Bears visit USS Arizona Memorial
HONOLULU — In what University of Central Arkansas football coach Clint Conque characterized as a "sobering experience, the team visited Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial Thursday morning.
The UCA players quietly walked about the memorial that stands atop the remains of the icon casualty of the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941. It's a national shrine because the sunken vessel is the permanent tomb of 962 servicemen who were trapped during the bombing.
"Most of the men who died here were the same age or just a little younger than these players," Conque said. "That's why it was non-negotiable that when we scheduled the football game here, we were going to Pearl Harbor. I wanted these players to see and experience something they just can't get from reading a book."
After the tour, the Bear players and coaches gathered for a team picture outside the visitors area, then headed to Aloha Stadium for their final practice before Friday night's season-opener against the University of Hawaii.
