[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 63 (Friday, May 13, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E958-E959]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PEARL HARBOR MEMORIAL FUND AND THE ARIZONA 
                      MEMORIAL MUSEUM ASSOCIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. ED CASE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 12, 2005

  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the continued efforts of 
my colleagues, our federal administration, and all Americans toward 
long-overdue and essential reconstruction of the USS Arizona Memorial 
Visitors Center at Pearl Harbor, Hawai`i.

[[Page E959]]

  Nobody can dispute that one of the seminal moments in American 
history occurred on December 7, 1941, when the Imperial Japanese Navy 
attacked our country's Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. It was a dark and 
tragic day for all Americans. Yet, in the unity, determination and 
fortitude of our response, we saw the rekindling of a devout 
patriotism, and we came together to overcome one of our greatest 
challenges with simple integrity and willing sacrifice.
  The events at Pearl Harbor on that day and in early WWII in the 
Pacific have been viewed through many lenses. ``Remember Pearl Harbor'' 
has become a rallying cry each time our nation ventures forth in 
furtherance of liberty throughout the world. We have remembered of that 
day and subsequent events that our brave service men and women and our 
civilian population proudly accepted whatever burden was asked of them 
to ensure that our way of life would survive, endure, and finally 
succeed. We have recalled our demonstration that no other nation, no 
matter how menacing, could withstand our determination to fight for 
human betterment and humane values. We have reaffirmed our 
demonstration of the power of a nation governed by the will of its 
people, based on the rule of law, and extolling the value of equality 
and endowed rights.
  Yet what a high price was paid for all this, for the results of 
December 7th were nothing short of carnage. Six military sites on Oahu 
were attacked, killing over 2,400 Americans. Over 320 aircraft were 
destroyed or damaged; over 21 vessels were sunk or damaged. Leaking 
fuel ablaze hampered rescue operations and threatened undamaged ships. 
Extraordinary and heroic efforts enabled many to survive the onslaught, 
but of those fortunate to survive many bore their scars for life.
  The Pearl Harbor attack acted as a catalyst in bringing us fully and 
actively into World War II and served as a rallying cry to unify our 
country. And because the USS Arizona accounted for almost half of those 
casualties, it has become the central symbol of our commemoration. In 
the words of one writer, ``because of her significance . . . the 
Arizona is much more than a sunken ship; she is a national icon.''
  In the 1950s, the Territory of Hawai`i (which in 1959 proudly became 
the 50th state of our union) along with our federal government and 
others spearheaded an effort to create a monument to the USS Arizona 
and to the many events and individuals related to the attack on Pearl 
Harbor. The result, through the combined efforts of public funds and 
private enterprise, was the building of the USS Arizona Memorial in the 
early 1960s. This graceful and moving tribute, seemingly afloat over 
the Arizona and the remains contained within of most of her crew, has 
come to memorialize perfectly the lessons of Pearl Harbor.
  The Memorial has therefore been indispensable to our nation's ability 
to learn and benefit from the events of December 7, 1941. The memorial 
itself enhanced and extended the impact of the Pearl Harbor attack into 
the collective American consciousness. As one newspaper reported, ``. . 
. its tenth anniversary in 1951 barely rated a mention in the newspaper 
of the day. But in 1961 came the dedication of the USS Arizona Memorial 
. . . and the observances of the U.S. entry into WWII became 
significant.''
  In the 1960s and 1970s, the appeal of visits to the USS Arizona 
Memorial continued to increase. More and more visitors arrived on the 
shores of Pearl Harbor to ferry the short distance to the Memorial. The 
numbers rose rapidly and it was soon apparent that a shoreside facility 
and an organizational responsibility were needed for the safety, 
security, guidance, and accommodation of the thousands of people lining 
up to view and pay homage to the Memorial and what it stood for. Branch 
46 of the Fleet Reserve Association in Honolulu, a group that had been 
active in establishing the Memorial itself, once again moved to the 
forefront of making the visitor experience what it should be by making 
capital improvements on the shore side as well as at the Memorial. 
