Dateline: April 30, 2007

On April 29, 2007—a date which will live in infamy—the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center was with malice aforethought suddenly and deliberately destroyed by order of elements of the The Arizona Memorial Management and National Park Service (among others).

The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center was at peace with that organization, and, at the solicitation of NPS, was still in conversation with its governing body looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

It will be recorded that the distance of Pearl Harbor Visitor Center from the sinking Arizona Memorial complex makes it obvious that the PHVC attack was deliberately planned many months or even years ago. During the intervening time, the various entities representing The Arizona Memorial complex and National Park Service has deliberately sought to deceive the visitors, national and international, by false statements and expressions of hope for a peaceful resolution.

The demise yesterday of the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center in the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to the integrity, honor, and credibility of American naval and military forces living and deceased ... and above all, has caused the discomforture of millions of future visitors to this hallowed area.

I regret to tell you that many American livelihoods have been lost. Indeed, American businessess have been torpedoed on the asphalt between The Arizona Memorial complex and the USS BOWFIN Memorial.

The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States and the global community at large have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and fabric of our visitors to Hawaii. It does not bode well.

As a citizen concerned with our reputation as a country who honors those who serve, I have directed that all measures be taken for the visitors' continued support and nurturance as they continue to come forth and pay their deepest respect to those gallant few who gave their all so that freedom (in all its forms) would be maintained.

But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us, the visitors ... who will continue our pilgrimage to this hallowed ground, the USS ARIZONA gravesite.

Signed:

Your Aggrieved Reporter

 

Petition: We, the visiting global public, respectfully submit that the National Park Service must respect our Veterans both living and deceased.

Immediately preceding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the National Park Service, in their infinite wisdom, prevented the U.S. Army from installing radar equipment on the highest mountain tops in Hawaii, worried about how they would have an adverse effect on the scenic beauty and vistas of the area.

Many historians believe that had the radar equipment been installed on these mountain tops, our armed forces might have been alerted prior to the attacks in which over 2,403 were killed.

Hundreds of thousands of WWII vets and their families, and other tourists over the years have simply been taken for granted by the National Park Service (NPS) which manages the Arizona Memorial and Visitors Center. Visitor services and facilities have chronically been in short supply because of an apparent lax attitude towards visitors ... to the hallowed USS Arizona; They'll come anyway!

Well, this wasn't okay with a gentleman named Patrick Brent, a former US Marine corporal turned multi-successful entrepreneur.

Literally appalled by and ashamed of the plight of long suffering visitors to the Center, he leased from the Navy and scrubbed clean an adjacent abandoned and filthy parking lot, set up a 5000 square foot state-of the-art "big white tent", with power, plumbing, and a couple of dozen expensive ergonomically designed table and bench units. He recruited eighteen private vendors employing 150 local folks.

After a private outlay of a quarter of a million or so, visitors had access to shade, comfort, and an assortment of quality foods, from gourmet burgers, to soft ice cream.

For the first time ever, visitors were provided unprecedented comforts and facilities and they flocked to the tent before, between, and after their visits to the Arizona and other Pearl Harbor attractions.

Predictably, the NPS having increasingly brought the weight of it's bureaucracy down on Admiral T. Alexander, Commander Navy Region Hawaii, convincing him to rescind Brent's lease several months prematurely, ie 1 May, 07. So much for the NPS hype that the visitors come first�, not to mention the demise of 18 small businesses and 150 jobs.

I, the undersigned, demand that The National Park Service and the United States Navy keep this visitor center open, so all WWII Vets, their families and others are treated with the respect that they so richly deserve.

Sincerely,

A future visitor (perhaps)...

Patrick:

As the final day of serving our visitors comes tomorrow, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you how very proud I am of what you have done for those millions of people who come to see our wonderful and historical attractions at Pearl Harbor. You found a need and filled it, but more importantly you did it with dignity and pinache.

You may have stepped on several toes, as the venerable Senator says, but you also opened the eyes of many people in the Navy, at Pearl Harbor, and in the government who said "It couldn't be done."

Now, as phase one comes to an end, you leave with the same dignity and care for our Navy and Marine Corps team that led you into this venture three years ago. What is being done to you, to our vendors and our crewmembers is unconscionable, and yet not to be unexpected from the bureaucrats who are in control, both here and on the Mainland.

May you go forward, boldly, and take this wonderful theme of World War II Remembrance to a different audience, all the time honoring the fallen heroes who were at Pearl Harbor 66 years ago. And you will still providing a better venue for today's visitor than the second-class experience they will receive if they actually go to the USS Arizona Memorial and its 'partners in crime' neighbors.

I personally wish to thank you for allowing me to be a part of your team, from almost day one. I loved being a crewmember, talking with the visitors, sharing my knowledge of Pearl Harbor with them, and having the chance to sell my books. We did some fine PR and Promotional things along the way, and I apologize to you for not doing more to save the venture earlier than we did.

You are a true American patriot, a smart businessman, and a person I am proud to know.

Thank you for everything you've done for me and my family, and I want you to know that if you can use me, I want to be a part of whatever you're next venture is.

Many thanks for the way you've treated me over the past two and a half years, and I salute you... Mahalo for everything you do for our country and for our PHVC family (which continues to be).

Aloha,

Bill Bigelow