Prior to the attack, there were a number of beautiful pieces of silver and silver sets on board. This silver service is now on display in the Arizona State Capital Museum. In "Battleship Arizona An Illustrated History" by Paul Stillwell there is a picture of the silver service on display on the quarterdeck soon after the USS Arizona was modernized. In the last shipyard period took place an activity referred to as "strip ship." When war seemed a question of when and not if, items that were not necessary during war were removed from the ship. Among these items were the pieces that made up the silver service. So, the pieces that you see in the museum were not recovered from the hulk at Pearl Harbor. According to Stillwell, after World War II the silver was put aboard the light cruiser "Tucson" and in the 1950s was on the ship "Adirondack".
This photo shows "The Cowboy Compotes" - engraved pieces that honor Arizona's cattle industry, and "Pima Chief Compotes" - two small compotes engraved with a portrait of a Pima Chief to honor the Native American tribes in Arizona. The candelabra in the picture is one of two with the Navy emblem and saguaro cactus and features feet that look like dolphins. The vases are two of four vases used on the USS Arizona. Pine tree decoration recognizes the diverse ecology of Arizona.
This centerpiece is engraved with images of the Carnegie Laboratory and a Gila Monster. I found this interesting as I've seen two Gila Monsters in the wild while hiking, which is a bit rare. They aren't often seen in the wild. The goblets make up a set of twelve and are decorated with an image of Arizona Rough Rider Buckey O'Neil's Monument in Prescott.
The eagle was broken off the centerpiece before the silver was returned to Arizona.
The humidor in this photo is engraved with ranching scenes and Tumacacori Mission in southern Arizona. It was used to store cigars and other tobacco products.
This is a set of two smoking trays. They contained tobacco products and were used to prevent fires aboard ship.
Here are some photos of some of the items in the State Capital Museum.
life ring
teapot
boatswain's pipe
bugle
bottle of champagne
Today, December 7, 2011, marks the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I posted a five part series on my other blog a couple of years ago and I think it bears repeating here. I was downtown a couple of years ago and had some time, so I stopped into the Arizona State Capital Museum where there is located a piece of the USS Arizona that was removed from the superstructure in 1942 and stored at Waipio Point, Oahu until 1995 when it was transferred to Arizona by the U.S. Navy.
The museum also houses a life ring, teapot, a boatswain’s pipe, and a bugle owned by Maurice Vincent, who played with the USS Arizona band in the late 1930s, among other items. Also included in the museum’s collection are a number of beautiful silver, copper, and silver and copper serving sets which were not on the ship at the time of the attack. They are some of the most beautiful pieces I’ve seen.
Outside, located in the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, is an anchor from the USS Arizona as well as a signal mast. I’d seen those before as I’ve been to the plaza for a number of events, but hadn’t known about the piece of the superstructure inside.
Here are some photos of the piece of the superstructure. I'll be posting photos of some of the other things I saw in separate posts.
