After two years of construction, the second phase of the new $56M Pearl Harbor Visitor Center is now complete, with the dedication held on today's anniversary:
(render: www.pearlharbortour.com)
Pearl Harbor Honors Survivors With New Center
Hundreds Attend Ceremony Marking Attack
KITV.com
December 7, 2010
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii -- Tuesday was the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. About 2,500 people attended the ceremony. It was a time to honor those who died and those who survived. Speeches were laden with tales of heroics. A moment of silence was held at the exact time the attack started, followed by a missing man flyover. After the commemoration ceremony, the National Parks Service held a dedication of the new $56 million Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and museum.
The survivors, other veterans and their families took part in a walk of honor with members of all branches of the military, with the National Parks Service saluting as the walked by. That group was the first to officially experience the new interactive exhibits. "It creates a new opportunity for understanding that day of infamy, because we have multiple voices, multiple perspectives. We're not just telling one side of the story. We're telling a broader story," Pearl Harbor historian Daniel Martinez said.
The park service built the new center because the old one, which was built on reclaimed land in 1980, was sinking into the ground. The old facility was also overwhelmed by its popularity: It received about 1.6 million visitors each year, about twice as many as it was designed for. People often had to squeeze by one another to view the photos and maps in its small exhibit hall. In comparison, the new center has two spacious exhibition halls with room for more people, as well as large maps and artifacts such as anti-aircraft guns.
"I was right in here, between torrent 3 and the main one," USS Arizona survivor Lou Contor said, pointing at a picture. Of the 2,300 sailors killed that day, half were on the Arizona. "I think the most dramatic was the men were coming out of the fire," Contor said. "We had to grab them, hand them, any way lay them down, and their skin was burned and it would come off in your hands. That was probably the worst part of that." Contor said the museum is well done. "It's open and you can walk around and you're not cramped anywhere, and you can look at all of the things and different points of view," Contor said. Many of the survivors took the time to check out a new point of view of the date that continues to live in infamy. "Long after the last veteran of the war in the Pacific is gone, we will still be here telling their story and honoring their dedication and sacrifice," National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis told about 120 survivors who traveled to Hawaii from around the country for the event.
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