Top Pearl Harbor & WWII Websites
07 March 2008
In an effort to provide quality historical content to adults and students alike, I have created a new feature designed to list the best of the best in Pearl Harbor and WWII websites.
These websites will be checked by us monthly to ensure they meet our Family Friendly standards.
If you have a website you would like to add to this list please go to
http://pearlharbor.top-site-list.com to add your website to the list.
There is also a new forum community there which we hope you will join for discussions on military topics at
http://pearlharbor.top-site-list.com/forum.html. Our current
USS Arizona Message Board will remain active for those wishing to use it.
New Features for Visually Impaired & Foreign Visitors
27 February 2008
I have installed a new tool for our visually impaired visitors. To make the pages with extensive text easier to read, you will now find a tool that will enlarge the text on those pages. This should also be a handy tool for those of us who just want to give our eyes a little break. Please let me know if you have any problems using this new tool. Be sure to include the type of Operating System you are using (windows xp, vista, mac, etc.) and the type of browser you have (aol, internet explorer, firefox, etc)
Another new tool at the top and bottom of every page is a language translator. This will translate the website to the language of your choice. Be aware that this is a "machine" translation and not a "human" translation which means it is by no means 100% accurate, but it should allow non-english speaking visitors to enjoy our website a little easier in their native language.
There is no element to return to English, but if you want to return to English simply click on any link in the GOLD menu bar at the TOP of every page.
Please
Contact Me with your comments and feedback on these new tools. I enjoy hearing from all of our visitors.
N. Nease - Webmaster
Special Exhibit
7 January 2008
Our new exhibit,
Faces from the Arizona from our Special Collections is now available for viewing. Here you will find over 200 photos of the men of the USS Arizona. This is one of the largest collections of individual photos of the USS Arizona crew available anywhere.
Faces from the Arizona will be displayed on our website through February 29, 2008.
Ahead of Schedule - Into the New Year
29 December 2007
The new format for the website is ahead of schedule and due to be completed before the first of the year!
I have done some extensive work in the
Survivor Stories section of the website. The John Anderson video has been added. I have also added 6 new stories for survivors: DeWayne Barth, Martin B. Bruns, John W. Henry, John P. Howatt, James D. Lancaster, and Herman "Bud" Schafer. An additional 16 stories have been updated.
I will begin work on the
USS Arizona Crew & Casualty Stories this weekend as well as adding the long-awaited Pearl Harbor Survivor Stories, which will cover stories of men at Pearl Harbor not on the Arizona.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Merry Christmas!
23 December 2007
It has been a busy week. The new look of the website is coming along faster than I anticipated. It should be complete within a few weeks.
I have added several new lists to our
Casualty & Survivor Lists. Most of the lists are now in PDF format. PDF allows easier printing as well as built in search to make searching these very long lists easier.
There is a new page added to the band section,
Band Trophy, which will tell you more about how the USS Arizona Band came to be awarded this trophy even though they did not play the night of December 6, 1941 and did not win the trophy.
Merry Christmas to all of our viewers!
Busy Month
11 December 2007
First off let me say thank you to everyone who has continued to visit our site and support our work. I am happy to report we had 15,609 visitors on December 7 this year, over 8,000 more than last year!
Many of our regular visitors may have noticed the extreme changes the site has gone through in the last month. I have added so many new features that once again, we needed a total overhaul in the design and navigation of our website. This project will take months to complete, but it will be worth the time.
Part of the new navigation includes "hub" pages to the major areas of the site. This will help with finding what you are looking for as well as helping you return to where you came from.
I am very excited about some of our new features.
We now have a videos in our
Media Center. Here you will find old newsreels as well as survivor stories.
In our
History Section you will find a new section with historic newspapers. I think these will really help the school kids with their research and most of you should find them quite interesting.
We have a new section called
Features. Here you will find the basics of our website along with classroom helps and student projects. There are also USS Arizona and Pearl Harbor wallpapers you can download for your computer desktop.
Most of the pages in our website do not have the new navigation in place yet so be sure to navigate back to the
Home Page to find all of the new features as you are looking through the website.
DONATIONS: If you are interested in helping to support this website, please visit our
Donations Page to find out the different ways you can help. With the ever-increasing costs of running a website of this magnitude, any gift you can give will help. Thank you.
I hope you enjoy the new look of our site and find the new navigation helpful. I would appreciate hearing your comments and suggestions so shoot me an email anytime at
nnease@ussarizona.org.
USS Arizona Bookstore
12 November 2007
We have partnered with Amazon.com to bring you our pick of books and videos about the USS Arizona and Pearl Harbor. The books we have chosen are known for their historical accuracy. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the books and videos will be used to help offset the ever rising costs of maintaining this website for your enjoyment. We hope you will take a moment to browse our the new
USS Arizona Bookstore.
