rolling hills and windswept trails that feel wonderfully removed from urban life. This stunning stretch of California coastline was protected in 1962, when it was signed into law […]
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 […]
