What was so speical about the USS Arizona?

Answer 1

Answer

The USS Arizona was considered an obsolete battleship by the standards of the day.

Its significance comes from its use as a rallying point for morale by the US government. The destruction of the Arizona during the Dec 7th attacks was horrific enough for the US government to make it a symbol for patriotic revenge against the "sneaky, underhanded" Japanese. In essence, the government could point to the wreck of the Arizona and say: "Look at what those evil Japanese did! Let's go out and KICK THEIR ASS for daring to do something so bad!"

Propaganda is a wonderful thing, eh?

Answer 2

The USS Arizona was a battleship located on Battleship Row on the morning of December 7, 1941. On the morning of the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese, she exploded when her magazine was hit, sinking nearly instantly, killing 1177 crewmen onboard. These men were among the first casualties of World War 2 suffered by the United States.

Answer 3

To most people it's because it caused US entry into WW2. However, practically any reason could have caused US entry into WW2...sooner or later; unrestricted German submarine warfare caused US entry into WW1 (in 1917)...and that was over 2 years after German submarines sank the civilian ocean liner Lusitania in 1915. The "Strategically Correct" reason the attack is so important is that is CAUSED the US Navy to rely on AIRCRAFT CARRIERS instead of battleships to fight the Japanese Navy. With the battlewagons gone, the USN had no choice but to use carriers. Had the USN used US battleships to fight Imperial Navy aircraft carriers; the USN would have LOST the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, etc. In short, WW2 history would have been different...and bloodier for the US Navy.

Answer 4

its a respect thing for all the men who died on the Arizona, it was over 1000 men in seconds