USS Arizona Memorial The USS " Arizona " Memorial , located at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu , Hawaii , marks the resting place of 1 , 102 of the 1 , 177 sailors and Marines killed on the USS " Arizona " during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 by Japanese imperial forces and commemorates the events of that day . The attack on Pearl Harbor and the island of Oahu was the action that led to the United States ' direct involvement in World War II . The memorial , built in 1962 , is visited by more than one million people annually . Accessible only by boat , it straddles the sunken hull of the battleship without touching it . Historical information about the attack , shuttle boats to and from the memorial , and general visitor services are available at the associated USS " Arizona " Memorial Visitor Center , which opened in 1980 and is operated by the National Park Service . The sunken remains of the battleship were declared a National Historic Landmark on 5 May 1989 . The Memorial . Conception and funding . During and following the end of World War II , the " Arizona ' s " wrecked superstructure was removed and efforts began to erect a memorial at the remaining submerged hull . The Pacific War Memorial Commission was created in 1949 to build a permanent memorial somewhere in Hawaii . Admiral Arthur Radford , commander of the Pacific Fleet attached a flag pole to the main mast of the Arizona in 1950 and began a tradition of hoisting and lowering the flag . In that same year a temporary memorial was built above the remaining portion of the deckhouse . Radford requested funds for a national memorial in 1951 and 1952 but was denied because of budget constraints during the Korean War . Throughout the 1950s there was discussion of scrapping the " Arizona " altogether . President Dwight D . Eisenhower approved the creation of the National Memorial in 1958 . Enabling legislation required that the memorial budgeted at US $ 500 , 000 be privately financed ; however , $ 200 , 000 of the memorial cost was actually government subsidized . Principal contributions to the memorial included : Design . The national memorial was designed by Honolulu architect Alfred Preis who had been detained at Sand Island at the start of the war as an enemy of the country because of his Austrian birth . The United States Navy specified that the memorial be in the form of a bridge floating above the ship and accommodating 200 people . The - long structure has two peaks at each end connected by a sag in the center of the structure . It represents the height of American pride before the war , the sudden depression of a nation after the attack and the rise of American power to new heights after the war . Critics initially called the design a " squashed milk carton " . The architecture of the USS " Arizona " Memorial is explained by Preis as , " Wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends , expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory . . . The overall effect is one of serenity . Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses . . . his innermost feelings . " Description . There are three main parts to the national memorial : entry , assembly room , and shrine . The central assembly room features seven large open windows on either wall and ceiling , to commemorate the date of the attack . The total number of windows is 21 . Rumor says this symbolically represents a 21 gun salute or 21 Marines standing at eternal parade rest over the tomb of the fallen , but guides at the site will confirm that this was not the intention of the architect . The memorial also contains an opening in the floor overlooking the sunken decks . It is from this opening that visitors come to pay their respects by tossing flowers in honor of the fallen sailors . In the past , lei s were tossed in the water , but because string from leis poses a hazard to sea life , leis now are placed on guardrails located in front of the names of the fallen . One of the three 19 , 585 pound anchors of the " Arizona " is displayed at the entrance of the visitor center . ( is at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix . ) One of the two ship ' s bells is in the visitor center . ( Its twin is in the clock tower of the Student Memorial Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson . ) The shrine at the far end is a marble wall that bears the names of all those killed on the " Arizona " , protected behind velvet ropes . To the left of the main wall is a small plaque which bears the names of thirty or so crew members who survived the 1941 sinking and chose prior to their death , or whose family chose after their death , to have a canister containing their ashes interred within the wreck by US Navy divers . Any surviving crew members of the " Arizona " ( or their families on their behalf ) can elect to have their ashes interred within the wreck . History . The USS " Arizona " Memorial was formally dedicated on 30 May 1962 ( Memorial Day ) by Texas Congressman and Chairman of Veteran Affairs Olin E . Teague and Hawaii Governor John A . Burns . It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 15 October 1966 . While the actual wreck of the USS " Arizona " was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989 , the