​There was a lot more to see at Pearl Harbor than I expected…

I arrived at the visitor center at about 8:30, picked up my ticket (I took a 10am ticket instead of the one I reserved at 9 since there was lots to see up front). I took the guided audio tour and wandered around the visitor center until it was time to get in line for the movie and boat ride out to the Arizona memorial.

The Arizona tour wrapped up by 11 so I decided to take the tours of both the USS Bowfin (submarine) and the USS Missouri (battleship).

The Bowfin is a WWII era diesel electric sub that was nicknamed “Pearl Harbor’s Revenge”(or something like that) as she sailed on December 7, 1942 – one year after the attack. She sank 40+ enemy vessels during the war and during multiple deployments her crew suffered nothing more than a broken leg. Very lucky considering that the entire sub fleet lost nearly 20% of its boats during the war.

From there it is was on to the “Mighty Mo”. Coming out of the cramped quarters of the Bowfin, it’s hard to comprehend just how big the Missouri is. Where the sub basically has one passage down its center, this place is like a maze. Here the captain has three cabins in various parts of the ship, the largest of which has a sitting area and a dining area that looked to seat at least a dozen people.