Pearl Harbour is a reminder that terrible things can and do happen in beautiful places, as Christine Rovoi finds.

It’s not all fun in the sun – the swaying palm trees, tropical drinks, and snorkelling – in Hawai’i, the 50th state of the United States.

I was reminded of that fact when I visited the Pearl Harbour National Memorial on Oahu Island, home to the capital Honolulu.

Hawai’i is the only US state not in North America and the only one surrounded by water, an archipelago 7400km north of New Zealand.

My colleague Thomas Manch and I were part of a group of journalists from Aotearoa who toured the US Indo-Pacific Command last week.

On the afternoon of December 1 (local time), we joined other visitors to Pearl Harbour – the site of a surprise attack by Japan’s naval forces on December 7, 1941.

Pearl Harbour is a sacred, but bustling place. Millions of people from all over the world come to see for themselves where World War II began for the US.

It was our group’s first visit. Pearl Harbour was significant to New Zealand because it brought the Americans into the war against Japan, which halted the Japanese before they could reach Aotearoa.

The USS Arizona Memorial is a solemn place. More than 1100 men are resting in peace down there.

The mood can best be summed up by The Lone Sailor statue that silently looks over the harbour. The statue represents the men and women who have served, are serving, or will serve in the US Navy.

Eighty-two years later, there’s still an oil sheen above the wreck of the Arizona. But that’s another story for another day.

The memorial was built over the remains of the sunken battleship during the worst naval disaster in US history.

It is the final resting place of 1177 crewmen and officers killed when the ship was bombed by the Japanese on that fateful day.

Each of the eight battleships moored in the harbour was hit by bombs and torpedoes, and more than 2400 people died that morning across the island.

We leave the Tree of Life sculpture to board a navy shuttle boat that takes us to the white memorial. We can see the wreck’s rusting brown outline through the water.

There is an overwhelming sense of sadness at the Arizona Memorial. You can feel it in the air. You can also see it on the faces of the visitors, many of them from Japan.

The Japanese are the largest foreign visitors to Hawai’i – they are vital to the island’s economy.

They have also come to Honolulu to have fun in the sun. Highlights of the city include the iconic Waikiki Beach and the Punchbowl, a crater-turned-cemetery for those who died.

West of Honolulu is Pearl Harbour where more than 1.8 million people visit per year. We have come to pay our respects to the fallen heroes and to learn more about what happened that fateful morning.

Just ask Pearl Harbour survivor “Ike” Schab, who is back in Honolulu this week for the 82nd commemoration of the victims of the attack.

The 103-year-old from Portland, Oregon, told journalists that he almost didn’t make the trip because of an illness. But he was determined.

Schab was a Navy musician aboard the USS Dobbin which was anchored off Ford Island. He is the last survivor of Navy Band 13.

During the bombing of the Battleship Row, he helped load the anti-aircraft guns.

“While it’s been more than eight decades since the Pearl Harbour attack, December 7 still brings back memories of being there,” he told the waiting media in Honolulu.

“And they’re not necessarily pleasant. But I don’t want to lose that memory.”

Schab said he looked forward to paying his respects alongside other survivors.

”There’s a certain feeling of comfort and, at the same time, obligation. I owe them. Just like that, because I think I owe it to the guys that were there that aren’t there any more.”

Besides the Arizona Memorial, there is a great deal else to see: well-presented museums and relics like one of Arizona’s anchors blown off the ship, and a gift shop.

The attack on Pearl Harbour forced the end of isolationism, and in 1945 the US played a leading role in the creation of the United Nations (UN) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that December 7 would “live in infamy,” as he declared war on Japan.

The Garcias from Texas also visited the memorial last week, and the family told me that they memorialise Pearl Harbour to honour the bravery and courage of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Arizona was dedicated in 1962. It sags in the centre, spanning the mid-portion of the sunken battleship, and consists of three main sections: the entry room, the assembly room designed for ceremonies and observation, and the shrine room where the names of those killed are engraved on the marble wall.

The memorial also has an opening on the floor overlooking the sunken decks. Before entering the shrine room, visitors toss flowers from this opening in honour of the fallen sailors.

In the past, leis were tossed in the water, but because string from the leis posed a hazard to marine life, the flowers must be removed from the strings before being hurled into the harbour.

Once inside the shrine room, you can’t help but notice that most of those who perished were very young people.

For Schab and other survivors, they are among a shrinking number of service men and women who lived through one of the darkest days in America’s history.

Many of the visitors to Pearl Harbour last Friday were there with tour groups from Japan, and you could hear the Japanese language spoken almost as much as you heard English.

The first Japanese leader to visit the Arizona Memorial was the late Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in 2016. While he did not apologise for the attack, “We must never repeat the horrors of war,” he said.

He also paid tribute to the “brave men and women” who were killed, saying it was important to show respect even to a former enemy.

US-Japan relations are now a cornerstone of global peace, said former US President Barack Obama, who visited the memorial with Abe.

He said the Japanese leader’s presence was a reminder that wars could end and enemies could become allies.

As I headed out of the USS Arizona Memorial and Pearl Harbour, the overall effect was one of serenity.

But it was also a good reminder that nations can heal and come together even when they were once enemies.