Plans were designed for the construction of the USS Arizona Memorial 
Visitor Center at Pearl Harbor.
  An Arizona Memorial Foundation was founded to raise consciousness and 
funds for the new facilities. It became the Arizona Memorial Museum 
Association, a non-profit entity, in 1979. Once again, the State of 
Hawai`i, federal government, U.S. Navy, Fleet Reserve Association and 
Arizona Memorial Museum Association provided the funds necessary to 
complete the building. I want to make special mention of my esteemed 
colleague, the senior U.S. Senator from Hawai`i, Daniel K. Inouye, who 
was instrumental in getting this project of the ground.
  By any measure, the Visitor Center at the USS Arizona Memorial, today 
administered by the National Park Service, has been a remarkable 
success. Over 1.5 million people visit the Memorial annually, twice 
that projected by the original designers and builders.
  So significant is the desire to visit the USS Arizona Memorial and 
visitors center that visitors often begin to line up as early as 5:00 
AM. In some cases, visitors must wait 2-3 hours just to board the U.S. 
Navy launch that takes them to the Memorial.
  The Arizona Memorial Museum Association and the National Park Service 
have worked together to provide special and general educational and 
interpretive programs for everyone. Such programs include Witness to 
History, which matches events and firsthand observers of the events 
such as Pearl Harbor survivors with students, historians, and 
schoolchildren in interactive learning sessions on site and through 
videoconferencing. Pearl Harbor survivors, National Park Service 
personnel, and others are available to travel to schools and community 
associations to participate in interactive educational sessions.
  To provide additional space for programs and people, the Arizona 
Memorial Museum Association and the National Park Service started, in 
2001, to plan an extension to the present building. Structural 
engineers and designers were consulted as to what building options were 
available. Much to the disappointment of the planners, the engineers 
advised that the current building was settling at a high rate and that 
its useful life was only an additional 5-9 years.
  This knowledge, while initially disappointing, led to the inevitable 
conclusion that a new structure must be built. This new facility would 
better accommodate the thousands of visitors and provide for the proper 
display of many more artifacts and items currently being sent to 
storage, as well as meet a National Park Service engineering 
specification requirement that associated structures have a projected 
life of at least 50 years.
  A detailed plan has therefore been completed for the replacement of 
the Museum and Visitor Center through the joint efforts of the U.S. 
Navy and the National Park Service. The primary components of the 
planned Museum and Visitor Center plan are:
  An enlarged and enclosed state-of-the-art museum; An outdoor 
amphitheater; Updated Memorial orientation theaters; An education 
center with a library and a videoconferencing facility; Expanded and 
improved visitor comfort areas including suitable rest rooms; A larger 
bookstore.
  For its part, the Arizona Memorial Museum Association has stepped 
forward still again to undertake a national public/private program to 
raise the funds necessary to pay for the construction, endowment, and 
interpretive requirements of the replacement facility.
  Mr. Speaker, the USS Arizona Memorial is a place of the spirit. It 
exudes solemnity and dignity. People assume prayerful postures and 
hushed tones as they embark on its landing dock.
  The depth of their experience is heightened by the interpretive and 
educational shoreside activities at the Museum and Visitor Center. It 
is there that the facts and artifacts, the audiovisual aids and the 
human interaction, the films and the charts, prepare them with 
knowledge and perspective for the moments that they will spend 
searching among the heroes' names, the ship's image, the oily surface, 
and the haunting environs of the Memorial. The Museum and Visitor 
Center have themselves become intertwined in the full meaning of a 
visit to the USS Arizona Memorial. Neither stands alone; together, they 
are a mighty symbol of the strength, unity, and hope of our nation.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle and in both chambers to support the construction of this new 
visitors center. And, in doing so, I hope and pray that the USS Arizona 
Memorial, a national icon, becomes even more imbedded in our national 
consciousness as a source of inspiration, understanding, and honor for 
current and future generations.
  Mahalo (thank you), and aloha.

                          ____________________