Oahu - Pearl Harbor

https://www.pearlharboroahu.com/

We went to Pearl Harbor on the Sunday that we were there, and that was appropriate. It's not that it's exactly a religious experience, but I did feel a sense of reverence there.

There is the monument built over the ship, and that is the image that everyone has, but there is more there.

You take a launch to the monument, and before you board there is a short film that tells about the attack, and that we found really effective. It is a good preparation for going.

Even before that the exhibits that you see in the museum give you a feeling for the individuals who died there. The story I remember most was that of some men who were trying to escape via a porthole, and one wouldn't fit. The others did not want to leave him, but he dropped aside so that he would not hold them back.

History can feel like this inevitable abstract tide, but it is made up of humans too, and learning their stories helps make it real to us, and we feel our connection.

Pearl Harbor does this well.