The timing of this would be unfortunate regardless. But right around Veterans Day seems like a real shame. But there is a safety issue and all is not lost for those wishing to pay tribute.

The National Park Service is indefinitely suspending visits to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor while engineers study its dock. Officials noticed that bolts connecting the deck were stressed.

Visitors can still board boats to the memorial and float past it. They can also view the Arizona's remnants. But there is no getting off the boats to walk on the memorial. That is unfortunate, as that what really gives you the feel for the sacred area you are visiting.

The open-air Arizona Memorial honors the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed during Japanese bombings on December 7, 1941. The long, white memorial structure sits above the sunken hull of the Arizona in Pearl Harbor.

I have been fortunate enough to visit the memorial twice and would proudly go again. Here's hoping they don't discover more problems while they're working to get the docks all ship-shape.

DB

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