Pearl Harbor: Into The Arizona Page #5

everything still in its place.

A bed, as it was left on

the morning of the attack.

They travel on, deeper into the ship,

entering another cabin.

- Kind of want to peer around,

like you want to peer around the side

of the monitor to get a better view.

(divers talking over radio)

It's angled, so it looks

like we're at the hull.

So come back up.

- [ROV Operator] Yeah,

there's no vertical.

- We have no vertical.

Whoa, what's that?

Hang on, stop spooling.

What is that?

It's a button of some type.

- It's a hat.

- No way.

- Absolutely, look, brim, you get a strap.

- You're right.

- [Narrator] It's like

opening a time capsule.

- That has to tell us about

the interior condition.

This must not have oxygen.

I mean, it must be really low in oxygen.

- [Narrator] Low oxygen

concentration slows

the decomposition of organic matter.

(tense music)

- It's like, what is it?

It looks like it's cloth, metal, no.

No, it's--

- Wow, look at that.

- It's a jacket!

Oh, my word.

- [Narrator] A complete uniform.

- Look at that.

- It's got like a vest or

pants or something in it.

- Unbelievable.

- [Brett] It's amazing.

Suspended, hanging there.

- Yeah, 75 year, just

hanging there perfect.

I mean, it looks like it's pressed.

- [Narrator] It's an unexpected find.

A reminder of the men

who lived and died here.

And of the world Ensign Weedan documented

with his camera in 1941.

While there is still

much left to be explored,

the crew ends the day

with a feeling of success.

- You're staring at somebody's suit.

It's been there for 75 years, and it's,

I mean, it's hanging on a

hanger in an officer's cabin.

It's hard to be kind of

objective about science

when you're staring

face-to-face on a uniform

that's been there for 75

years on the USS Arizona.

It's pretty remarkable,

actually, it's unbelievable.

- [Narrator] 1,511 crewmen served onboard

the USS Arizona on the

morning of December 7th, 1941.

Only a few survived.

1,177 men died in the

explosion and ensuing fires.

Ensign Weedan was one of them.

- It was a Sunday, and my

mother was setting the table,

and the doorbell rang, and

she went to answer the door,

and it was the neighbor.

And she just said, "Bernadine,

turn on your radio.

"Hawaii's under attack."

And that's how they found out.

- [Narrator] He had big dreams.

- His goal was to have his own ship.

He had a mission, he knew

what he wanted to do.

And his ultimate goal was

to be Admiral of the Navy.

- [Narrator] Ensign Weedan's

body was never found.

But now, at last, his family can see

the world the young officer lived in.

The devastating attack united a nation.

- [Newscaster] Explosions at Pearl Harbor

that has forged the will for complete

and absolute victory

over the forces of evil.

- With confidence in our armed forces,

with the unbounding

determination of our people,

we will gain the inevitable

triumph, so help us God.

- [Narrator] One day after the attack,

the United States

declares war against Japan

and subsequently against the

empire's European allies, too.

Today, Japan and the

United States are allies.

Japan's Navy pays their

respects to the departed

at the National Memorial

Cemetery of the Pacific on Oahu.

The war that cost the

lives of over 400,000

U.S. Servicemen has faded into history.

- And the Arizona offers us

an opportunity to keep history alive.

We want people to understand that

this was a living, breathing ship.

This was manned by people who

lost their lives in a blink.

- [Narrator] For Don Stratton,

the exploration has brought closure.

- I'm glad they've been able to do that.

I don't want the United

States to forget about this

and that it could happen again.

But my shipmates that are still there,

they're really the heroes.

It's been a long time.

(contemplative music)

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