USS Utah Memorial

The Forgotten Ship of Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, the USS Utah, moored on the other side of Ford Island and hit by torpedoes at the start of the attack, quickly rolled over and sank. Fifty-eight of Utah's crew died. The ship was never salvaged and remains where it sank in Pearl Harbor. The remains of Seaman 2/c (S2c) Pallas F. Brown, Signalman 1st Class (SM1c) Douglas R. Dieckhoff, and Mess Attendant (Matt1c) George R. Smith were recovered in the days immediately following the attack and buried in the Nuuanu Naval Cemetery (Nuuanu) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Originally established as a civilian cemetery, the U.S. Navy had maintained a separate plot within this cemetery for several years. The remains of Ensign David W. Jackson were recovered several weeks after the attack and buried at Halawa. As time passed, the remaining 54 casualties of the USS Utah, initially reported Missing In Action, were presumed to have drowned inside the ship. - Currently the USS Utah is not accessible to the general public.