On December 7th, 1941, 2,300 military personnel and civilians were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Over 900 of the 1,177 sailors and marines who lost their lives aboard the USS Arizona are still entombed there — it is their burial site. Today, 1.5 million people per year come to pay their respects. David Kilton, Interpretation and Visitor Services Lead at Pearl Harbor National Memorial, joins The Parks Podcast to share everything about visiting one of the most sacred and carefully managed sites in the national park system — including the new virtual standby system that means you no longer have to wait in line for hours in the Hawaiian heat.

 

A note from Missy: The opportunity to experience Pearl Harbor National Memorial is one of the most solemn experiences. It made the horror and sacrifice come to life in a way that I didn’t expect. David talked about interviewing survivors. Their stories and heirlooms made the story feel real to me — not something that happened to someone else.

Photo: National Park Service
Photo: National Park Service

Episode Guest

David Kilton,  Interpretation, Education, and Visitor Services Lead
Pearl Harbor National Memorial

Park Stats

  • Location: Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii (Ford Island area)
  • Designated: Pearl Harbor National Memorial March 12, 2019 (President Trump, first term); previously USS Arizona Memorial (NPS 1980), then World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
  • Size: 21.3 acres (NPS portion)
  • Annual visitors: 1,577,798 (2024)
  • The attack: December 7, 1941 — 2,300+ killed, 21 ships heavily damaged or sunk
  • USS Arizona: 1,177 killed aboard; over 900 still entombed — a war grave and active burial site
  • The memorial: Built 1961–1962; dedicated Memorial Day 1962; funding partially raised by an Elvis Presley benefit concert
  • Boats: Active duty US Navy sailors of the “Arizona Detachment” pilot boats out to the memorial every 15 minutes; 145 passengers per boat; ~4,100 visitors/day capacity
  • Reservations: Recreation.gov — released 56 days in advance; $1/seat reservation fee
  • Virtual standby: Free text-based system; join from your phone on arrival; receive text when a boat slot opens (typically 15–30 min wait)
  • No bag policy: No bags larger than a wallet/small purse on campus (base security); clear bags permitted
  • Partner sites (separate admission): USS Missouri, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, Pacific Historic Parks
  • Sister park: Hiroshima Peace Park (peace and reconciliation partnership; student exchanges)
  • Special tours: USS Oklahoma and USS Utah memorials (Ford Island) — 3x/week Mon/Wed/Fri 3:30–5pm, 44 visitors, recreation.gov

Show Notes & Links

Transcript

Pearl Harbor National Memorial — Sacred Ground, 2,400 Miles from the Mainland
The Parks Podcast, Episode 28 | David Kilton, Interpretation, Education & Visitor Services Lead, Pearl Harbor National Memorial
Welcome and Park Stats

Missy Rentz: In this episode, we are so lucky to have David Kilton, who is the Interpretation, Education and Visitor Services Lead for Pearl Harbor National Memorial. David, welcome to The Parks Podcast.

David Kilton: Thank you. I’m glad to be on this and excited for our opportunity to talk.

Missy: So we start each episode with some park stats. I’m going to run through these just to set the stage. The memorial is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was dedicated as Pearl Harbor National Memorial on March 12th, 2019, when Donald Trump was serving as his first term as president. The Memorial Park area is 21.3 acres, and in 2024 there were 1,577,798 people who visited. Some interesting facts: the attack on Pearl Harbor is what brought the US into World War II. That attack killed more than 2,300 military and civilians. The USS Arizona Memorial was built between 1961 and 1962, and some of the money that was raised for the memorial came from a benefit concert where Elvis Presley performed. The memorial includes the USS Arizona, USS Utah, and the USS Oklahoma. And even now, survivors of the USS Arizona attack can choose to have their ashes entombed on the ship when they pass. David, this is a very special place.

David: Yeah, it’s an honor. I get visitors that say all the time, “Thank you for what you do.” And I’ll just say: it literally is an honor to work at this site and to share the powerful, heart-wrenching, and multifaceted aspects of this piece of history and all that ties to it on a daily basis for sure.

Missy: I came on vacation to Hawaii and so most of the vacation was beaches and pineapples — and to have this really somber moment and to be there was really special. My grandfather was on his way to Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. We always heard a lot of stories from that perspective — he was days away from arriving, which is really interesting. The first thing I want to get into is the creation date. I talked about March 12th, 2019, and I think people will be like, you’re crazy, Missy, you didn’t do your research. But that’s not the case — the memorial was created, but like we talk about, things shift in the National Park Service. Can you first explain the timeline to us?

