USS Arizona salvaged artifacts

Some of the USS Arizona salvaged artifacts, taken from the wreck of the USS Arizona battleship after it exploded and sank in the 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor, are displayed in several locations in the U.S. State of Arizona. The term "marine salvage" refers to the process of recovering a ship, its cargo, or other property after a shipwreck.[1] This is a list of those artifacts recovered from the shipwreck. These artifacts are on display in the Arizona State Capitol Museum, the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Administration Medical Center and in the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, all of which are located in Phoenix. One of two salvaged bells of USS Arizona is on display in the University of Arizona Student Union Memorial Center in Tucson, and Glendale Veterans War Memorial in the city of Glendale, Arizona is constructed using material from the wreck of the battleship.

History
Name: Arizona
Namesake: Arizona
Ordered: 4 March 1913
Builder: Brooklyn Navy Yard
Laid down: 16 March 1914
Launched: 19 June 1915
Commissioned: 17 October 1916
Decommissioned: 29 December 1941
Stricken: 1 December 1942
Identification: Hull number: BB-39
Fate: Sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941
USS Arizona exploded and sank during the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Also included in this list of salvaged artifacts is a piece of steel salvaged from USS Arizona on display at the USS South Dakota Memorial in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Another piece of steel from the Arizona is housed at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Laurel, Mississippi.

USS Arizona

USS Arizona was a Pennsylvania-class battleship named after Arizona, the 48th state which was admitted to the Union in 1912. She was built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, laid down on March 16, 1914; launched on June 19, 1915 and commissioned on October 17, 1916. In April 1940, she and the rest of the United States Pacific Fleet were transferred from California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii as a deterrent to the Empire of Japan.

On December 7, 1941, Arizona was among the ships stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii that were attacked by the Japanese Empire's Air Forces. The ship was hit, and exploded and sank, taking with her the lives of 1,177 crewmen and officers.[2]

The wreck still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Legislation passed during the administrations of Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy designated the wreck as a national shrine. The USS Arizona Memorial, dedicated on 30 May 1962 to all those who died during the attack, straddles the ship's hull."[3][4]

Salvaged artifacts

Arizona State Capitol Museum

The first floor of the Arizona State Capitol Museum is home to a 500-pound superstructure piece of Arizona, the U.S. flag that flew on the ship when it sank, and pieces of the vessel's silver service.[5][6]

Artifact[7] Image Location Summary
1 USS Arizona superstructure Arizona State Capitol Museum, 1700 West Washington Street, Phoenix Parts of the ship's superstructure
1 USS Arizona Flag Arizona State Capitol Museum U.S. flag that flew on the battleship when it sank
1 USS Arizona Silver Service Arizona State Capitol Museum 59 pieces of the ship's silver service donated to the Navy by the citizens of Arizona in 1919
1 USS Arizona Silver Service Arizona State Capitol Museum Additional silverware on display

Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center

A small piece of the ship's superstructure is on display in the second floor of the Carl T. Hayden VA (Veterans Administration) Hospital located at 650 E. Indian School Road in Phoenix. There is a plaque which reads:

USS Arizona December 7, 1941
A Piece Of History
A Volume Of Memories
A Grateful Nation
Dedicated December 7, 1998

Artifact[7] Image Location Summary
1 USS Arizona Ship Superstructure Carl T. Hayden VA Hospital, 650 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, Arizona The metal piece artifact is on the 2nd floor of the hospital.

Glendale Veterans Memorial

The Glendale Veterans Memorial, also known as the Glendale USS Arizona Memorial, is located at 5959 West Brown Street in Glendale, Arizona. The City of Glendale acquired historical artifacts that were salvaged from Arizona in Pearl Harbor. The rusted metal pieces are from a portion of the potato locker in the ship's galley. The steel rings were cut from the USS Arizona Memorial flagpole.[8]

Artifact[7] Image Location Summary
1 Monument made from the Arizona potato locker. 5959 West Brown Street in Glendale, Arizona. Rusted metal pieces from a potato locker in the ship's galley.
The steel rings were cut from the ship's mast
1 Monument made from the potato locker of the ship The Glendale Veteran's Memorial in Glendale, Arizona. A different view of the rusted metal pieces from a portion of the potato locker in the ship's galley

University of Arizona Student Union Memorial Center

The University of Arizona Student Union Memorial Center houses one of the original bells used in Arizona. The 1,820-pound bell is one of two salvaged from USS Arizona and is housed in the "bell tower". The bell is rung after every home football victory.[9] The other bell is on display in the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.[10] The University of Arizona Student Union Memorial Center is located at 1303 E University Blvd in Tucson. The bell is also rung by every Naval and USMC officer as they commission through The University of Arizona NROTC Unit.

Artifact[7] Image Location Summary
1 USS Arizona bell. University of Arizona Student Union Memorial Center, 1303 E University Blvd in Tucson, Arizona. One of two bells salvaged from the USS Arizona

Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza

Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza is the home of the mast, anchor and the restored gun barrel of Arizona.[11][12]

The U.S.S. Arizona Signal Mast Committee purchased the upper 26 feet (7.9 m) of signal mast of Arizona and transported it to Arizona and had it erected in Wesley Bolin Plaza. It was dedicated and donated to the state of Arizona on December 7, 1990. The 16,000-pound (7,300 kg) anchor was salvaged from Arizona after she was sunk by the Japanese in Pearl Harbor. The restored gun barrel is one of two gun barrels on display; the other is a 16-inch gun barrel from USS Missouri (BB-63). The gun barrel measures 55 feet (17 m) long and weighs 70 tons. It was previously on Arizona, but was in the relining process in the continental United States at the time of Pearl Harbor. The gun barrel served on USS Nevada (BB-36) during World War II. It was officially placed on display at the plaza on December 7, 2013. The other restored gun barrel belonged to USS Missouri.[13]

Artifact[7] Image Location Summary
1 USS Arizona Signal Mast 700 West Washington Street, Phoenix Upper 26 foot of the signal mast erected in Wesley Bolin Plaza
1 USS Arizona Anchor Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza Restored 16,000-pound anchor
1 USS Arizona Gun Barrel Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza Restored gun barrel from the USS Arizona
1 Breech of USS Arizona Gun Barrel Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza Breech of the restored gun barrel

USS South Dakota Memorial

A Salvaged piece of steel from USS Arizona is on display at the USS South Dakota Memorial in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Artifact[7] Image Location Summary
1 Steel from USS Arizona
Steel from the Battleship Arizona
 USS South Dakota Memorial Sioux Falls, South Dakota Piece of steel salvaged from the USS Arizona

See also

References
  1. Bartholomew, Charles, et al."U.S. Navy Salvage Engineer's Handbook". Naval Sea Systems Command, 2008
  2. "Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial". U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 15 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
  3. Horst Bendzulla. "The Tears of the Arizona". Artist's website. Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  4. Christine Hansen (September–October 2007). "Little Big Store". Hana Hou! Vol. 10, No. 4. Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  5. Did you know-USS Arizona?
  6. Arizona Republic
  7. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 24, 2008.
  8. The Glendale Daily Planet
  9. "U.S.S. Arizona Bell". University of Arizona. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  10. Pacific Historic Parks
  11. "100,000 are expected for pro-migrant march". The Arizona Republic.
  12. "Immigration march cost Phoenix over $300,000". The Arizona Republic.
  13. Phoenix, Arizona: USS Arizona Anchor and Mast
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