The USS Arizona Memorial and The King,After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, the su

The USS Arizona Memorial and The King,After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, the sunken hulk of the USS Arizona was left to remain in its place 40 feet under Hawaiian waters.  After the war it was planned for the Arizona to be salvaged and scrapped.  However in 1949 the Pacific War Memorial Commission was founded with the purpose of constructing an Arizona Memorial.  Due to the costs of the Korean War the project was put on hold, but finally in 1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the creation of the USS Arizona Memorial.  To construct the memorial $500,000 was needed, around $1.5 million when adjusted for inflation. Originally the plan was for the memorial to be funded entirely by private sources, but in 1961 Sen. Daniel Inouye initiated a bill to spend $150,000 on the memorial.  Another $50,000 was provided by the Territory of Hawaii (Hawaii was not yet a state).  The rest of the money was raised by private sources.  Most, around $95,000, was raised by Admiral Samuel G. Fuqua, a surviving Arizona crewman and Medal of Honor winner, who hosted a television fundraiser in 1958.  $40,000 was raised by  Fleet Reserve Association and Revell Model Company, who sold plastic models of the USS Arizona.  Of all the private contributors, the most unexpected was none other than the King of Rock and Roll himself; Elvis Presley.On December 4th, 1960, Col. Tom Parker, Elvis’ agent, read an editorial about the funding of the Arizona Memorial in the Los Angeles Examiner.  In March of 1961 Elvis was scheduled to fly to Hawaii for the filming of the movie Blue Hawaii.  Parker proposed to Elvis that during filming he should hold a benefit concert for the memorial.  Elvis, a former US Army veteran, was enthusiastic about the plan.  The benefit concert was held on March 25th, 1961 at Bloch Arena at Pearl Harbor, with tickets selling for $3, $5, $10, and $100 “ringside tickets”.  Elvis himself bought a $100 ticket.  Elvis was not the only act of the concert, but also featured were  pianist Floyd Cramer, the Jordanaires, jazz saxophonist Boots Randolph, and comedienne Minnie Pearl.  None of the raised funds were used to pay for the concerts expenses.  Rather Elvis payed for all of the costs out of pocket, including marketing, advertising, commissions, fees, pay for all arena employees, and pay for all performers.  Elvis himself performed after the intermission, being announced by Adm. Robert E. Campbell.  When Elvis took the stage, wearing his famous silver gold jacket and blue pants, it resulted in 2 ½ minutes of screaming from crazed teenagers.  The USS Arizona Memorial benefit concert was a huge success, raising over $64,000 in ticket sales, concession sales, and merchandising.  Adjusted for inflation today that would amount to around $500,000.  After the concert Col. Parker and Elvis donated an additional $5,000.  Altogether, Elvis’ contributions to the Arizona Memorial accounted for around 14% of all contributions.  The USS Arizona Memorial was officially dedicated on May 20th, 1962.  Today more than one million people a year visit the memorial.  -- source link

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