Mitsuko Kaneshiro, who was born in Okinawa and whose family sought refuge in caves near the end of World War II, passed away on August 5, 2024, at the age of 93. In a 2024 interview, she talked about her experience.

Pearl Harbor survivor Francis J. “Frank” Hanley, who passed away on May 5, 2015, at the age of 101, was interred at the Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu, HI, on September 25, 2024.

The USS Oklahoma was hit by several torpedoes early in the Pearl Harbor attack and capsized, resulting in the deaths of 429 Sailors and Marines.

At the 2023 Live Dive event, visitors watched in real time at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial theater as NPS Ranger Billy Crowe took them underwater to the USS Arizona and answered questions about the ship and its history.

US Navy Fireman Second Class (F2c) Joseph W. Carroll, 20, who died aboard USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941, was accounted for on Aug. 19, 2019, and laid to rest on August 21, 2024.

On September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan officially surrendered, marking the end of World War II.

V-J Day, or Victory over Japan Day, marks the end of World War II, one of the most destructive wars in history. When President Harry S. Truman announced on Aug. 14, 1945, that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, people around the world erupted in celebration.

Pacific Historic Parks (PHP) is honored to present a WWII Education Initiative based on the story of Sadako Sasaki who was 2 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on her village of Hiroshima on August 6, 1944. Sadako died from the nuclear radiation at the age of 12, but not before folding the traditional Japanese 1,000 origami cranes to make her wish come true. Today, Sadako’s cranes are international symbols of peace, hope and goodwill.