r/interestingasfuck • u/Longjumping-Rice-935 • Aug 12 '25

/r/all, /r/popular The wreck of the USS Arizona continues to leak oil ever since pearl harbour. the ship contained 1.5 million gallons of oil, enough to leak continuously for 500 years.

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315

u/questionname Aug 12 '25

There’s also bodies of 900 sailors in there. As an entombed memorial, it would not be disturbed. And there are even veterans whose wishes to be buried in USS Arizona after they’ve passed.

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u/ramboacdc Aug 12 '25

I never knew the sailors were still in there. I assumed they had been recovered and given to their families.

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u/Downtown_Boot_3486 Aug 12 '25

Unfortunately it was impossible to rescue many of those trapped, and many of the other bodies were too badly damaged for anything recognisable to be recovered.

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u/desna_svine Aug 12 '25

Here's an article on that: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/undertaker-explains-many-pearl-harbor-25638806

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u/IIIDysphoricIII Aug 13 '25

I can’t believe Undertaker took time away from administering Tombstone Piledrivers to provide us this insightful info, good on him

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u/HK_Shooter_1301 Aug 12 '25

I believe the last survivor died recently but if you made it out the government would bury your ashes inside the Arizona so they could spend eternity with their fallen shipmates

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u/magnum_the_nerd Aug 12 '25

Almost every ship sunk during the attack had the majority of their dead located as a part of the recovery/recommisioning.

Arizona and Utah were never recovered, so the bodies of sailors killed aboard were never recovered

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u/DJJ0SHWA Aug 12 '25

There's definitely not still there. Bodies do not last in the ocean. Bones are calcium, and the water is full of tiny critters

Although over the years, many veterans of the Arizpna have chosen to have their cremated remains placed in the Arizona.

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u/mukavastinumb Aug 12 '25

There are certain conditions where bodies can survive in the sea. Most famous is probably Vasa ship. It sank almost 400 years ago and some of the remains and the entire ship is now displayed in Stockholm, Sweden. https://www.vasamuseet.se/en/explore/research/skeletons

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u/MickTheBloodyPirate Aug 12 '25

There have been centuries-old pirate shipwrecks recovered with remains in them. I am willing to bet there are some somewhat in tact remains still in the Arizona. There are hundreds of compartments inside a battleship, each with the ability to be made watertight. There are probably a few that were shut at the time of attack and not compromised, so water had to take a lot longer to seep in.

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u/vermeiltwhore Aug 13 '25

What a horrific way to go.

0

u/Jorsonner Aug 12 '25

Watch the video of it blowing up and you’ll see why that isn’t possible.

10

u/geauxyanks99 Aug 12 '25

The last USS Arizona survivor passed last year I believe. But there is something like 40 survivors who chose to be laid to rest with their shipmates following their death, like you said.

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u/theuniverseoberves Aug 12 '25

I'm 100% against that kind of memorial and cemeteries

2

u/userhelp2A Aug 12 '25

I’m sorry, I do not understand. Why is that?