Death of USS Arizona Survivor
30 June 2007
I am sad to report that survivor, John "Jack" McCarron has passed away 22 June 2007. He will be missed by all.
Click here for story.
Message Board Update
15 June 2007
Due to several emails regarding registration problems with the
Message Board, I have disabled the visual verification from the registration process. This will make registration easier, but could allow spammers to attack the board. If I find problems with spam, I will have no choice but to reactivate the visual verification.
Website News
13 June 2007
The
Casualty and Survivor Lists have been updated. A new
Detailed USS Arizona Casualty List has been added. This list contains a wealth of information and many years of research by Survivor,
Vincent "Jim" Vlach, Ship's Crew Data Chairman, Retired. It is by no means 100% complete, but I believe it is the most accurate and detailed list available online. This list was submitted in 2004. I am sorry it has taken so long to make available. There were months of work to make it internet ready. Thank you Jim for your years of work and for contributing this list for the website. It will be a valuable source of information for students, educators, historians, and geneologists world wide!
During the numerous illnesses that plagued our family in the last couple of years, I inadvertently filed away a student project that was submitted to the website. I would like to personally apologize to the student, Greg, for this oversight. The project is now on the
Featured Student Projects page.
Job well done Greg!
The
WWII and Related Poetry section is back online. Just like with
Budd's Poetry, when the poetry was on our original website, each poem had its own page and a wonderful background picture to go with it. I have included the original background that appeared with each poem back in 1999. Enjoy!
Message Board Problems I have received a couple of emails from people experiencing problems trying to create a new message board account. The problem seems to be coming from the computer generated numbers and letters that you have to type in to open your new account. This is necessary to prevent spam attacks but is nearly impossible to type correctly. If you are having a problem opening an account on the Message Board, please
email me with the user name and password you desire. I will open the account for you and email you your account information. I am sorry for this problem, but this type of signup is needed to prevent the spam attacks we have had in the past. Thank you for your understanding.
Our new website look is nearly completed. The photo galleries, individual survivor & crew stories and a few miscellaneous pages still need to be upgraded. It has taken nearly 60 hours of work and will probably be over 100 hours upon completion, but I think it was well worth the effort. Your navigation of the website should be much smoother.
If you experience any problems viewing the new site, please
email me me with the problem you are having as well as the type of browser you are using, for example Netscape 7, Internet Explorer 6, Safari etc. Please also include your operating system such as Window Vista, XP, Mac etc. Thank you for your patience during this upgrade.
Awards Page Update
8 June 2007
Our
Awards Page has been updated. I hope you will take the time to view our new awards. We feel honored to have so many wonderful awards and comments about this website.
These awards not only honor the website, but the men of the U.S.S. Arizona and those who gave their lives at Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941. These men are the true recipients of the many awards our website has recieved.
New Look
4 June 2007
During this last month I have been rebuilding our website. So much was lost in "cyberspace" and it has been quite a task.
One thing became crystal clear to me as I was working to rebuild the site; a technical upgrade for the website is needed. So, over the next few weeks you will be seeing a new look gradually take over the website. This new look has some "high-tech" elements that will help me update the site faster and with less interuption but will also give you, the viewer, a much more pleasing experience as well as easier navigation.
Let me know what you think of the new look. I welcome all comments and suggestions. Enjoy!
Memorial Day
1 June 2007
Memorial Day was a busy day for our website. We had 703 viewers from all over the world! Since September 1999 we have had over 1,140,000 visitors!
Reunion Albums
27 May 2007
I have begun the task of bringing back the
Reunion Albums. Many photos were lost in "cyberspace" and I am working as rapidly as I can to rebuild what is left. I hope that some of our members will donate reunion photos to this area of the website. Thank you for your patience.
Newsletters Are Complete
26 May 2007
The
Newsletters and other printed material have been fully uploaded. There are 61 items now available to view.
If you have any newsletters or other printed memorabilia that you would like to share on this website, please
contact me for submission instructions. Thank you.
Resource Links have been updated. If you would like your website added to this list, please
contact me.
Newsletters Are Back!
21 May 2007
I have begun the tedious task of putting the
Newsletters back online. I hope to add 10 per day. Because so much was lost in "cyberspace" and I no longer have the original newsletters, the images available are not high quality. They are taken from scans of the original documents then enlarged to viewing size. For the most part, they are readable and worth the effort since they contain so much valuable information.
The newsletters date back to the ship's At 'Em Arizona newsletters of 1924. Along with the newsletters are various other printed material such as menus and programs.
Recent newsletters date back to the early 80's and there is lots of great historical information contained within their pages. To protect the privacy of current members of the Reunion Association, no newsletters will be available dating back the last 5 years. I will however, copy some of the significant stories from those newsletters for viewing.
