The USS Arizona sank in shallow waters just off Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, early on December 7, 1941. A bomb dropped by a Japanese plane from a great height penetrated the ship's armor, exploded, and set off a tremendous explosion in the Arizona's forward magazine.
Nearly 1200 sailors and marines died in the attack. The remains of about 900 of them are entombed in the Arizona's hulk.
I lived in Hawaii from 1966 until December 1969, I was 10 when we left. I was taken to the Arizona memorial just before we left and I looked straight down at it. I *still* have nightmares more than 40 years later about all the poor people trapped in the wreckage and what they must have went through.
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Having seen film of the explosion and photos of the subsequent long-burning fire, I suspect that many or most of the dead went quickly, which may or may not be a relief.
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