Immerse yourself in history. As you travel from Waikiki toward Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, you will visit the Punchbowl Crater, home of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and enjoy breathtaking city and ocean views. Traveling through downtown, you'll see the state capitol building, the governor's mansion, Iolani Palace (the only royal palace in the United States), and the imposing King Kamehameha statue. From there, you will visit Pearl Harbor Center and enjoy observations from National Park Ranger. The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center Exhibit Gallery brings visitors closer to the sights and sounds of the events leading up to the attack on Oahu and its aftermath. These galleries display personal memorabilia, dramatic photographs, artifacts of the battle, and other exhibits. Throughout the facility are interpretive wayside exhibits that invite visitors to imagine the experience of that tragic day. Through superimposing descriptive images of Pearl Harbor as it was in 1941 across the panorama of the busy port as it appears today, the wayside exhibits allow visitors to connect the past with the present. Don't forget the remembrance Circle, this exhibit pays tribute to the men, women, and children, both military and civilian, who were killed as a result of the attack on December 7, 1941. You will then tour the USS Bowfin, the submarine known as the "Pearl Harbor Avenger", and get a close look at its torpedo room, engine room, and sleeping quarters. Then, you'll have the chance to explore the decks of the 60,000-ton battleship USS Missouri. Don't miss the Surrender Deck on "Mighty Mo", where General MacArthur accepted the unconditional Japanese surrender that ended World War II. Your afternoon continues at the Pacific Aviation Museum, within former WWII airplane hangars on Pearl Harbor's Ford Island. Experience exhibits showcasing the stories behind WWII fighter planes and bombers. Plus see planes like an authentic Japanese Zero as well as a B-25B bomber, the planes used in 1942 during the Tokyo Raid. Times are approximate: Depart Hotel at 7:30 am; Punchbowl and Downtown Pearl Harbor Tour; Return to Hotel at 4:30 pm ...
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