News & Updates
20 May 2007
Budd's Poetry is Back! I am so pleased to announce that my father's poetry is back online. When the poetry was on our original website, each poem had its own page and a wonderful background picture to go with it. These different background images on websites have since gone "out of style" but were missed by many people. So, in bringing back the poetry, I have included the original background that appeared with each poem back in 1999. Enjoy!
The
Crew Stories are finally back online. Unfortunately many of the wonderful photos that were part of the crew stories have been lost. I am hoping to recover as many as possible. I will be adding additional crew stories over the next few weeks.
The
USS Arizona Band pages are also back. I have added photos of the band members next to their names. It's always nice to be able to put a face with the names. Be sure to check out the
Molly Kent page for information about her great book. Her brother, Clyde Richard Williams, was one of the band members KIA 7 Dec 1941.
Message Board is Back!
19 May 2007
Our
Message Board is back by popular demand. Over the last year I have had many people ask if I would bring back the message board. In the past, we have had problems with SPAM on the message board which could take hours to delete. Another problem was computer hackers who seemed to want to make unauthorized changes to it.
I am hoping that the board will be seen as a means of communication, education and a meeting place for those who love the Arizona. Let's hope that this time around (they say the third time is a charm) it will not be abused.
Over the next few days I will be updating the links on the menu to the message board. The link in this post works. If you find a non-working link to the message board, rest assured that I will be working my way through all the pages until the link is restored on all pages.
Survivor Stories Are Back!
16 May 2007
It has taken some time, but the
Survivor Stories are finally back online. There is still some work to be done to "polish" them, but they are live for you to view.
A new list has been added in the
Survivor Stories section which is a complete list of the
Known Living Survivors. This list is accurate to the best of our knowledge however, we welcome any input you may have. If you have photos & stories you would like to add for them, or know of any USS Arizona survivor still living who does not appear on this list, please contact us.
I will begin work on the
Crew Stories and expect to have them back online by tomorrow evening. Saturday I will begin work on restoring the band pages and expect to have them complete by Tuesday.
Thank you for your patience as I work to rebuild what has been lost.
News & Updates
13 May 2007
USS Arizona Flag On March 6, 2007 Budd Nease had the honor to be presented the United States Flag that was flown over the USS Arizona for the 65th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Read story on the
home page. Budd Nease will be celebrating his 75th birthday on the 17th of this month. Happy Birthday!
The
USS Arizona Survivors List has been updated. Eight years ago when I first typed the list, I left out a survivor, Dayton Merrill Genest. This was brought to my attention recently and has been corrected.
For this reason, I ask that the lists on this site not be copied and added to other websites. I have found that the old list is now displayed on many other websites with the missing name. This will have the overall affect of creating some confusion as to how many survivors there actually were.
Two new lists have been added to the
Casualty and Survivor Lists. The new lists contain much more detailed information about the survivors. Because these lists are new and are still being researched, I would again ask that they not be copied to other websites to avoid confusion. If you find inaccuracies or have information to add to these lists, please contact us. Thank you.
Survivor Stories are about half rebuilt. It will take a few more days to get them all back online. Unfortunately many photos were lost in "cyberspace". If you have any stories or photos you would like to donate, please contact us. Once the Survivor Stories are back online, I will begin work to rebuild the Crew Stories. I hope to have them all back online within the month.
Our
Awards page is back up. Check back regularly for new awards.
Jive Jumpin' Jukebox is the newest addition to our website. Here you will find WWII radio broadcasts as well as favorites like Glen Miller, Artie Shaw, Andrew Sisters, Bing Crosby and more. I hope you find this a fun and informative area of our website. This might seem like an unusual addition to our website, but music is an important part of our culture. Each generation has it's own music. I think this will be a fun yet educational way to allow the younger generations a peek into what the WWII generation was like when they were teens and young adults. I will be adding radio broadcasts as I find them along with new music on a regular basis. You will need to have Windows Media Player or Real Player installed on your computer to hear the files. Enjoy!
Thanks to all of our visitors who have signed the Guestbook. We really appreciate hearing from all of you!
We Are Back!
07 May 2007
As you may have noticed, we have been absent from the website for quite awhile. There have been some illnesses and other life-altering events that have kept us from spending the time necessary to properly maintain and update this website for nearly two years. During this absence, many pages of the site have "disappeared". One can only ponder on how this could happen. Over the next few weeks, I will be resuming my role as webmaster and begin to rebuild the website along with adding some new items.
My father and I would like to personally thank everyone who has emailed us to let us know that parts of the website were missing and also thank those of you who continue to visit and keep the memory of the USS Arizona and Pearl Harbor alive.
N. A. Nease
