How Elvis Presley Saved The USS Arizona Memorial

Above, the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Two days from now, the 77th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii will be observed.

In commemoration, Biography.com has posted an article on "How Elvis Presley Saved The USS Arizona Memorial".

The article begins with:

The battleship USS Arizona sank after being bombed when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. More than one thousand of the ship's sailors lost their lives with at least 900 of them still rest with the submerged ship. In the 1950s, plans took shape for the creation of an Arizona memorial. However, by 1960, less than half of the $500,000 needed had been raised. That would change after Elvis Presley performed at a benefit concert for the memorial on March 25, 1961. 

Above, the USS Arizona Memorial benefit concert.

When Elvis's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, learned of the fundraising shortfall, he thought a benefit concert would provide wonderful publicity for Elvis. The singer soon agreed to participate. And though Elvis' involvement wasn't out of character — he was known for his generosity to numerous people and organizations — supporting the USS Arizona Memorial was a particularly appropriate cause for him. 

On November 11, 1957, Elvis had sung in Hawaii for service members and their families; it was his final concert before he was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1958. And his recent service experience (he'd been honorably discharged in the spring of 1960) offered another connection to the fundraiser. He hadn't seen combat while stationed in Germany, but in another era, his time in uniform could have been much different. As Parker reminded people at a press conference about the concert, a 26-year-old Elvis was "about the average age of those boys entombed in the Arizona."

To read more, go here.