ShareThisBy BILL WAGNER
Scripps Howard News Service
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
To many, it appears that the ship is bleeding oil.
To others, it's a reminder that America must stay ever alert.
While interpretations are in the eye of the beholder, the facts remain. A Japanese armor-piercing bomb found the forward ammunition magazine of the USS Arizona in Hawaii's Pearl Harbor on that fateful Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941. The resulting explosion blew the ship apart in a matter of seconds. Less than nine minutes later, it settled in the mud, entombing 1,177 of its crewman. Just 377 survived.
For more than six decades, oil from deep inside the sunken vessel has seeped to the surface of Pearl Harbor.
Most who visit the USS Arizona National Memorial remember the oil.
One year ago, a yearlong study of the ship was completed, said Daniel Martinez, senior historian and acting public information officer for the Arizona Memorial.
"What we found was that the ship was in really good shape," Martinez said.
The study showed that the oil is coming from the aft tanks. There's nothing mysterious about what is happening.
"It's just a constant battle with gravity because the oil is lighter than water. The oil is in the bottom and seeps upward through six decks," the National Park Service historian said.
Each day, about 4.5 quarts manage to escape the tomb.
While at some point there was concern about the leaking oil and the state of the ship, the study showed that those fears were unfounded.
"The state of preservation is very good. The ship should last 600-800 years," Martinez said.
The fact that what is left of the once-proud battleship lies underwater and in some 23 feet of mud is part of what preserves that. In addition, bio-growth around the ship is friendly to it in that the material actually helps dissipate oxygen, which prevents the metal from rusting away.
While concerns about the tanks rupturing and emptying a large quantity of oil all at once have been allayed, the Park Service remains vigilant.
"We keep an active eye on it. We are concerned about the environmental issue of the oil," Martinez said. An oil-spill response plan is in place should the situation ever change.
The oil continues to be part of the experience of visiting the memorial.
"You not only see the oil but also smell the oil. Immediately one is catapulted back in time to Dec. 7, 1941," he said.
For more information, visit www.nps.gov/usar/.
(Bill Wagner also writes, as Babe Waxpack, the ASKBABE sports-collectibles column that is distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
