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Click on the photographs on the left in order to view larger images.
Construction of the USS Arizona
began
in March 1914. Little more than a year later, in June 1915, it was launched from the New York Navy Yard. |
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During World War I,
the Arizona patrolled home waters off the eastern coast of the United States. Following the signing of the Armistice in 1918, the Arizona escorted President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference that December. |
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In 1929, the Arizona underwent
a major modernization. When the Navy completed the overhaul nearly two years later, the Arizona served as a transport on President Herbert Hoover's trip to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. |
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In 1940, as tensions grew
between the U.S. and Japan, the Arizona, along with the rest of the Pacific Fleet, moved to Pearl Harbor. It was here, on December 7, 1941, that the Japanese bombed the Arizona in a surprise attack, sending the ship to the bottom of the harbor. |
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In 1958, Congress authorized
construction of a memorial to honor those who had died in the attack. Four years later, the 184-foot USS Arizona Memorial was dedicated. According to the architect, the design, which sags in the center and rises on each end, is meant to express "initial defeat and ultimate victory." |
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