By Arizona Capitol Museum
Arizona Capitol Museum
This exhibit, a showcase in the Arizona Capitol Museum for decades, features a portion of the ship’s hull
recovered as part of a salvage operation, an Arizona flag recovered from the scene, and an U.S. flag belonging to
Commanding Officer Capt. Franklin Van Valkenburgh. The American flag was salvaged from the sunken battleship after the
attack and still bears oil stains from being in the water of Pearl Harbor. In addition, several artifacts that have never been displayed in public are included in this exhibit, such as rarely
seen artifacts including: the State of Arizona flag flown from the ship’s
starboard yardarm; a 1918 seaman’s diary; brass and silver Navy bugle; 1940
handmade USS Arizona baseball team pennant; and a never before displayed piece
of the U.S.S. Arizona itself; among other unique items.
This smaller piece of the U.S.S. Arizona was recently unearthed in the Arizona Capitol Museum Collection, it has never been displayed in public prior to now. It was sent to the Museum by David Gibson of the AZ Memorial Museum Assn.
This rusted relay switch has a removable metal lid with cap. It's hollow inside, with hollow valves attached to each side. Inside, there lies a removable unknown part.
"Desperate Resolve" is one of the newer pieces of our U.S.S. Arizona collection - it was sculpted in 1991 by William Hunter to commemorate the Arizona on Pearl Harbor Day - December 7th.
Sailor's Personal Items
Photo album kept by Louis Conter - Leather tie on left border. Stamped text reads: LOGALBUM. Image on cover of eagle, anchor & ship. Caption by ship reads: USS Arizona.
Handmade picture frame, belonging to Donald Gordon
Notations in this diary include periodic entries, tracking of pay, and spending in the back as well as notations on the calendar.
U.S.S. Arizona casualty, James Mattox, posthumous Presidential Citation - (signed) Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States
1918 Diary Notebook, USS Arizona - belonging to George Leyme. Vertical format, black cover - Bound on top, ruled pages, contains dated diary entries for 1918.
The cover is two pieces of black leather bound together by a black shoestring, with plastic tips on ends. The front cover is embossed gold: "Pictoral Log/U.S.S.ARIZONA"
This log was used for recording travel information.
Purple Heart given to James Mattox, casualty on the U.S.S. Arizona
1924 USS Arizona Efficiency "E" Medal, awarded to Patrick Keeshan
Mother/M is for the Million things she gave me/O means only that she's growing old/T is for the Tears she shed to save me/H is for her heart of purest gold/E is for her eyes with love light shining/R means Right and right she'll always be/Put them all together and they spell Mother/A word that means the world to me.
This certificate relates to the line-crossing ceremony, a long naval tradition to initiate 'pollywogs', sailors who have never crossed the Equator, into the Kingdom of Neptune upon their first crossing of the Equator.
Thimble, hand; made of brown leather to fit over palm, has hole for thumb. Actual metal thimble part is 1/2" in diameter. Heavy off-white thread used to stitch leather together. Used to sew/repair anything made of canvas; also used for "whipping" line with a smaller line to keep line ends from fraying.
U.S.S. Arizona gunnery patch
Items from the ship
Courses on the menu for the Christmas Dinner in 1917 include soups, relishes, entrees, roasts, and desserts.
Center, lettering reads: U.S.S. Arizona/November 28, 1918: AT SEA EN ROUTE "OVER THERE" Images of turkeys, pumpkins and fields along rightt and bottom borders.
Arizona Capitol Museum
Steve Peter
Stephanie Mahan
Jack August
