By Troy Turner
Editor-in-chief
AlaDefense.com
The USS Arizona, a 31,400-ton Pennsylvania class battleship, was a mighty symbol of American power when she was commissioned in 1916.
She perhaps became more so when she was sunk, 25 years later in the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Although lost, she and her sister ships that sank that day became the image behind the battle cry, “Remember Pearl Harbor!” as the United States entered World War II.
Amazingly, most of the U.S. fleet bombed and torpedoed in the attack were repaired and put back to sea by war’s end. Three of the battleships were not: USS Arizona, USS Utah, USS Oklahoma.
Almost half of the 2,403 U.S. personnel killed in the Pearl Harbor attack were aboard the Arizona. Others were trapped inside the overturned Oklahoma. The Utah, retired from battle service and converted to a training ship, was not sparred, taking down with her 58 of her crew.
The U.S. Navy in the years since that dreadful day chose, in memory of those vessels, not to rename any of its new ships Arizona, Utah or Oklahoma.
Until now.
It is the right move to change that policy, and for the right reasons.
Things are different when it comes to keeping the memory, importance and especially the sacrifice of Pearl Harbor alive today.
A younger generation and those to come have little to no personal connection to the living memories of Dec. 7, 1941. By reviving the ship names of the battlewagons lost that day, the Navy will have a reminder, and it will be one extolling a new sense of power while sailing the seas around the world.
All three names – Arizona, Utah, Oklahoma – are being assigned to new Virginia-class, nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarines expected to join the fleet between 2029 and 2032.
From one side of my life’s spectrum, the one including generations before me, my grandmother could recall exactly where she was when the Pearl Harbor attack occurred, and exactly what it meant. She was on an Alabama hillside, having a picnic.
My father’s earliest childhood memory came only a few years later. It was of her going to the mailbox one day, opening an envelope on the walk back, and falling to her knees sobbing. The letter was a draft notice for my grandfather calling him to war.
Looking ahead to my life’s future, if my grandchildren hear of the Arizona, the Utah or the Oklahoma, it will be of a new generation of warships that pay homage to the memory of a generation long past.
They also might hear of the innovative use of new technology such as artificial intelligence in those new subs; and of the power and endurance they have serving as a deterrence to war.
And just maybe, they will see the submarines succeeding well enough in that deterrence mission that someday the vessels will peacefully retire and become museums or chapters of U.S Naval history dedicated to the brave men and women who served upon them, and as a tribute to a powerful free nation that christened them.
The World War II-era battleship USS Arizona remains sunken in the waters of Pearl Harbor. Much of her crew remain with her, and have every day since Dec. 7, 1941.
Yet, a United States flag still flies above her. Today, her mission is to serve as a memorial.
And today, Dec. 7, all Americans should remember why she still serves in the manner she does. Her sacrifice and that of so many others who have dedicated themselves to protecting and defending this nation of ours does not come cheap.
To the sailors destined to serve on the new Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma:
Godspeed.
*****
Troy Turner is editor-in-chief and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Related links:
https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2023-12-05/pearl-harbor-wwii-submarines-aircraft-carrier-12267971.htmlhttps://www.sublant.usff.navy.mil/SSN803/
Photo above: The USS Arizona battleship sailing in rough waters during the 1930s. (Archive photo)
The pre-commission crew of the future submarine USS Arizona. (U.S. Navy photo)
