This weeks Photo Hunt theme is Free. When I took this photo I certainly thought about how lucky we are to be living in a free country, having the freedom to do and go as we please, and it’s because of the brave men who serve and protect our freedom.

I took this shot standing over the wreckage of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, not looking down at the wreckage but looking up at the sky’s that were once filled with Japanese Zero dive bombers. The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship’s 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. It was a very sobering thought that many men are still lying in the wreckage at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Lets hope that one day everybody on this earth will be free.

Taken from National Parks Service, Department of the Interior.
The 184-foot-long Memorial structure spanning the mid-portion of the sunken battleship consists of three main sections: the entry and assembly rooms; a central area designed for ceremonies and general observation; and the shrine room, where the names of those killed on the Arizona are engraved on the marble wall.

The USS Arizona Memorial grew out of wartime desire to establish some sort of memorial at Pearl Harbor to honor those who died in the attack. Suggestions for such a memorial began in 1943, but it wasn’t until 1949, when the Territory of Hawaii established the Pacific War Memorial Commission, that the first real steps were taken to bring it about.

Initial recognition came in 1950 when Admiral Arthur Radford, Commander in Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC), ordered that a flagpole be erected over the sunken battleship. On the ninth anniversary of the attack, a commemorative plaque was placed at the base of the flagpole.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who helped achieve Allied victory in Europe during World War II, approved the creation of the Memorial in 1958. Its construction was completed in 1961 with public funds appropriated by Congress and private donations. The Memorial was dedicated in 1962.

According to its architect, Alfred Preis, the design of the Memorial, “Wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory….The overall effect is one of serenity. Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses…his innermost feelings.”

Contrary to popular belief, the USS Arizona is no longer in commission. As a special tribute to the ship and her lost crew, the United States flag flies from the flagpole, which is attached to the severed mainmast of the sunken battleship. The USS Arizona Memorial has come to commemorate all military personnel killed in the Pearl Harbor attack.

As always, the original Royalty Free Photo is available on my .Mac Web Gallery

free [friː] adjective
not forced or persuaded to act, think, speak etc in a particular way
Example: free speech; You are free to think what you like.
Arabic: طليق، حُر
Chinese (Simplified): 无拘束的
Chinese (Traditional): 無拘束的
Czech: svobodný
Danish: fri
Dutch: vrij
Estonian: vaba
Finnish: vapaa
French: libre
German: frei
Greek: ελεύθερος, ανεξάρτητος
Hungarian: szabad
Icelandic: frjáls, óbundinn
Indonesian: bebas
Italian: libero

Japanese: 強制されない, きょうせい さ れ ない , kyousei sa re nai
強制(kyousei) has the meaning of obligation, coercion, compulsion or enforcement, 強制されない(kyousei sa re nai,) is the negative form which means freedom. Japanese lesson over.

Korean: 구속받지 않는, 자유로운
Latvian: brīvs
Lithuanian: laisvas
Norwegian: fri, utvungen
Polish: wolny
Portuguese (Brazil): livre
Portuguese (Portugal): livre
Romanian: liber
Russian: добровольный
Slovak: slobodný
Slovenian: svoboden
Spanish: libre
Swedish: fri
Turkish: serbest, özgür