University of Arizona mall to display USS Arizona memorial
Nov 17, 2015, 12:00 PM
PHOENIX — The University of Arizona will host a public memorial for the USS Arizona starting next fall, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
Tucson residents will install bronze medallions, which will include the name, rank, home state and birth and death year for the 1,177 servicemen and women who perished aboard the Arizona, on the mall.
The mall is about the same size of the Arizona, which was sunk by Japanese bombs during the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941, according to the article.
Project designer David Carter, whose father served in the Navy during World War II, said he hopes the memorial will create “the beginning of a connection to the sacrifice made to allow us to have the society we enjoy today.”
“Names are one thing, but if we have a display that puts it in a visual context, it’s very powerful,” Carter said in an interview with the Daily Star.
Bill Westcott, project organizer, said the memorial is important in order to pass on memories and reminders to the younger generations.
“Real important historic events get buried, and it’s each generation’s responsibility to unbury them,” Westcott said in an interview with the Daily Star.
The memorial will break ground next summer and is expected to cost approximately $150,000.
Robert Smith with the university said UA is “very supportive of this initiative.”
“We at the UA have a long tradition of honor and respect for the USS Arizona,” Smith said in an email sent to the Daily Star.
Carter said he plans to preview the memorial for USS Arizona survivors when they visit the campus in December.
