Arkansas Selected for Navy Week 2007

The Navy has announced their 2007 "Calendar for America", and Central Arkansas is once again among the few sites selected.

This is the second year in a row that the Navy has selected Riverfest for a "Navy Week" event. The 2006 was VERY successful, which had a direct impact on the Navy's decision to include Arkansas in 2007.

The Navy chose only 25 cities for 2007. Many are large metropolitan areas, such as Dallas, TX and Chicago, IL, cities MANY times larger than the Central Arkansas area. Other events are directly related to the Navy, such as "Navy Week" in New England, or to the military, such as the many Air Shows selected.

For Riverfest 2007, most of the Navy-related events will all be near AIMM and USS Razorback.

Once again, we'll offer fireworks viewing from Razorback's deck on the last night of Riverfest. Razorback's deck is hands down the BEST place to watch the fireworks. We'll start taking reservations soon.

AIMM Approved for Torpedoes

After nearly a year of work and preparation, the Naval Undersea Museum in Silverdale, WA has approved AIMM to received three MK14 torpedoes for display.

These torpedoes, the same kind Razorback carried during her WWII career (and for many years after) will be displayed inside Razorback's torpedo rooms.

This kind of torpedo is also on display as part of the Snook memorial.



We're looking forward to loading the torpedoes, as they will add new depth to our visitor's experience aboard Razorback. To get an idea of what will be involved, check out the webpage for when USS Cod loaded her torpedoes.

AIMM Closed for the Holidays

AIMM will be closed for the holidays to allow our staff and tour guides to spend some time with their families.

We have only limited ability to give group tours during this period, as we are also doing construction work on the library, building new exhibit space and designing new exhibits to make AIMM an even better museum in 2007.

If you would like to schedule a group tour, please call us at 501-371-8320.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from AIMM!

Update on Hoga Schedule

Due to the severe weather in the Pacific Northwest, the tug and barge contracted to pick up Hoga in California have not yet left Seattle, Washington.

Currently, they are scheduled to be at Mare Island around January 2nd or 3rd.

We will keep everyone updated on the schedule as we receive new information.

The Story Behind "At Dawn We Slept"

"At Dawn We Slept" is arguably one of the most well known books about the Pearl Harbor attack.

This month's Naval Institute Proceedings has an excellent article about how this book came to be. Gordon Prange, who died before "At Dawn We Slept" was published, lived in Japan for six years immediately after the war. Only a few of the Japanese officers who planned and executed the attack survived the war, and Dr. Prange interviewed any of those few that would talk to him.

He brought an amazing 450 crates of research back to America with him. This research was the basis for "At Dawn We Slept" as well as a number of lesser known works that have been published based on Dr. Prange's work and research. These include:

"The Verdict of History" - The stories of the Pearl Harbor Commanders, Vice Admiral Kimmel and Major General Short as well as discussions of responsibility and accountability

"December 7th 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor" - Stories and Accounts of the attack

"The Way it Was: Pearl Harbor - The Original Photographs"

Three more scholarly reference works have also been published from Dr. Prange's documents:

"The Pearl Harbor Papers"

"The Pacific War Papers"

"Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki"

The Proceedings article also revealed that the research used to produced these many books is now in the University of Pittsburgh archives and will be released for research in April, 2007.

Latest on Hoga's Schedule

Due to weather delays in Seattle (where the tug and barge that will be carrying Hoga are now), the lift has been delayed until December 19th with a scheduled departure of the 21st.

We will continue to post regular updates as new information becomes available.

Update on Hoga's Schedule

Currently, the plan is to lift Hoga on December 17th.

She will be placed on a barge for the trip down the West Coast, through the Panama Canal, and then across the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans.

Hoga is currently scheduled to depart Mare Island on the 19th.

These schedules are, of course, subject to change due to weather, etc.

Pearl Harbor Exhibit Opening Soon

A new exhibit on the Pearl Harbor attack will be open starting this weekend.

"This is War!" covers the attack and the actions of USS Hoga, the tugboat that will soon be a part of the museum.

It also presents the story of some of the Arkansans who were present.

For example, did you know that two ships are named after Arkansans who perished in the Pearl Harbor attack? To learn more about their stories, come see the new exhibit.