My parents live in Kailua (that's about 30 minutes from Pearl) and last summer I took my son to see his grandparents as it had been a few years. While there we spent an entire day at Pearl. I am a huge history buff and have studied WW2 history since my early teens, as my great uncle was aboard one of the chase planes at the bombing of Hiroshima, my grandfather built bombsights for B-25s in CA while registered with the draft board in Waco, and my grandmother was one of those "rivet girls" like you see in those old war posters, helping assemble airplanes up in Inglewood.
For those that have never been to Pearl since the USS Missouri Museum was opened, GO! I think the most memorable moment was when I was standing at the Arizona Memorial railing that faces the Mighty Mo...I looked down and saw an oil slick about 4 ft in diameter develop, then it floated away. The Japanese tourists at the memorial were very respectful, too. It is also eerie to stand in the memorial and look toward the USS Missouri (Arizona's sister ship), which is moored on Battleship Row about 400 yards away with her bow facing the Arizona's bow and her guns pointed skyward in salute. If you go to the USS Missouri museum which opened about two years ago, you can stand on the spot where the WW2 armistice was signed (it is surrounded by velvet ropes with a plaque set in the deck) and get the "full circle" effect...Look out over the bow from the Missouri you can where WW2 began for the US, turn around, and you can see where it ended.