U.S.S. Oklahoma

The USS Oklahoma Memorial Groundbreaking Ceremony will take place on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 at 12:30 p.m.(Hawaii time / 4:30 p.m. central), immediately following the Pacific Aviation Museum's Grand Opening. The Battleship Oklahoma was berthed along Ford Island on Dec. 7, 1941, and suffered the second greatest loss of life during the attack.

The USS Oklahoma Memorial planned for the pier near the Missouri museum ship. - Honolulu Star-Bulletin

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"Our Oklahoma"
By Governor Brad Henry

Honoring the USS Oklahoma
December 04, 2006

As we mark the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, we pay special tribute to the final crew of the USS Oklahoma.

I am particularly honored to be able to participate in the fundraising efforts and groundbreaking for the long-overdue USS Oklahoma Memorial now being constructed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

As Franklin Roosevelt famously said, Dec. 7, 1941 was a “day that will live in infamy.” However, the passage of time has resulted in an alarming number of Americans who do not truly appreciate what happened that day and what it meant for the future of the free world. Unfortunately, that is compounded by the fact that we are losing too many members of the Greatest Generation.

This memorial will help all of us remember the full impact of that infamous day.

Equally important is the simple fact that a memorial to those who perished on the USS Oklahoma is long-deserved. Of the three battleships attacked at Pearl Harbor that did not subsequently return to action – the Arizona, the Utah and the Oklahoma – only the USS Oklahoma is still without a memorial commemorating it. That is in spite of the fact that the USS Oklahoma suffered the second-highest casualty rate of any American ship in that attack.

Out of a crew of more than one thousand, 429 sailors and Marines were killed when Japanese warplanes torpedoed the USS Oklahoma in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Only 105 of the more than 800 men who survived the attack are still with us today.

Last month, I had the privilege of joining the Oklahoma Centennial Commission to present a $100,000 check as a contribution to the USS Oklahoma Memorial. I am proud that many Oklahomans from all walks of life are participating in this project.

I urge all Oklahomans to consider contributing to this important tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in Pearl Harbor, on the ship named after our great state. To learn more, call 888-636-1006.

If you have questions or comments, please write me at the Office of the Governor, Room 212, Oklahoma City OK 73105 or visit the “Contact the Governor” section of my website, www.gov.ok.gov.

Update
At last, USS Oklahoma gets its own memorial

Fifteen USS Oklahoma survivors plunged shovels into the dirt at Pearl Harbor on Thursday to break ground on a memorial to the 429 servicemen who died on board the battleship 65 years ago.

... The memorial will give family members and survivors a set place to pay their respects. Many families have lacked such a spot for decades, given the ship was later salvaged and towed away and the bodies recovered were buried in anonymous graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

... Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry said he was proud someone from his state took the initiative to have a memorial built and that Oklahomans were raising money for its construction.

"We Oklahomans are a generous people, we take care of one another. And we are resilient in the face of adversity," Henry said.

Read the rest at NewsOK.com

U.S.S. Oklahoma

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