The Identity Crisis — A Park That’s Changed Its Name Multiple Times

David: Yeah, so I jokingly say that Pearl Harbor National Memorial has had an identity crisis because it’s gone through multiple stages over time. And that really starts going back all the way to just after the attack. One of the amazing stories is the salvage divers that would go into these wrecks. There were 21 total heavily damaged or sunken ships from the attack that morning, and they put 18 of them back into war service over the next coming months and years — they would take part in World War II. So only three wouldn’t go into service, and you already mentioned them: the Utah, the Oklahoma, and the Arizona were the three that didn’t go back. As they were trying to salvage the Arizona, they quickly saw that the damage from that bomb that detonated and kicked off the ammunition and fuel had split the keel in half — the very heavily reinforced center line of the ship. So it had basically broken the back of the Arizona, and that’s why it sank so quickly. As they saw they weren’t going to be able to salvage it and put it back into war readiness, and as they were gathering how many lives were lost on that ship, they decided: we’re going to make this a memorial on a war grave instead of continuing to try to salvage the ship. There were things that were salvaged off the ship — they did pull ammunition off, they pulled three of the main battery guns and other pieces to recycle and reuse so they didn’t have to build those materials from scratch as they were now in a two-ocean war.

David: The initial memorial would start right then — the military would put plaques on the ship, allow people to come out and land on it, and hold different ceremonies on platforms on the ship. Eventually the decision was made to actually build a memorial. That goes into the process of starting to put out this contract. The actual memorial, as you mentioned, was put into construction in 1961 and 1962 and dedicated on Memorial Day in 1962. After that, the Navy would provide for visitation of the memorial for the next 18 years. Then in 1980, the USS Arizona Memorial was actually established with the National Park Service. Eventually it would become World War II Valor in the Pacific — which made it so that not only the story of Pearl Harbor, but multiple other stories around the Pacific would be shared together, sharing resources and building the story of the Pacific Theater of the War jointly. Then that would last until the most recent change, where it would go back to a narrow focus just on Pearl Harbor National Memorial and include the other resources within the memorial — the USS Utah and USS Oklahoma Memorial, six Chief Petty Officer bungalows, and six mooring quays where ships would tie off along Battleship Row. And then during the first Trump administration is when they would actually go back to that narrow firm focus and create Pearl Harbor National Memorial as it stands today.

Missy: And why do you think it’s important that it’s part of the Park Service?

David: I think one of the reasons it’s important is that the Navy does a good job of telling different dynamics and they have amazing museums. But one of the things that allows Pearl Harbor to be unique and special as part of the National Park Service is that there are some barriers for the military to get visitors onto some of their resources. We still deal with that in some regard working with the military — it’s hard to get on base. But we are able to welcome and bring in a much, much larger audience and a much more international audience because we don’t have some of the barriers that the military has in welcoming that audience.

Who Was Lost — and Who Counts as a Survivor

Missy: It was a huge loss of life — and it hit all branches of the military. And a lot of civilians. This was really huge.

David: Yes. That’s actually a pretty common question — how many Pearl Harbor survivors are there? And that number is just going to continue to dwindle as time goes. But I never know where to draw the line on who should be included, because you can talk about just military personnel, you could talk about just military branches — but you have to take into account that their families were part of that too. Losing loved ones — they’re part of those Pearl Harbor survivors. And then if you take into account the civilian dock workers that were working right alongside those military personnel, and then the communities that were hit, some of them even by friendly fire — as they fired anti-aircraft guns, there were times when those explosions would go off and because they didn’t have time to calibrate, some of those missed and then landed in the local communities and detonated, causing fires and things like that. And even the attacking Imperial Japanese forces are part of that story too. The attackers were part of surviving the Pearl Harbor attack as well. There’s just a huge range of different numbers and little circles that you could expand or contract on who is included. Even on Ford Island — the little island behind the memorial, which is part of the active Navy base — there were families that got strafed as the Imperial Japanese forces were attacking the airfield and the ships. They are definitely included as Pearl Harbor survivors.

Missy: Absolutely. And one thing I think is so special about Pearl Harbor is that for many years you all have captured the stories of the people that were there. It brings tears to my eyes just remembering it — I was there maybe 19 years ago and I can still feel walking through that museum and hearing those stories. It’s so impactful to hear them firsthand. And you realize how precious those firsthand stories are as fewer and fewer survivors remain.

