Trumps bound for Asia after emotional Pearl Harbor visit
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — President Trump paid a solemn visit to the memorial at Pearl Harbor, a sacred journey for a commander in chief about to depart on an Asia trip that will be shadowed by fears of another international conflict.
Trump saluted yesterday after entering the USS Arizona Memorial following a short boat ride with first lady Melania Trump. They approached a wreath of white flowers — a gift from the couple — and watched as two sailors who stood beside it at attention placed the wreath near a wall of names of the fallen.
The Trumps then tossed white flower petals into the waters above the battleship’s sunken hull, as the president then peered down where the rusted wreckage is visible at the water’s surface.
Nearly 1,200 crew members died on the USS Arizona during the Dec. 7, 1941, surprise attack by Japan that plunged the U.S. into World War II.
Trump, who had spoken earlier in the day about being eager to see the sacred site for the first time, appeared moved by the visit. As the wreath was quietly placed into position, Trump crossed his arms in front of him, closing his eyes as he bowed his head in remembrance.
As the sun began to fade over the Pacific, Trump then listened intently to a National Park Service tour guide, stopping briefly at a display that explained how some survivors of the attack, when they die years later, have chosen to be cremated and have their ashes placed in the sunken ship alongside the remains of their fallen colleagues.
Trump said not a word about North Korea or its nuclear ambitions on Friday, the eve of his first official visit to Asia. He will arrive in Japan this morning, the first of five countries he will visit over 11 days as he exhorts Asian allies to increase pressure on Pyongyang to abandon its deadly ambitions.
Hawaii acted as a sort of midway point on Trump’s trip halfway around the world. He arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Friday after a daylong flight from Washington.
Trump was briefed by leaders of the U.S. Pacific Command. The growing threat from North Korea — a crisis that will shadow the entire trip — was expected to be among the topics discussed. Trump was also meeting with the governors of Alaska, Hawaii and Pacific U.S. territories, all potential targets of any successful attempt by North Korea to strike the U.S. with a nuclear-tipped missile.
The visit to the memorial comes soon after Trump was embroiled in a controversy over his attempt to console the grieving families of America’s war dead. The family of one of the four soldiers killed in a Niger ambush last month said the president disrespected them when he called to offer a condolences, a charge Trump vehemently denied.