Ford Island in Pearl Harbor: History, Access and What Visitors Can See

From Mokuʻumeʻume to a Navy Base

The island's Hawaiian name is Mokuʻumeʻume, linked to an ʻume ceremony held during the Makahiki festival. It measured 334 acres when surveyed in 1825. The name Ford Island comes from Dr. Seth Porter Ford, who married Caroline Jackson in June 1866.

The Army bought part of the island in 1917 for an airfield, and hangars were completed in 1918. In the 1930s the Navy paid $1.5 million to dredge Pearl Harbor so battleships and carriers could enter, which raised the island to 441 acres. The deepened water off the southeast coast became the Pacific Fleet's battleship mooring, the stretch known as Battleship Row. The island was the headquarters of Patrol Wing Two and became a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Today it also hosts the Pacific Warfighting Center and NOAA's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Battleship Row on December 7

On the morning of December 7, 1941, Battleship Row held seven battleships: Arizona, California, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia, with the repair ship Vestal moored next to the Arizona. Just before 8 a.m. the first-wave raiders struck, and Ford Island itself was an early target.

The losses were heavy. The Arizona was destroyed with 1,177 dead, and the remains of many of her crew are still inside the hull. The Oklahoma capsized within 12 minutes of the first torpedoes, by 8:08 a.m., and lost 429 crew, the second-greatest loss of life that day after the Arizona. The West Virginia was hit by six torpedoes and two bombs and lost 106 crew. The California, flagship of the Pacific Fleet, sank with 105 dead. The Utah, moored on the opposite side of the island in berth F-11, sank with 58 crew and was never salvaged. The Nevada was the only battleship to get underway, and her crew beached her off Hospital Point, according to the NPS, so she would not block the channel.

Of the battleships on the Row, only the Arizona and Oklahoma never returned to service. By the end of the war every other battleship on the Row was back in the fleet.

What Stands on Ford Island Today

Four things draw visitors. The Battleship Missouri Memorial is moored on the southeast side, the battleship on which Japan surrendered in 1945, and it is covered in depth in the Battleship Missouri guide. The Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum fills Hangar 37 and Hangar 79, two original hangars the museum describes as bullet-riddled from December 7, with more than 50 aircraft. The Ford Island Control Tower stands 168 feet above the battlefield and is reached on the museum's Top of the Tower Tour. A full-day option covering the Missouri, the museum, the Arizona and the Bowfin is the Best of Pearl Harbor Full-Day Tour, priced at $208.

Near the Missouri's entrance sits the USS Oklahoma Memorial, dedicated on December 7, 2007 to the 429 crew killed, and on the northwest side of the island the USS Utah Memorial rises over the wreck of the target ship that sank with 58 of her crew.

The Four Routes, Compared

The table below compares the ways people try to reach Ford Island, who can use each one, and what the Navy and the National Park Service say about it. The figures come from the Missouri's directions page and the NPS bus tour page.

ID Rules on the Island

Because Ford Island is a secured base, identification matters. On the shuttle to the Missouri or the Aviation Museum, guests may be asked for a government photo ID, and foreign visitors should carry a passport. The bag policy applies to everyone riding the shuttle, so check the Pearl Harbor bag policy before you go.

The Ford Island Bus Tour has a stricter rule. The ticket buyer must show a government photo ID at check-in, reservations are non-transferable, and each booking allows up to 5 tickets a day, infants included. Arrive by 2:30 pm for the 3 pm check-in, because the bus departs at 3:30 pm and missing check-in means missing the tour, since escorts are required on the base. Expect screening and no photography on the shuttle. Visitors on the bus tour must stay with the group and may not photograph private residences, and the tour can be cancelled at short notice for base security reasons.

The USS Oklahoma Memorial

The USS Oklahoma lost 429 men on December 7, 1941, the second-greatest loss of life that day after the Arizona. The battleship capsized within 12 minutes of the first torpedoes, by 8:08 a.m. Rescuers cut through the hull over the next two days and saved 32 men. Three sailors escaped by swimming nearly 90 feet through flooded compartments.

The memorial stands on Ford Island just outside the entrance where the Battleship Missouri is docked. It is an arrangement of engraved black granite walls and white marble posts, dedicated on December 7, 2007, the 66th anniversary of the attack. Only 35 of the 429 dead were identified in the years after the attack. A Defense Department project begun in 2015 had identified 338 individuals by 2021, and the unidentified remains rest at Punchbowl Cemetery in plots the NPS counts as 46.

The USS Utah Memorial

The Utah was not on Battleship Row. The Florida-class dreadnought, completed in 1911, had been converted to a target ship in 1931, so she was moored off the northwest side of Ford Island in berth F-11. Torpedo bombers at first judged her a target ship and passed over her, but she was still struck by two torpedoes and sank within 12 minutes. The NPS counts 58 crew lost. The capsized hull was never salvaged.

The memorial, erected in 1972, is a 70-foot white concrete walkway leading to a platform about 40 by 15 feet with a brass plaque and flagpole beside the wreck. The NPS also offers a 3D virtual tour of the memorial that combines new scanning data with documentation of the submerged hull. A sunset ceremony is held near the wreck at 4:30 pm around the anniversary.

How the Ford Island Bus Tour Works

The NPS Ford Island Bus Tour runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:15 pm to 4:45 pm and is limited to 40 people. Book on Recreation.gov, where each booking allows up to 5 tickets a day, infants included, for a $1 per person non-refundable fee. Arrive by 2:30 pm for the 3 pm check-in, and note that reservations are non-transferable. Miss check-in and you miss the tour, because escorts are required on the base.

The timing creates a real conflict. The bus tour does not include the Arizona Memorial, and it clashes with the 2:30, 3:00 and 3:30 pm Arizona boat programs. You cannot do both in one afternoon. The tour can also be cancelled at short notice for base security reasons. On the island you must stay with the group, and you may not photograph private residences.

Which Tours Cover Which Ford Island Sites

Several tours in the comparison include Ford Island sites. The Star of Honolulu coach tour reaches them through its 8 and 9-hour upgrade options, and the 9.5-hour Heroes Deluxe day is the only one listing the Control Tower. Prices are per person as listed.

Compare them with the other Pearl Harbor tours from Honolulu on the homepage.

What a Tour Adds and What It Cannot Do

A guided day removes the logistics. The shuttle from the visitor center to Ford Island adds roughly an extra hour of transport time to a do-it-yourself itinerary, and taxis and ride-shares cannot drop off at the Missouri or the Aviation Museum anyway. On a full-day tour all admissions are in the price, and the Heroes Deluxe Tour adds lunch and a docent aboard the Missouri.

No tour guarantees landing on the USS Arizona Memorial, since Navy operations control the boats. None of them includes the USS Oklahoma or USS Utah memorials, which remain the NPS bus tour only. If the Control Tower interests you, the Heroes Deluxe Tour is the one listing with an optional visit. The tower stands 168 feet above the battlefield and gives a 360-degree view, and it is reached through the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.