The sunken hull of this once-mighty battleship is now a monument. A few bits of it are near the waterline, all rusting metal and twisted steel. Attached to the deck is the flagpole that never lowered her banner to the enemy. Below the waterline, the hull still holds the mortal remains of the crew. The USS Arizona has been a tomb since the morning of December 7, 1941, when she was hit by a Japanese bomb. The hull still leaks oil from her bunkers even after all these decades. It is as if the ship is still bleeding her life fluids. The many who visit the modernistic memorial built on pillars astride the broken hull are silent for the most part, respectful of this place. More than a few feel that the place is haunted. The story of the ghost is a U.S. Navy yarn told to me long ago by a Chief petty officer. It has its roots in World War II. Then, as now, the warships entering and leaving Pearl Harbor pause and salute the sunken battlewagon. Some say the ship was cursed from the start. When she was launched, a bottle of water was used to christen her rather than wine or spirits. It was a politically correct move at the time, but old salt-water sailors knew that nothing good could happen by not following the traditions of the sea. The story goes that on the morning of the attack, the officer of the deck wasn’t at his post. He was distracted and for personal reasons left his station for a few moments. It was in his absence that the Japanese planes made their surprise sortie. The officer died in the blast that killed the ship and sent her to the shallow bottom of the harbor. The unfortunate guiltridden man now haunts the ship, walking the deck at low tide and looking out near the flagpole. He haunts the wreck at night and is seen in the dim light of dawn. They say that when you take pictures at the USS ARIZONA monument, many times odd things happen on the film. Orbs appear on film, there are foggy spots, and every once and a while a misty shadow is seen lurking in the background of the photograph.
Written by — Richard Senate Psychic Investigator/Author, Carson Valley Ghost Stalkers
USS ARIZONA
PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII
WEBSITE: www.nps.gov/usar/
Taken from the: Encyclopedia of Haunted Places -Ghostly Locales from around the World – Compiled & Edited by Jeff Belanger – Copyright 2005 by Jeff Belanger