oracle
05-27-2002, 02:17 PM
At Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona Memorial spans generations, attacks (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0524azmemorial-ON.html)
The Honolulu Advertiser
May 24, 2002 19:00:00
HONOLULU - When the Arizona Memorial was officially dedicated on Memorial Day 1962 it was so new and unfinished that the general public wasn't invited. Instead, 200 VIPs occupied the limited seating on the memorial, while 800 other special guests were assigned to Ford Island, a short distance away.
It wasn't until the following month that the public got its first close-up look at what would become one of the most recognizable memorials worldwide. The public hasn't stopped looking. Each year more than a million people come to look at and remember Pearl Harbor.
The focal point of remembering has now become a bright white bridge that spans the sunken remains of a war vessel that perished, along with 1,177 crewmen, on Dec. 7, 1941. It has become an icon to people the world over.
Millions are familiar with the memorial, but not many know much about its background.
"There has never been a documentary about the creation of the Arizona Memorial," said Daniel Martinez, historian for the National Park Service's USS Arizona Memorial, and one of the people involved in planning next weekend's Arizona Memorial 40th Anniversary ceremonies. "Can you believe that?"
Martinez is a walking encyclopedia of Arizona Memorial details. He welcomes the opportunity to shed light on the background of the shrine, which cost $500,000 - millions in today's money.
In 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the law authorizing the building of the Arizona Memorial and Museum. But the project was to be paid for with private money. Where the money came from has been a subject of confusion, Martinez says.
Among the things Martinez would like to set straight is the story of two contributors to the memorial - Ralph Edwards and Elvis Presley.
Edwards was the well-known host of the 1950s TV show "This Is Your Life," which each week featured someone's life story.
"Edwards did one program honoring the senior surviving officer from the USS Arizona, Samuel Fuqua, who received the Medal of Honor for heroic acts at Pearl Harbor," Martinez said. "That program, which ran in December of 1958, became the kickoff campaign for the raising of money for the USS Arizona Memorial.
"And Edwards generates more than $95,000 nationally. With one program, he raised one-fifth the money needed to build the memorial."
Three years later, the campaign needed a jump-start. When Presley's noted manager, Col. Tom Parker, heard about it, he and Elvis offered to do a benefit concert for the memorial at Honolulu's Bloch Arena.
That concert produced $64,000 for the memorial. Presley was a major contributor, Martinez said, but the facts dispel "the great myth ... that Elvis Presley built the Arizona Memorial."
...
Click here to read more (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0524azmemorial-ON.html)
The Honolulu Advertiser
May 24, 2002 19:00:00
HONOLULU - When the Arizona Memorial was officially dedicated on Memorial Day 1962 it was so new and unfinished that the general public wasn't invited. Instead, 200 VIPs occupied the limited seating on the memorial, while 800 other special guests were assigned to Ford Island, a short distance away.
It wasn't until the following month that the public got its first close-up look at what would become one of the most recognizable memorials worldwide. The public hasn't stopped looking. Each year more than a million people come to look at and remember Pearl Harbor.
The focal point of remembering has now become a bright white bridge that spans the sunken remains of a war vessel that perished, along with 1,177 crewmen, on Dec. 7, 1941. It has become an icon to people the world over.
Millions are familiar with the memorial, but not many know much about its background.
"There has never been a documentary about the creation of the Arizona Memorial," said Daniel Martinez, historian for the National Park Service's USS Arizona Memorial, and one of the people involved in planning next weekend's Arizona Memorial 40th Anniversary ceremonies. "Can you believe that?"
Martinez is a walking encyclopedia of Arizona Memorial details. He welcomes the opportunity to shed light on the background of the shrine, which cost $500,000 - millions in today's money.
In 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the law authorizing the building of the Arizona Memorial and Museum. But the project was to be paid for with private money. Where the money came from has been a subject of confusion, Martinez says.
Among the things Martinez would like to set straight is the story of two contributors to the memorial - Ralph Edwards and Elvis Presley.
Edwards was the well-known host of the 1950s TV show "This Is Your Life," which each week featured someone's life story.
"Edwards did one program honoring the senior surviving officer from the USS Arizona, Samuel Fuqua, who received the Medal of Honor for heroic acts at Pearl Harbor," Martinez said. "That program, which ran in December of 1958, became the kickoff campaign for the raising of money for the USS Arizona Memorial.
"And Edwards generates more than $95,000 nationally. With one program, he raised one-fifth the money needed to build the memorial."
Three years later, the campaign needed a jump-start. When Presley's noted manager, Col. Tom Parker, heard about it, he and Elvis offered to do a benefit concert for the memorial at Honolulu's Bloch Arena.
That concert produced $64,000 for the memorial. Presley was a major contributor, Martinez said, but the facts dispel "the great myth ... that Elvis Presley built the Arizona Memorial."
...
Click here to read more (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0524azmemorial-ON.html)