traveldk.com

The U.S. docked the workhorses of its Pacific fleet along the shore of Ford Island. Vulnerably positioned, the ships sustained the full force of the attack on the morning of December 7, 1941.

Thousands of people pass daily through the center, which is the gateway to the offshore memorial. Arrive early: tickets for the movie and boat ride are gone by noon on busy days. And even then, expect several hours’ wait.

This collection of interpretive exhibits and artifacts is one place to visit during the time you’ll inevitably spend waiting for the boat.

The 23-minute documentary film shown at the Visitor Center gives viewers a broad outline of the forces that led up to the Pearl Harbor attack and the main events of that fateful day.

The stark white structure, floating above the ship that became a tomb, is a place to solemnly peruse the names of the dead inscribed on the wall .

This park, entryway to the submarine museum, plays host to a display of weaponry, including a deadly looking Poseidon C-3 Missile and a Japanese suicide torpedo.

If the Arizona is representative of the attack on the U.S., the Bowfin helps visitors understand how the country responded. Nicknamed Pearl Harbor Avenger, SS-287 has tales to tell of wartime patrols and conditions for submariners.

Twenty stories high and three football fields long, this vessel HAS earned its nickname, Mighty Mo. Approximately half of the ship is open to visitors.

The expensive but highly recommended 90-minute Captain’s Tour of the Missouri takes you into areas for officers. The quarters may be small by civilian standards but are plush compared to the sailors’ “racks.”

A bronze floor plaque in the teak deck on the USS Missouri marks where a mess table was set up for Japanese ministers to sign the Instruments of Surrender in Tokyo Harbor in 1945.