Dec. 3, 2009
HONOLULU, Hawaii -- The Wisconsin football team took time before its practice on Thursday to visit one of the most famous memorials in the United States, the Pearl Harbor Memorial. The players, coaches and staff spent about 90 minutes at the site, watching a short movie about the history behind the bombing of Pearl Harbor then taking the short boat ride out to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.
Photo Gallery | Video 1 | Video 2 | Video Interview: Clay and Maragos
The trip to the memorial got off to bit of a rough start when the bus carrying the offensive players and coaches broke down on Interstate H1. The players were forced to get off the bus and onto the third bus, carrying the specialists and most of the freshmen on the trip. Some staff members had to get off that bus and wait about 10 minutes for the fourth bus, which included staff members and spouses of coaches and staff.
Once that situation was averted and everyone had arrived at the site, the memorial was a moving experience for everyone. There was a museum that the players walked through, and then the players moved into the theatre. A 15-minute film outlined the events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor and showed graphic footage of what happened on that fateful day.
After the movie, the team boarded a boat for a three-minute ride out to the memorial, situated atop the sunken U.S.S Arizona. The silence was deafening. There were more than 80 players and probably 30 staff walking through the memorial but not a word was said.
Chris Borland's brother, who is in the Army and stationed in Hawaii, joined the team on the tour and asked those in attendance to remember one of his fallen comrades who was killed a year ago Friday in Iraq. It put a real face to what we were seeing.
Isaac Anderson and Kraig Appleton were both overheard asking Borland which direction the Japanese planes came from during their attack. Nick Toon told Chris Maragos that this was his second visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial but the first time he was too young to grasp its importance.
It was refreshing to see the interest that the players took in the history and significance of the memorial. On a trip that promises once-in-a-lifetime experiences in many ways for many players, this one will be memorable for all.
