Trump Visits Pearl Harbor En Route to Asia

Trump, Melania left flowers at USS Arizona
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 4, 2017 8:04 AM CDT
Trump Visits Pearl Harbor
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump wear leis as they arrive at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii, Friday, Nov. 3, 2017.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Trump paid a solemn visit to the memorial at Pearl Harbor Friday, 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 after entering the USS Arizona memorial following a short boat ride with first lady Melania Trump, the AP reports. 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 US 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. 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 on Sunday 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 nuclear ambitions.

(More Pearl Harbor stories.)

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