David: Yeah. I’ve worked at multiple historic sites during my National Park Service career and I have a little bit of what you could call eras. My first national historic site happened 150 years ago — in that case, you hope the history books have it right because you can’t talk to anybody that actually experienced it. My next one, most recent prior to coming here, was Central High School National Historic Site, where I got to meet the Little Rock Nine and work directly with individuals who lived those experiences just over 60 years ago — getting to really connect and hear their firsthand reflections, feelings, and connections. We also had that opportunity with Pearl Harbor National Memorial, and I’m grateful that so many did take those opportunities. We still have a lingering ability to connect with those that had those experiences. One of my really good friends since I moved here has an uncle who was actually one of those salvage divers. Hearing him remember what happened — his uncle disappeared for two weeks and they didn’t know what was going on or even really what he was doing. And then eventually, he talks about how they went down to the docks and saw him come up out of the water covered in the crude bunker oil that looked like tar. And there’d be kids hanging out on the docks seeing that, seeing the reality of what it was. Those type of experiences where you actually get to hear the reality of what happened, and being able to be the stewards of carrying those stories forward — that’s again why it’s an honor to work here.

Missy: And I think I remember it also at Ellis Island — a very similar feeling. But the memorabilia that you’re also able to see — the museum is not recrafted from pictures. There’s actual memorabilia that people have donated in order to showcase the story of that day and the time after it.

David: Yeah. One of my favorite things when I first came here — we have basically the edited draft of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech. The famous “Day of Infamy” speech. And as you look and see his markings of words he changed and things that he did, it just makes it so much more real. You get to step into the mindset of the president preparing to announce that the United States would now officially enter World War II. His selection of words is fascinating — “infamy” wasn’t even the first word in that speech. He changed it. So it’s really cool.

Planning Your Visit — Reservations, Standby, and the Boat to the Memorial

Missy: When you get there, what exactly is the experience you’re going to have? Because you’re not walking into a big stone building that has all the artifacts there. This is unique.

David: Pearl Harbor is probably one of the most sought-after destination spots on Oahu and potentially in all of Hawaii. We get a large number of people and I wish I could say, oh, it’s easy — you know how to come in and do everything you need to. But it does have some confusing nature to it. We have partners that work very closely with us — so you come onto the campus and you have the USS Missouri, a battleship that you can go over and see, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, the Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial, and our partners that run the bookstore and things like that. So it’s not immediately clear: where am I going, what am I trying to do?

David: But specifically for the National Park Service, you have our two museums, a place where you can watch a film, and then where you actually board active duty US Navy-piloted boats that take you out to the Arizona Memorial. Something a lot of people don’t know is that they actually consider those boats tenders of the USS Arizona, and the active duty sailors are considered part of the USS Arizona crew — they’re called the Arizona Detachment and they have the honor of helping visitors go out and have that experience. So we work very closely with the US Navy to provide for this opportunity.

David: We can get just over 4,000 visitors a day on these boats. We take a boat out every 15 minutes and can load 145 passengers onto each boat. But there are days where we can have 6,000 to 8,000 visitors. So if you imagine we can only get just over 4,000 out there — there are days where we unfortunately have to say, I’m sorry, you don’t get the opportunity to go. And that’s hard. We want everybody to have an equal opportunity to get out there and have that experience. So we do release tickets through recreation.gov — 56 days in advance, about eight weeks out — and then also the day before and on the day for different time slots. I wish I could say you can jump on that reservation and guarantee a spot on the boat, but they go so quickly, especially during our peak seasons. We really don’t have a down season like some other national parks — we are a year-round visitation destination. If you can imagine in the winter, where would you like to go to get out of the cold?

Missy: I’m guessing Christmas break is a big peak.

David: It is huge. The days following Christmas — you can almost guarantee those days between the holidays are going to be the busiest of the year. We also have a bump for spring break and then summer, which is pretty typical. December 7th is around the commemoration, so there’s a bump with that as well.

Missy: So if you have the flexibility to go during an off time, you have a better chance of getting those reservations.

David: Yes. And I’ll mention — the reservations are a dollar per seat and that goes straight to recreation.gov. It won’t come to the National Park Service. We actually by mandate will never charge anyone to get out to the memorial. That is, and it makes sense — I would feel greasy if I was charging people to get out to pay their respects to the dead. You don’t do that. Now, if you also want to try to get a package deal and see other things, there are tour providers that will provide bus transportation and other things. Those will be more expensive — every tour company does it differently. But there’s also another option if you can’t get a recreation.gov reservation. Within the time I’ve been here — almost four years — we’ve created a standby option that has proven so positive that we’re making it permanent. You can actually come in and using just your phone, sign up for standby. That basically saves your spot in line. When we can fit you on a boat, we’ll send you a text and you come and jump in line. Usually by the time you get that text, you’re going to be on a boat within the next 15 to 30 minutes.

