I stop every year on December 7th, and think about Pearl Harbor. A relative from my family was on the USS Arizona, so the date always carried weight. Later in my career I had the honor to take part in several remembrance events and ceremonies, meet survivors, and spend long stretches in Hawaii over a few years while working with the US Navy and the National Park Service to document the USS Arizona and USS Utah in 3D.
We mapped the ships above and below the water with LiDAR, sonar, and photogrammetry. The work pushed our tools both hardware and software, but the tech was never the point. The goal was to preserve what remains and help tell the story of the crews. Every scan and photo felt like a small act of respect and preservation.
One moment that stays with me was watching the Park Service return the ashes of a former Arizona crew member down to the ship. The family stood nearby while Navy divers carried him home down onto the ship in a special underwater urn. The quiet on the memorial that morning said everything.
I met a few survivors during those years. They spoke plainly. No drama. Just the truth of what they lived through. Those conversations changed how I see service, sacrifice, and memory.
The Arizona still rests where she sank. Oil still rises as tears on the surface. Visitors stand over the ship and look down through the water. Most do not say a word. They do not need to.
I am grateful I had the chance to help document these ships and to honor the people connected to them. December 7th will always be a day to slow down and remember.
Earlier posts
Back in Hawaii for the December 7 remembrance
3D print of the WWII battleship USS Arizona
Creating 3D models of the USS Arizona and USS Utah using underwater photogrammetry
USS Arizona in 3D on this US Memorial Day
