USS Arizona Memorial
Honolulu
In the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 7, 1941, lives “in infamy” as the day that Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,335 sailors, soldiers and marines and drawing America into World War II. Nearly half of those killed were on board the battleship USS Arizona. Today, the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument pays homage to those who died in the surprise attack, and the centerpiece is the USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial is built on the water above the sunken Arizona and is accessible only by boat.
Wright Brothers National Memorial
Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
Not all national memorials mark the sites of sad events. At the Wright Brothers National Memorial in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, visitors celebrate one of the greatest achievements in American history: the birth of manned flight. Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first successful airplane flight on these beaches in December 1903. Today, guests can visit the spots where the first flight started and ended, see reconstructed 1903 camp buildings, climb into the pilot’s seat of a re-created Wright Flyer and pay their respects at the 60-foot-tall Wright Brothers Monument.
The Alamo
San Antonio
Many memorials are built after a historic event has taken place. But the Alamo is different. Constructed in 1718 as a Spanish mission in what was then Mexico, the Alamo became famous for the remarkable 13-day stand that took place there in 1836 during Texas’ war for independence. Though Davy Crockett and his compatriots eventually lost the battle — and their lives — their heroics made the Alamo an instantly recognizable symbol. Today the Alamo is an icon of San Antonio, and visitors can immerse themselves in the original mission architecture and see artifacts from the battle that occurred there.
