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Arizona Memorial reopens Monday; other Pearl Harbor Historic Sites remain closed

Pearl Harbor National Memorial will start offering access to the USS Arizona Memorial again on Monday.

The National Park Service will offer a 30-minute program, consisting of a brief orientation from NPS staff, followed by a boat ride to the memorial on U.S. Navy vessels.

“The National Park Service is proud to re-open access to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Visitor Center and the USS Arizona Memorial and offer the opportunity for the public to experience the sites and learn about the important stories associated with the attack on Pearl Harbor,” Acting Superintendent Scott Burch said in a statement. “We encourage the public to visit the memorial to pay their respects to the thousands of Americans and their families who served, suffered and sacrificed during that fateful period in world history.”

The sunken Arizona is typically one of the most visited attractions in the state.

In better times, thousands each day flocked to the final resting place of more than 900 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines who died on the battleship on Dec. 7, 1941. But the site has been closed on and off for much of the pandemic.

The memorial’s reopening is part of a phased in approach to increase access o a park-by-park basis with guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local public health authorities.

Visitors are asked to reserve tickets ahead of time online and not to check in any sooner than 30 minutes before their program. Ticket reservations will be made available at 3 p.m. the day before a program’s start date. Only a limited number of walk-in tickets will be offered.

Visitors to the park must use face coverings while transiting to and from the memorial. In observance of social distancing requirements, tours will be limited to 50 people per vessel.

For updates or details about park operations, visit the NPS website.

The other Pearl Harbor Historic Sites – USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, Battleship Missouri Memorial and Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum — are still closed.

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