Guns From the USS Arizona and the USS Missouri

Matt Carden of The Carden Chronicles asked me to disseminate this information, and I'm happy to do so. First, from azcentral.com:

Arizona has big plans in the works to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 - so big they have to be brought in by train.

The U.S. Navy has granted Secretary of State Ken Bennett permission to indefinitely**house two World War II warship guns - weighing 70 and 140 tons - in front of the state Capitol. Bennett will soon begin trying to raise up to $500,000 in private funds to transport the two guns from Virginia and Maryland, clean them up and display them...

Bennett originally wanted just the one gun, but military officials were hesitant to give him the last USS Arizona gun. Instead, they offered him a 68-foot gun from the USS Missouri, the ship that was the site of the Japanese surrender that ended World War II.

"We thought about it ... and I said, 'Forget this,' " Bennett said. " 'This is Arizona.' "

So Bennett came back with a new offer to take both guns and position them around the items the state already has from the USS Arizona, as bookends representing the beginning and end of the war.

Next, from Matt's site:

Although the website (http://gunstosalutethefallen.com/) is under construction and is not set up for contributions yet, checks made payable to AZ SOS Salute The Fallen Project can be sent to 1700 W. Washington Street 7th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85007.

Doing it without tax money is the right way to go. Let's all chip in!