During my time stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 2015, I experienced something that I still think about often. Pearl Harbor, with its deep history and the tragic events of December 7, 1941, has always been a place of reverence and reflection for sailors.
One night, I was assigned to a night watch on the USS Arizona Memorial, a solemn duty that I took very seriously. The memorial was quiet, illuminated only by the soft lights along the walkway. Around midnight, as I was making my rounds, I heard faint whispers and the sound of footsteps behind me. Thinking it was a fellow sailor, I turned around, but no one was there.
As I continued my patrol, I saw a shadowy figure standing near the edge of the memorial, looking out over the water. He was dressed in an old Navy uniform, the kind worn during World War II. I approached him, calling out, but he didn’t respond. When I got closer, the figure turned towards me, revealing a face marked with sadness. Then, as suddenly as he appeared, he vanished into thin air.
Shaken, I completed my watch and reported the incident. My superiors listened but chalked it up to the eerie atmosphere and my imagination. However, I later learned that I wasn’t the first to encounter the ghostly sailor. Many others had reported similar sightings over the years. The ghost of Pearl Harbor remains a poignant reminder of the sailors who lost their lives there, their spirits seemingly still watching over the site.