Its striking black granite walls symbolize the massive hull of the formidable battleship it memorializes. The white marble standards represent the heroes who manned the USS OKLAHOMA , and are dedicated to the 429 sailors and marines who lost their lives when the ship sank during the 1941 strike on PEARL HARBOR .
vessel was a massive job, but it was fidnally floated in early 1943, and the bodies of the 429 casualties were recovered for burial.
Unfortunately, the ship went down again while under tow to Oakland, California. She rests 540 miles northeast of the islands.