Pearl Harbor

Here are some lesser known items about Pearl Harbor that might be of interest.

Navsource.org provides many photos documenting U.S. naval history, including photos from Pearl Harbor. One such aerial photo was taken on October 10, 1941. The aircraft carrier in this photo, the Enterprise, sits where the U.S.S. California would later be stationed on the morning of December 7th. Battleship row is mostly empty.


Ford Island 2 months before attack. Click to enlarge.

All of the photos at that site are worth viewing.

Most of the historical presentations focus on the USS Arizona and the Arizona memorial. That attention is understandable in light of the tremendous loss of life on board the Arizona and the Arizona's continuing presence in the harbor.

Much less attention is paid to the USS Oklahoma. The Oklahoma's official website provides stirring eyewitness accounts from survivors as well as some of the chronology of individual crewmen's activities leading up to the attack. 429 sailors died on the Oklahoma, most of them drowning when the ship overturned in the first ten minutes of the attack. Some crewmen were rescued from inside the overturned hull after more than a day in the dark. Their stories are included.


USS Oklahoma in earlier peaceful times.

Michele Malkin wrote a fascinating historical piece about the events on a nearby island the day after the Pearl Harbor attack.

Her post today contains additional information, as does that of Powerline.