TRAVEL
This is the 10th part in my ‘Aloha Series.’ In this edition I feature Pearl Harbour – one of the Unites States Navy’s important island bases in the Pacific. It serves as headquarters for the US Pacific Fleet and as a world port supporting other naval forces. This visit was part of my eight-day visit to Hawaii, US in April 2026.
WEDNESDAY, April 22 – the sixth day in Hawaii.
The Pearl Harbour National Memorial was not originally on the itinerary. But once my partner Mulberry and I arrived in Honolulu on April 16, we noticed the military presence and influence in Honolulu.
Why come all this way and not go to Pearl Harbour, I thought to myself. Also the US had increased its visibility in PNG through the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) signed by PNG and the US in Port Moresby on May 22, 2023.
The DCA is intended to improve military cooperation between both countries. The DCA amongst others, authorises US forces to control entry to Agreed Facilities and Areas, or portions thereof. These include the Manus Island Lombrum Naval Base and Momote Airport.
Manus, in the north of PNG, covers the Pacific Ocean and is located between the Asian continent and the North American continent. Like Hawaii, PNG’s strategic location in the Pacific is of great importance to America’s intelligence and security strategy.
Brief history of Pearl Harbour
The following information was gathered from the Pearl Harbour Visitor Center, National Memorial, and the US Department of War. The US Navy set up the naval base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii’s island of Oahu in 1908.
About three decades later there were growing tensions between the US and Japan. The Japanese had conquered parts of China and the entirety of French Indo-China. Japan had also joined the axis of powers alongside Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. This prompted the US to stop shipment of oil and other raw materials to the resource-deficient Japan.
In a gamble to sustain its growing empire, Japan crafted a plan to seize oil rich territories in South-East Asia. The US Pacific Fleet which moved in 1940 from California to Pearl Harbour, west of Honolulu on the island of Oahu posed a potential threat to the Japanese objective. Japanese leaders decided to launch a surprise strike on the fleet to immobilise it so it could not impede their military’s larger offensive.
On Sunday, Dec 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour at 7.55 am. More than half of the US fleet, about 150 vessels and service craft lay at anchor or alongside piers in Pearl Harbour. All but one of the Pacific fleet’s battleships were in port that morning, most of them moored to quays flaking Ford Island.
Japanese aircraft were launched from the Japanese fleet north of Hawaii, consisting of;
67 ships – six heavy aircraft carriers, two heavy cruisers, 35 submarines, two light cruisers, nine oilers, two battleships, 11 destroyers
353 aircraft – 40 torpedo planes, 103 level bombers, 131 dive-bombers, 79 fighters.
The attack which lasted one hour and 15 minutes came from all directions. Wave after wave, Japanese planes arrived, targeting airstrips, ships, buildings, and storage areas. The two waves of aircraft enacted a heavy toll on their targets.
By 10am, the tranquil Sunday calm had been shattered, 21 vessels lay sunk or damaged. Smoke from burning planes and hangars filled the sky. Oil from sinking ships clogged the harbour. Death was everywhere.
The fleet in Pearl Harbour, the focus of the attack by Japanese air and naval forces, suffered the greatest loss; almost half the total casualties occurred when the USS Arizona blew up. The assault killed or wounded more than 3,500 American troops and civilians; it severely damaged the fleet.
The US declared war on Japan on Dec 8, 1941 which marked its entrance into WWII.
Today Pearl Harbour is also known as the Joint Base Pearl Harbour Hickam (JBPHH). The JBPHH was formed by realigning Naval Base Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base in October 2010. It occupies 11, 207 hectares of land, and forms a vital element of US defence, providing mooring, shore side support and maintenance to surface fleet and submarines, in addition to supporting air operations in the Pacific and Asian regions.
More than 55,000 marines and their families and over 5,000 air force members and their families live at Pearl Harbour. Pearl Harbour is home to more than 160 commands as well as 11 ships, 19 submarines and aircraft, including the C-17 Globemaster III, KC-135 Stratotanker and F-22 Raptor.
My Pearl Harbour Experience
The uber ride from downtown Honolulu to Pearl Harbour cost about US$20 (about K87). Coincidentally, the uber driver was a native Hawaiian who used to work with one of the US intelligence agencies. So he told us some interesting tales as we headed to Pearl Harbour located 13km west of Honolulu.
We were greeted by the cool Hawaiian breeze as we stepped out of the uber near the entrance. I wore a PNG coloured shirt which included the bird of paradise, while Mulberry wore a Kumul’s jersey. We passed a group of elderly Americans, when one old lady remarked; “wow you both look lovely in those bright yellow shirts. Such beautiful designs,” she said as she greeted us.
We greeted the kind lady and headed to the bag drop. Bags are not allowed into Pearl Harbour. We paid US$7(K30) to leave our bags. There were hundreds of people going to and fro at the entrance.
Entry is free into Pearl Harbour’s Visitor Center Complex which is open from 7am to 5pm. Visitors have free access to the exhibit gallery, book store, gift shop, Pacific Historic Parks and various memorials of those who served in the military.
There other areas that people pay to visit are the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum, Battleship Missouri Memorial, Pearl Harbour Aviation Museum, and the most popular USS Arizona Memorial.
We did not have time to visit the USS Arizona Memorial which is a 10-minute boat ride. The Arizona Memorial is a white building across the water that spans the sunken remains of the battleship Arizona. Over 900 men were entombed within the ship. Tour tip: Reservations for the USS Arizona Memorial Programme are only available at www.recreation.gov. But book early. There is also the Utah, and USS Oklahoma memorials.
We walked around the Pearl Harbour’s Visitor Center Complex and read the names of the deceased. There was an elderly American man who stood near a plaque with names of US sailors who perished. He lowered his hat, tears visible in his eyes. Surrounded by a handful of people who looked like his family, this old man stood without saying a word. It was an emotional sight for me.
Reading about Pearl Harbour was one thing. But being at Pearl Harbour to see war veterans pay their respects was a sad sight. Despite the crowd it was quiet and a somber mood filled the air.
Silence would be broken on occasions by the boat ferrying visitors to Ford Island, the US flag flapping from the cool Hawaiian breeze or the whispers of visitors. It dawned on me then that this was a grave site where many young soldiers and sailors perished.
I end this feature with a poem from Eleanor Roosevelt which was displayed on a stonewall at Pearl Harbour.
Dear Lord, lest I continue
My complacent way
Help me to remember
Somehow out there
A man died for me today
As long as there be war
I then must
Ask and answer
Am I worth dying for?
Next and final edition – Iolani Palace