Japanese forces on the 7th of December 1941 made a sneak attack which crippled much of the United State Navy and abruptly brought the United State fully engaged into the Second World War. The Pearl Harbor attack was undertaken when in need of oil and other raw materials, the Japanese engaged in a war against China in mid-1937 and other oil and mineral rich countries of the East Indies, and South East Asia has as allies Germany and Italy.
With peace negotiations ending in November 1941, the United State secret agency expected the Japanese to attack into the Indies, Malaya, and the Philippines but did not anticipate an attack east as well. Japanese aircraft carriers reached the US fleet at Pearl Harbor, launching an aerial strike that resulted in sinking 5 out of 8 US battleships, and the others badly damaged or sinking, the majority of the Hawaii-based combat planes were damaged and more than 2400 Americans lost their lives.
The USS Arizona memorial is part of World War II valor in the Pacific National Monument that commemorates the events of that day. 1,102 sailors and marines of the 1,177 crewmen of the USS Arizona were killed during the Pearl Harbor attack.
In 1949, the Pacific War Memorial Commission was created and charged to build a memorial which was erected on the site of the submerged hull. The memorial stands to represent the American pride before the war, the depression after the attack and the rise to new heights after the war.
Along side and perpendicularly docked to the USS Arizona is the USS Missouri. It was moved to Pearl Harbor from the west coast of the United State. On the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the Japanese surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz of the United State army effectively ending World War II.
Each year, millions of visitors embark on the Pearl Harbor tour, which provide a whole day tour of four historic locations that includes, the USS Arizona memorial, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and park admission, the Pacific Aviation Museum, and the Battleship Missouri Memorial.