On December 8, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the United States Congress with the following shocking statement: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a day that will go down in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."
The world changed on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. It tossed the United States into a world war that will remain a major event in American and world history, and left a long lasting memory in the hearts of all who called Arizona home then, now and for generations to come. The USS Arizona, docked that morning in Pearl Harbor, took a direct hit and went down. Of the 2,403 Americans who lost their lives that day, 1.177 were sailors and Marines aboard the USS Arizona, more casualties than any other single ship or location in Pearl Harbor that day.
In memory of those who lost their lives aboard that grand fighting ship, the state of Arizona created 3 separate memorials on and around the grounds of the Arizona State Capitol. A wonderful exhibit can be viewed inside the Capitol building museum, offering an experience of what that morning was like for those in Pearl Harbor, displays of the actual USS Arizona silver service, videos of the action, a scale model of the ship and even an actual piece of the ship itself.
In Wesley Bolin Plaza, just east of the capitol building, you'll find one of the original 2 anchors of the USS Arizona, proudly displayed at the far east end of the plaza. The other anchor became a part of the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. The anchor memorial in Phoenix was officially dedicated on December 7, 1976. The anchor weighs nearly 20,000 pounds.
Also in the plaza is the original signal mast from the ship. It had several homes before a local fund raising campaign raised enough money to purchase and refurbish the mast. It was also placed in the plaza next to the anchor and dedicated on December 7, 1990.
Even though many Arizonans were not at Pearl Harbor on that frightful day, and so many of today's Arizonans weren't even alive during this infamous point in America's history, so many still pay homage to those that lost their lives aboard a ship that bared the name of Arizona. Located at 1700 West Washington Street, west of downtown Phoenix, Wesley Bolin Plaza and the Arizona Capitol Museum will take you back to December 7, 1941, truly "a day that will live in infamy". Go to www.lib.az.us/museum for more information.
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