INSIDE THE VMM - June 2020/Episode 2 "The U.S.S. Arizona & Pearl Harbor"

Episode 2 - The U.S.S. Arizona & Pearl Harbor

      Welcome to the second month of our new INSIDE THE VMM Blog feature. I debated whether to go with a World War II topic two months in a row, but in the end, it was my own personal prejudice that won out and I decided on this month's topic. The VMM's artifact from the U.S.S. Arizona is one of my personal favorites at the museum. Don't get me wrong...they're all important, but I have a personal love for this one.
     When I began to volunteer at the VMM in 2016, I surprised to discover that so few people even know that our museum is one of a very limited number of museums and monuments that is a recipient of a piece of the U.S.S. Arizona. Following an act of Congress, the U.S.S. Arizona Relics Program was created (1995), making it possible for institutions like museums and war/veterans monuments, to apply for a relic of the famous battleship. 
     Thanks to the dedication of Jimmy Bass (VMM President Emeritus), this became a reality in 2008. This month's video explains how the chance reading a newspaper article and a little perseverance by Mr. Bass, led to the VMM becoming a member of this very exclusive club. 
      The video is bit longer than I intended, but I felt that there was a need for a "complete" telling of this story. I also urge you to PLEASE watch the BONUS VIDEO below this blog. The video comes to us courtesy of the US Park Service. It is a video account of the burial of a member of the Arizona's crew who survived the Pearl Harbor attack. When he passed away in 2015, his ashes were interred with his fallen shipmates at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, HI.

HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS MONTH'S EPISODE! Let us know what you think!

BONUS VIDEO 
​Interment of U.S.S. Arizona Sailor