Missy: That’s great.

David: Prior to that, we used to have people get in these long lines and just wait and see what we could do — people waiting for hours in line, not connecting with the history, just standing in the heat. The virtual standby queuing gives us a lot more benefit to help visitors get the most out of their experience. Even on those days when they can’t get on a boat, at least they didn’t spend all their time in line and get turned away. They can go do other things while they’re waiting.

Missy: And there is so much to do.

David: Yeah. Just recently we connected our site to the history of Hiroshima Peace Park. Both of our sites — while the stories are very different — have missions that center on seeking peace and reconciliation as we reflect on these stories, and both have a huge educational foundation. With those two guiding principles being a major factor in both parks, we felt there was an opportunity to combine our very different stories and bring aspects together. We now have a sister park relationship with Hiroshima Peace Park, and we’ve done educational exchanges with students going there and students coming here — just amazing opportunities to share resources and more effectively tell the nuances and all the different connections of what the Pacific Theater of World War II really was.

The USS Oklahoma and USS Utah Memorials — Getting Access

Missy: How do you go about seeing the USS Oklahoma and USS Utah memorials?

David: So you can go right onto our website and learn a little bit about the history, but if you actually want to go and see them, unfortunately they are on the active military base on Ford Island. So if you don’t have military access, you really can’t get over to see them. We started with the 80th anniversary commemoration, doing a pilot run to see if we could work with the Navy to guide tours over to those memorials. It was very well received. The Navy was really pleased at the things we established to make sure we were protecting their interests with the active military base. It worked so well that we now do this tour three times a week — Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3:30 to 5:00. Through recreation.gov, people can make their reservations. We started out at 25 people per tour — a drop in the bucket when you consider how many visitors we get a year. But it proved so effective that we bumped up to 44 visitors per tour, so just about 150 people a week get that opportunity to go with one of our rangers, go over on a program, hear more, see those stories, and have a unique opportunity to connect. We are hoping that as we started this relationship to provide access to those resources with the Navy, there will be more opportunities going forward — including potentially accessing the other resources, which were the six Chief Petty Officer bungalows. Those were homes where military officers and their families would have lived and would have been witness to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. We are looking to provide for renovation, restoration, and preservation of those units to tell more of this story.

Missy: I can’t imagine being there that close, witnessing that. Wow. That’s special. How much time should someone allow when they come to visit?

David: Just the experience going to the Arizona Memorial — when you get on the boat and get out there, it’s going to be 45 minutes by itself. If you want to watch the movie, explore the museums, and definitely check out any of the partner sites, plan at least for half a day to a full day. Some people will actually spend multiple days at the site — they want to come and just do the Arizona Memorial aspect of things and do the NPS side one day, then come back the next day and do the partner sites because those stories are fascinating.

Getting There, Parking, and the Bag Policy

Missy: Can people drive there themselves? I remember it’s not necessarily close to the main hotels.

David: There are multiple options, and that’s something that’s growing. You can definitely ride the bus, and there are tour providers that provide bus transportation. We do have parking lots, but they are fairly limited. Because of that limitation we did institute a $7 parking fee for the day. Then there’s also a rail system that is slowly progressing to provide access on this side of Oahu — right now the open and operating portion goes from just west of Pearl Harbor out to the more western side of the island. The next leg will connect with the airport and really allow better access to us. People also use Uber and Lyft, and there are taxi services as well. From Honolulu, if you don’t have traffic — which can sometimes be a pretty big deal — it’s about 30 minutes.

Missy: Are there food options when you’re there or do people need to pack food?

David: A couple of things to mention. We have a snack shop on site — pre-prepared sandwiches, chips, that kind of stuff, and a myriad of drinks. The partners each have some other food options. The submarine museum will actually run a hotdog stand just out there so people can grab that. And each of the partner sites, when you visit them — which do have fees associated — have a café or different eateries. Bringing your own food, actually, is not the best idea because there is a bag policy to come on site. From our location you can board a bus that takes you over onto Ford Island to see the USS Missouri and the Aviation Museum. The Navy has asked us to help them provide basic base security — we cannot allow bags onto the campus that are bigger than a wallet size or small hand purse. Anything bigger than that is not allowed for base security reasons. And that’s on our website.

Missy: So as we wrap up how to plan — most people when they’re coming to Hawaii are in planning mode anyway. But recreation.gov is going to be your friend. Get your reservations in advance. Go early if you’re driving yourself because parking could be an issue. And going early also means it’s a little cooler. The website and the app do an amazing job of walking you through different planning options. This is a park where preparation is really key.

