TUCSON, Ariz (KGUN) — On the University of Arizona campus there was a different sort of Veterans Day remembrance—--for the crew of the Battleship Arizona, where almost 12 hundred sailors and Marines died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. It included sailors from a new warship named Arizona who came to soak up the spirit of the old Battleship.
The Battleship Arizona had a big crew, proud of the powerful ship, but the big ship meant to fight in the open sea fell to the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor that brought the U.S. into World War Two. 1,177 Sailors and Marines died on Arizona that day.
Now a new Virginia Class fast attack submarine will take the Arizona name back to sea, with torpedoes and missiles instead of big guns. The new sub is still under construction, for now it’s called PCU (Pre-Commissioning Unit) Arizona. It will become USS Arizona when it’s complete, and commissioned.
UA holds much of the spirit of the Battleship Arizona, including the ship’s bell and a monument made from the ship’s anchor chain, so sailors from the new Arizona came to campus to make some of that spirit their own.
Commander Thomas Digan is the first Captain of the new Arizona.
“We're the first crew on the submarine Arizona. So we set the culture, we set the tone, and we come up with the identity of the crew and the ship right now. So we want to get that right.”
It’s a myth that the Arizona in Pearl Harbor is still a commissioned ship so the Navy. It’s a National Monument in the care of the National Park Service, so the Navy is free to use the name again.
The Navy decided to revive the Arizona name in 2019.
Teri Mann’s Uncle William died on Arizona. She says when the Navy wanted to name a new ship Arizona, it asked Arizona survivors still alive at the time if they approved using the name again.
“And the Navy had great reverence by going out to the survivors that were still here, because they wanted to bring that World War Two heritage forward in remembrance.”
And she says when the new USS Arizona goes to sea it will ride on the shoulders of the sailors who went before her.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.