Up early this morning to get picked up for my tour across to Pearl Harbour. We were told the early start was to beat the crowds.

First stop was the battleship Missouri. The Mighty Mo really is an impressive old craft at 270 meters. It's main battery has nine 16 inch guns which have a range of 23 miles. It saw limited service in WW2 but famously hosted the official surrender by Japan. It was decommissioned in 1955 and recommissioned in 1986 by President Reagan, and did a tour to the Gulf before being decommissioned again in 1992.

Lunch was a rather excellent hot dog, before I had a quick look at the USS Bowfin. USS Bowfin was a fairly famous submarine which sank 43 Japanese ships, and touched up some more. It has been known as the Pearl Harbour Avenger; I remember seeing this on the History Channel some time ago.

Then we did the official USS Arizona Memorial tour. After an introductory movie we were shuttled across to the Arizona by Navy launch.

The Arizona Memorial sits astride the remains of the USS Arizona, which can be seen in the water below with only some parts breaking the surface. The slight smell of oil was immediately noticeable, and there is a permanent small slick on the water from the Arizona which will remain for years to come.

Almost half the American fatalities on December 7 1941 died on the Arizona, 1177, and many of those remain entombed inside the wreck.

After that the tour took us to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific located at Punchbowl Crater. It contains mainly Pacific War dead, with some Korean War dead, 41000 burials in total.

It's bloody hot today. I might go for a swim when it cools down a bit.