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U.S.S. Bowfin Submarine and Museum at Pearl HarborThe and Hawaii ... Travel Ezine, dated 12/11/01, by Lisa Weber
++++ In this Issue ++++ 01. Title Article - USS Bowfin Sub and Museum 02. Travels deals - packages and hotel specials 03. Hawaiian Word - pilau 04. Hawaiian article - activities w/ the kids 05. Website - lanai activities 06. Featured Links - Aloha everyone, I'm sure everyone has read or seen a lot about the attack on Pearl Harbor lately, and I have a few local impressions to impart. Did you know that the evening of the attack on Pearl Harbor, martial law was declared in Hawaii - this meant a number of things, most notably that many constitutional rights were completely taken away. Citizens and residents could not drive cars without special permission, they gave up their houses and food to the military, had to turn in all their guns, and could not be out of their homes unless they were going to work or to the store. Liquor was banned, and stores had a 35 cent cap on sales to each person, per day. Martial law was not lifted until October 24, 1944! Did you also know that Pearl Harbor *was not* the only attack on Hawaii by Japan? On December 30th, 1941 (three weeks after the initial attack) Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island were all attacked by Japanese submarines! The attack came in the evening to Hilo Harbor on the Big Island, Kahului on Maui, and Nawiliwili Bay on Kauai. Reports of the attacks are scarce, due to military news censoring at the time, but on the Big Island the target was apparantly the oil storage tanks near the pier. Supplies were not getting in to Hawaii because everything had to come by ocean freighters, which were being sunk by torpedoes - so oil and gasoline were especially important to the war effort. On the Big Island, a lone Japanese submarine fired about 10 high-explosive shells at the tanks - all missing their target, and most flying over the residential area behind the tankers to land on Hilo airport. There was a navy destroyer at the Hilo dock which immediately returned fire and ended the attack. For more information on the war in Hawaii, the star-bulletin has a good series archived here. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 01. --- U.S.S. Bowfin Submarine and Museum at Pearl Harbor ---Pearl Harbor has a few other notable attractions besides the Arizona Memorial, my favorite being the submarine museum.The U.S.S. Bowfin is a decommissioned submarine with an impressive World War II history. You can walk through the submarine itself and visit the museum nearby - even kids will really enjoy this one. Unfortunately, children under four are not permitted on the submarine for safety reasons, but they are admitted to the museum at no charge. Submarine and museum adult tour price is $8; child rate (ages 4 to 12) is $3. They are open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last tour of the submarine at 4:30 p.m., and are closed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. At Pearl Harbor, the museum and sub are located to the right of the parking area - Just steer towards the large torpedoes on the grass. The submarine is attached to the dock by a walking plank .... and it doesn't appear to be very big at first glance. Its age is not immediately apparant (59 years) and it is obviously kept in very good condition. The sub is 312 feet long, 27 feet wide, and displaced 2,415 tons of water while submerged. It was first launched on 7 December 1942 (one year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor) and commissioned on 1 May 1943. It was first decommissioned in 1947, but not totally stricken until 1971. It normally carried a crew of 70 men and 10 officers, plus the occasional downed pilot they fished out of the water. You'll get to walk through and examine all the rooms and parts of the sub, including the periscopes, the engine compartment, the torpedo rooms, and the large deck guns. The submarine museum is a large air-conditioned building with submarine related exhibits, a lot of them relating to World War II in some way - some I remember are: ...... the day after the Pearl Harbor attack Chicago Newspaper proclaiming war and listing injuries as 3000 with 1500 dead, selling for 20 cents. ...... a picture of the submarine crew fishing George Bush (the dad) out of the water after his plane had been shot down, plus the captains log of that day and Bush's experience on the sub in his own words. There is also a little more on Bush himself, including a picture of him in his plane the Barbara III, complete with bullet holes down the side. ...... an "Interned Alien Enemy card" featuring a picture of an interned alien enemy, with the "hostile rank" of Sub Lieutenant. He was a japanese midget submarine pilot whose sub ran aground. In a mugshot-like picture he was clean shaven, in good condition, with a large smile on his face. ...... a handwritten memo by a sub commander to "all hands" stating their mission which was a submerged transit of Tsushima Straights professing their chief danger as fouling a mine cable and advising all hands to be quiet and report any scraping sounds to an officer immediately (could be the sub scraping against the mine cable). I guess the memo was actually passed around from person to person on the sub. ...... a "talkee pointee" card that the pilots showed to the people of whatever country they were shot down in with an American flag and a French, Annamese, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Lao translation of "I am an American pilot, an enemy of the Japanese. Hide me and my government will reward you". ...... an actual Poseidon missile, bigger than my Ford Explorer laid out on the floor cut in sections, exposing all the wires and innards of the missile. ...... an old style deep sea diving rig complete with belt knife and Captain Nemo type headset. ...... a display dedicated to the USS Louisville, the first submarine to launch a tomohawk cruise missile in combat in the early afternoon on Saturday January 19, 1991 to an unidentified target. This subs mascot was a Louisville slugger bat with the inscription "Kick Saddams Butt" on it. Peal Harbor Cam Pearl Harbor Navy site Pearl Harbor Attack information -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Affordable Paradise - Affordable Paradise: the Secrets of an Affordable Life in Hawaii will show you how anyone with the desire to do so can afford to live in Hawaii, and then gently takes you into the realities of island living. I read this book - my review is here -- Lisa -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 02. ---Internet Travel Deals Watch---** check the web sites for details and restrictions--------------------------------------------- Hawaii packages from $767 --------------------------------------------- Oahu and Maui packages, with 4th night free --------------------------------------------- Maui package from $528 --------------------------------------------- activity and hotel specials --------------------------------------------- -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ---Hawaiian Word of the Week---pilau - (pee lau (rhymes with cow)) - rotten, putrid, spoileda common word sprinkled into english and pidgen - pilau is normally used to convey a physical dirtiness of something, or bad character of a person. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 04. ---Hawaiian Article/Information Watch---Hawaii Magazine: Kid Friendly Activities06. --- Hawaiian Website Watch ---Lanai Activities - what there is to do on Lanai07. --- Featured Links ---Aloha Kauai ToursLand and water tours on Kauai Ho'okipa Hale Vacation Rentals Affordable Maui rooms, apartment, and cottage SeaFun Kauai Half day, guided, shore based, Kauai snorkel tour Captain Cook Resorts Vacation Rentals on all the islands Alii Villas #311 Ocean-view condo, near Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island Paniolo Hale Lodging Comfortable, inexpensive lodging on Molokai Kona Makai #5-104 Ocean-view condo in Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island ALOHAGOODIES.COM Treats, gifts, and snacks from Hawaii BeanTeacher.com Aloha Shirts for the Hawaiian at heart. Have a story or a question you'd like to share? E-mail me at ezine@andhawaii.com . Until next week, Lisa. http://www.andhawaii.com Disclaimer: This ezine is for informational purposes only. Please consult the appropriate professionals for more information. Copyright (c) 2001. All Rights Reserved. |
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