MEMORIAL

This page is in memory of my two uncles, brothers of my deceased Mother, who were there, proving they were ready--but not given the chance--to defend their country, ultimately proving they were ready to die for it.

THE USS ARIZONA

The Arizona moored in Pearl Harbor on December 5, 1941.
On the morning of December 7, among the men on board the
Arizona were two of three brothers stationed there. Luther and Melvin Murdock, ages 25 and 23 respectively, were on the USS Arizona. Tom, who was older and married, had an apartment in Honolulu and was not on duty as we were not at war. Shortly before 0800,
Japanese aircraft from 6 fleet carriers struck the Pacific Fleet as it lay in port at Pearl Harbor. Arizona's Air raid alarm went off
about 0755, and the ship went into general quarters soon thereafter. A cataclysmic explosion ripped through the forward part
of the ship, touching off fierce fires that burned for 3 days. The blast that destroyed the Arizona and sank her at her berth
longside of Ford Island, consumed the lives of 1,177 of the 1,513 men attached, representing over half the casualties suffered by
the entire fleet on the "Day of Infamy."

And the USS Arizona looked like this:

Only 75 bodies were recovered, and the Murdock brothers went to a watery grave, the final resting place for 1102 crewman who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. They are still entombed within the Arizona.

The sunken battleship is now commemorated by a 184 foot-long structure that spans its mid-portion, and remains visible not far below the Pacific waters as a complex monument to their readiness to fight and willingness to die. I had the privilege of visiting the memorial for the first time in 1983. It was a sad yet comforting experience to stand in silence gazing down at the sunken ship--with a feeling of nearness to our loved ones we had not previously had--knowing that we were where they had spent their final moments on earth. We can only imagine what it was like there--on that "Day of Infamy".
But back home, their loved ones were experiencing what one who has never lost a loved one can only imagine. My Mother,Grandparents, Aunt and Uncles waited
prayerfully with the hope of not receiving that final phone call. It was not to be.
The telegram came declaring them no longer missing in action--but dead. Like so
many others, gone before they had had time to live.