David: Yeah. And one thing I’ll highlight with bags — if you have a clear bag, you can bring a clear bag. As long as our security guards at the front can look and see what’s in it, you can bring that in. And if you buy stuff on site — say you do come in and you want to buy some snacks — that’s fine. You just won’t be able to have any open snacks, treats, or drinks besides water when you go out to the Arizona Memorial, to protect keeping the boats clean as well as to preserve the memorial itself.

Missy: And that is really sacred ground. It’s very serene and reflective, that portion of it. You have given so much information that will be linked on the website. For listeners, on the Parks Podcast website on this episode page, I’ll link to a lot of the things that David talked about so you have easy access to all those tips and information.

Speed Round

Earliest park memory?
Going to the Grand Canyon. I lived in Arizona at the time and I vaguely remember the rim, but I was very little. What I remember more than actually seeing the rim and looking down into the canyon is that I was bouncing on the wall between ours and our neighbor’s house prior to us loading up in the van to go — and I fell off the wall into our neighbor’s yard into a cactus. I remember my mom pulling the prongs out of me, and then we went to the Grand Canyon. So that’s my earliest park memory. But we went to the parks a lot and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to work for the Park Service — we have amazing family memories of going and camping in the parks or at parks close by and just having amazing family experiences.

What made you love the parks?
The serenity and being out in nature is one aspect, as well as the love of history. Whatever National Park Service site you go to — you can see these amazing things, have amazing experiences, see wildlife. But there’s always unique history that connects them: the native peoples, the connections of people at those locations, those that first started to preserve and tell the stories of those locations, and the beauty of that place as well as the tragic and difficult stories or those stories of triumphs that all connect at the national parks.

Favorite thing about Pearl Harbor National Memorial?
Telling the stories of those that were just beginning their lives and had things cut short in such an unexpected and definitive way. And having people come and understand that the tragedy of that moment is real and the sadness of it can impact our lives, but it doesn’t have to define our lives or our relationships. That brings to mind again the peace and reconciliation story. One of the most powerful stories I love to share is a story of a Japanese bombardier and a Marine bugler that were on the opposite ends of the story — who came together during one of the commemorations and ended up forming a friendship, a bond of love for one another. It’s such a powerful reminder that we can move past those differences and form bonds and relationships that are transformative and beautiful.

Favorite thing to do at Pearl Harbor National Memorial?
Going and being on the sacred ground at that location. Being able to see those names and know that is a place where we get to honor them. It’s not just a location where we memorialize those individuals — with over 900 of the 1,177 that lost their lives on the Arizona never being able to be removed from the ship, that’s also their burial site. That’s their graveyard. Being able to connect with them and have a quiet moment in that hallowed and reverent location is amazing.

Park on your bucket list?
Some people are going to say, wait, you’ve never been there? Hawaii Volcanoes National Park — I’m right here and I haven’t been able to go yet. I went for a training over there and was like, oh, I’ll wait till it stops raining. It always rains in Hilo. I worked at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, and that location has some connections to the hotspot that created the Hawaiian Islands — similar to how Yellowstone has the hotspot that creates all the geothermal activity. So going and actually connecting with and being there when there’s an actual eruption is a goal. I definitely want to go see it.

Three must-haves for a park visit?
Water bottle, camera, and can I say my family?

Favorite campfire activity?
Although I don’t like marshmallows, I love roasting s’mores with my family — it’s just the chocolate and graham cracker for me. But just sitting together and talking and having those treats and a lot of fond memories.

Tent, camper, or cabin?
As I’m getting older, I need an air mattress — but still in a tent.

Hiking with or without trekking poles?
Without.

Favorite trail snack?
Fruit leather strips.

Best animal sighting?
Grizzly bear at Yellowstone.

Favorite sound in the park?
At Pearl Harbor, we have nice quiet, peaceful, calm waters out on the memorial. It’s just powerful. It’s amazing.

Greatest gift the parks give to us?
Enduring stories and places for generations to come.

Missy: David, thank you so much for being part of The Parks Podcast and sharing this incredible space. It has been too long, and I may need to plan another trip out there. Thank you for joining us today.

David: Glad to. Thank you so much. Thanks for the opportunity.

Missy: That’s all for today’s episode. Until next time — we’ll see you in the parks.

Music for The Parks Podcast is performed and produced by Porter Hardy. Follow us @TheParksPodcast or visit TheParksPodcast.com.