Author: Daniel Martinez

Chief Historian, World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
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Remembering Those Who Remembered: The Pearl Harbor Survivor Volunteers at the USS Arizona Memorial

When I first came to the USS Arizona Memorial in the late summer of 1984, I was surprised to see a handful of Pearl Harbor Survivors volunteering at the visitor center. Their interaction with the visitors and the staff was simply amazing. Their presence validated the historic site as living eyewitnesses to the “Day of Infamy.” Continue reading Remembering Those Who Remembered: The Pearl Harbor Survivor Volunteers at the USS Arizona Memorial

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Being There: The Obama-Abe Visit to the USS Arizona Memorial

When I first learned from Superintendent Jacqueline Ashwell that I would be aboard the admiral’s barge that would take President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Abe to the site of the USS Arizona’s wreckage and its Memorial … naturally I was thrilled. But at the same time, I understood that I would be a witness to a moment in history that would be remembered in both nations’ memory and that of the world. Continue reading Being There: The Obama-Abe Visit to the USS Arizona Memorial