memorial itself does not share in this status . Rather , it is listed separately from the wreck on the National Register of Historic Places . The joint administration of the memorial by the United States Navy and the National Park Service was established on 9 September 1980 . Oil leaking from the sunken battleship can still be seen rising from the wreckage to the surface of the water . This oil is sometimes referred to as " the tears of the " Arizona " " or " black tears . " In a " National Geographic Magazine " feature published in 2001 , concerns were expressed that the continued deterioration of the " Arizona ' s " bulkheads and oil tanks from saltwater corrosion could pose a significant environmental threat from a rupture , resulting in a significant release of oil . The National Park Service states that it has an ongoing program closely monitoring the condition of the submerged vessel . The Park Service , as part of its Centennial Initiative celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2016 , is developing a " mobile park " to tour the continental United States to increase exposure of the park . The mobile park will also collect oral histories of the attack on Pearl Harbor . USS " Missouri " . In 1999 , the battleship USS " Missouri " was moved to Pearl Harbor from the United States west coast and docked near , and perpendicular to , the USS " Arizona " Memorial ( parallel to the " Arizona " ) . Upon the deck of the USS " Missouri " in Tokyo Bay , the Japanese surrendered to United States General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz , ending World War II . The pairing of the two ships became an evocative symbol of the beginning and end of the United States ' participation in the war . Memorial staff initially criticized the placement of the " Missouri " , saying the large battleship would " overshadow " the " Arizona " Memorial . To help guard against this perception " Missouri " was placed well back of the " Arizona " Memorial , and positioned in Pearl Harbor in such a way as to prevent those participating in military ceremonies on " Missouri " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s aft decks from seeing the " Arizona " Memorial . The decision to have " Missouri " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s bow face the Memorial was intended to convey that the " Missouri " now watches over the remains of the " Arizona " so that those interred within the " Arizona " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s hull may rest in peace . These measures have helped preserve the individual identities of the " Arizona " Memorial and the " Missouri " Memorial , which has improved the public ' s perception of having both " Arizona " and " Missouri " in the same harbor . Visiting the memorial . The Visitor Center operated by the National Park Service is free to the public and has a museum with exhibits about the Pearl Harbor attack , such as the ship ' s bell from the USS " Arizona " . The Pacific Historic Parks Bookstore revenue helps support the museum . Access to the USS " Arizona " Memorial itself is by U . S . Navy boat , for which a numbered ticket , obtained at the Visitor Center and valid for a designated departure time , is required . The memorial is visited by more than one million persons annually . Because of the large number of visitors and the limited number of boat departures , the 4 , 500 tickets available each day are often fully allocated by mid - morning . Before boarding the boat for the short trip to the Memorial , a 23 - minute documentary film depicting the attack on Pearl Harbor is presented . Touring of the Memorial is self - guided . The National Park Service website provides visitor information , including hours of operation and ticketing advisories . A one - hour audio tour of the Memorial and Center exhibits , narrated by actress Jamie Lee Curtis , is available for rent at the Visitor Center . On the Center ' s grounds along the shoreline are more exhibits and a " Remembrance Circle " . Nearby is the USS " Bowfin " , a World War II diesel submarine , which may be toured with separate , paid admission . The battleship USS " Missouri " and the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor may also be visited , but require a bus ride to Ford Island . Every President of the United States since Franklin D . Roosevelt , and both Emperors Hirohito and Akihito , have visited the site . Honors . Every United States Navy , Coast Guard , and Merchant Marine vessel entering Pearl Harbor participates in the tradition of " manning the rail s " . Personnel serving on these ships stand at attention at the ship ' s guard rails and salute the USS " Arizona " Memorial in solemn fashion as their ship slowly glides into port . More recently , as foreign military vessels are entering Pearl Harbor for joint military exercises , foreign troops have participated in the traditional manning the rails . The USS " Arizona " is no longer in commission , but is an active U . S . military cemetery . As a special tribute to the ship and her lost crew , the United States flag flies from the flagpole , which is attached to the severed mainmast of the sunken battleship . The USS " Arizona " Memorial has come to commemorate all military personnel killed in the Pearl Harbor attack .