One of the most interesting points of interest located on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor is the USS Oklahoma Memorial. The USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was a World War I-era battleship and the twin sister oft he USS Nevada, commisioned together in 1916. They served in World War I protecting Allied convoys on their way across the Atlantic before being "modernized" from 1927-1929 and helped rescue American citizens and refugees during the Spanish Civil War in 1936.
In World War II she was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the attack occurred on December 7th, where she lost 429 sailors when she was sunk and capsized by Japanese bombs and torpedoes within the first 12 minutes of the surprise attack. In 1943 she was uprighted, but unlike many of the other battleships salvaged from Pearl she was never repaired or returned to duty. Instead, she was stripped of guns and sold for scrap, sinking while under tow to the mainland in 1947.
One of the little known amazing feats of the aftermath of salvaging the attack on Pearl Harbor is that sailors were pulled from the USS Oklahoma more than two days after the initial attack-many of the men on board were trapped inside and rescuers worked tirelessly around the clock to save those who were trapped inside her capsized hull. A wonderful memorial dedicated to all those who lost their lives on board the USS Oklahoma can be found on Ford Island, detailing the ship and listing all the names of the innocent men who passed away that morning when the Japanese suddenly attacked.
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