On National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the iconic USS Arizona Memorial remains closed to the public. As we posted last June, the memorial close indefinitely after structural cracks in the memorial dock were reported in early May. The National Park Service (NPS) is now estimating that the necessary repairs will not be completed before the end of March 2019.

From an NPS statement: “Not being able to welcome survivors and their families on the USS Arizona Memorial this coming December 7th is heartbreaking,” said Jacqueline Ashwell, superintendent of WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument, who oversees the memorial. “After exploring multiple options, we are working with our friends in the U.S. Navy to hold an intimate ceremony aboard a vessel adjacent to the USS Arizona. The Navy has been our partner every step of the way, and I could not be more grateful for their support.”

The boat-based ceremony will include a floral tribute and will also allow survivors, their families, and other key dignitaries to pay their respects to the fallen at the USS Arizona. This special ceremony will be in addition to the full land-based commemoration ceremony at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. 

The USS Arizona Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 

The memorial was built in 1962 and is positioned athwartship over the wreckage of the sunken battleship USS Arizona. The monument is only accessible by shuttle boats and averages over one million visitors per year. 

While the repairs are underway, other programs and services will still be available to guests including a 25-minute documentary film and a harbor tour of Battleship Row in close proximity to the USS Arizona Memorial.