My trip to The Hawaiian island of Oahu - Part One

- Part Two -

This is a 6 day/5 night trip to The Hawaiian island of Oahu. It is a Costco travel package that covers flights, hotels and activities.

Day One

We took 5 hours 20 minutes from San Francisco (SFO) to Maui (OGG) via Hawaiian Airlines. Then we transferred via another Hawaiian Airlines that took us about 40 minutes from Maui (OGG) to Honolulu (HNL).

We stayed in Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa that is only a street away from the famous Waikiki Beach.

A fountain in Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa

Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa is only a street away from Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Beach is one street away from Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort &Spa

Day Two

We went to Pearl Harbor where we visited Arizona Memorial, Battleship Missouri Memorial, USS Bowfin Submarine and Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. This is what we learned:

Pearl Harbor: USS Arizona Memorial on the right, Battleship Missouri Memorial on the left, and Ford Island Control Tower in the middle.

You can see USS Arizona Memorial, Battleship Missouri Memorial and Ford Island Control Tower from Pearl Harbor Historic Sites Visitor Center

Military strength in the Pacific December 7, 1941

Aerial torpedo attack diagram in Pearl Harbor Historic Sites. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four sunk. All but USS Arizona were later raised, and six were returned to service and went on to fight in the war.

Tora! Tora! Tora! (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! in English) These Japanese code words signal the surprise attack in Pearl Harbor is completed.

Akagi (Red Castle in English) - a model of Japanese flagship for Pearl Harbor attack

The bridge of Japanese aircraft carrier model - Akagi

USS Arizona Memorial

The USS Arizona Memorial is built over the remains of the sunken battleship USS Arizona, the final resting place for many of the 1,177 crewmen killed on December 7, 1941 when their ship was bombed by the Japanese Naval Forces. This loss of life represents over half of the Americans killed during the worst naval disaster in American history.

The inscription in marble with the names of Arizona's honored dead in the USS Arizona Memorial

A remained gun turret at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor

Battleship Missouri Memorial

The battleship witnessed the end of WWII. On September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri, representatives of the Allied and Axis powers met in solemn ceremony to “conclude an agreement by which peace can be restored”.

A view from navigation bridge of Battleship Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor

Captain’s cabin of Battleship Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor

A model of USS Missouri in Battleship Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor

USS Bowfin Submarine

During WWII, USS Bowfin served in the Pacific and spent most of her patrols in the South China Sea, Celebes Sea, off the East coast of Japan, and into the Sea of Japan.

Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum

There was Hangar 37 when we visited the museum. An extended Hangar 79 was being built when I posted this trip.

In Hangar 37, a 42,000 square foot former seaplane hangar that survived the December 7, 1941 attack, we saw exhibits including an authentic Japanese Zero in a diorama setting on the deck of the Japanese carrier Hiryu, a P-40 fighter of the type airborne from Wheeler and Haleiwa Field on the fateful day, an actual B-25B Mitchell similar to one used in the Doolittle Raid on Japan in April, 1942.

An authentic Japanese Zero in a diorama setting on the deck of the Japanese carrier Hiryu

P-40 fighter of the type airborne from Wheeler and Haleiwa Field on the fateful day

An actual B-25B Mitchell similar to one used in the Doolittle Raid on Japan in April, 1942

Then we also saw an SBD Dauntless dive bomber which is the centerpiece in our retelling of the Battle of Midway. An authentic F4F Wildcat is featured in the Guadalcanal diorama as the story of the “Cactus Air Force” is told.

An authentic F4F Wildcat is featured in the Guadalcanal diorama as the story of the “Cactus Air Force” is told

“AIR RAID PEARL HARBOR THIS IS NO DRILL.” These were the first words broadcast from Ford Island as the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor commenced. The control tower has stood guard over Pearl Harbor and Ford Island for nearly seven decades.