USS Arizona Memorial Now Open Outside D-backs Spring Training Facility

By Jessica Swarner

February 24, 2020

The memorial honors the more than 1,100 sailors who died on the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attacks. 

Fans of Arizona Diamondbacks spring training now have more to see at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick than just baseball.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which owns the land near Scottsdale where the D-backs field is located, opened a memorial for the USS Arizona Memorial this weekend. 

The memorial, located next to one of the sports facility’s parking lots, honors the 1,177 sailors who died on the World War II vessel when it was bombed during the Pearl Harbor attacks in 1941. 

The display includes more than 1,500 columns that form an outline of the ship. It also features the vessel’s original boathouse, which was part of the USS Arizona’s memorial in Hawaii for a decade.  

“As a nation, we are forever indebted to those who serve and give their lives for our freedom and we are proud to honor them and share their stories in these gardens,” the memorial’s website states. 

Sen. Martha McSally attended the memorial’s dedication ceremony on Friday.

“Honored to join our WWII veterans and Arizona community for the dedication of the USS Arizona Memorial Gardens at Salt River last night,” she said Saturday in a tweet. “We will always remember the sacrifice of the brave servicemembers who defended our country on the USS Arizona.”

The original USS Arizona memorial in Honolulu was built in 1962 above the sunken remains of the ship. It was recently renovated and reopened in fall 2019.

More than 2,400 Americans died in the Pearl Harbor attacks, including nearly 70 civilians. The bodies of more than 900 sailors could not be recovered from the USS Arizona.

Author

  • Jessica Swarner

    Jessica Swarner is the community editor for The Copper Courier. She is an ASU alumna and previously worked at KTAR News 92.3 FM in Phoenix.

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