Sacred shrines tell the American story, from Boston Harbor to Pearl Harbor

Travel America, Sept-Oct, 2005 by Randy Mink

Mount Rushmore, named after New York lawyer Charles E. Rushmore long before the sculpture was conceived, attracts more than two million people a year. Even the most jaded come away in awe of the carving's sheer size, its artistic splendor and the lofty ideals it embodies.

Most inspiring is the patriotic pageantry on summer nights in the amphitheater, when a ranger talk and stirring 20-minute movie about Mount Rushmore are followed by the playing of the national anthem and gradual flood-lighting of the faces, stark white against the starry Dakota sky. The program ends with veterans and military personnel being invited to come forward and introduce themselves. The applause is thunderous, and there are few dry eyes in the place. Even as you depart, you'll find yourself glancing back for one final look.

PEARL HARBOR

Few first-time visitors leave Honolulu without going to Pearl Harbor, the scene of the most horrific attack on American soil prior to Sept. 11, 2001. From books or newsreel clips, we all know the images--billowing black smoke enshrouding the battleship USS Arizona and 18 other naval vessels, victims of sneak Japanese bombings on Dec. 7, 1941--"a day that will live in infamy," to use the oft-quoted words of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Commanding a gorgeous setting where calm blue waters belie the tragedy that took place, Hawaii's most visited attraction has museum galleries, a waterfront memorial park and half-hour movie showing footage of the destruction and events leading up to America's entry into World War II. Pearl Harbor survivors, now in their 80s, are sometimes on hand to answer questions.

A Navy launch takes visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial, the final resting place of 1,177 young men whose names are inscribed on a marble wall. Located right in the middle of the harbor, the shrine is constructed directly above the ship, whose engine room still oozes oil, staining the water's surface.

Also in Pearl Harbor is the Battleship Missouri Memorial, or "Mighty Mo," famous as the site where General Douglas MacArthur on September 2, 1945, accepted the surrender of Japanese forces, thus ending World War II.

REMEMBER THE ALAMO

The stone facade of the Alamo is a symbol not only of San Antonio but of Texas. Enjoying almost mythic status among proud Texans, the former Spanish mission became permanently etched in the annals of American history when 189 men fighting for independence from Mexico--including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie--turned it into a fortress and for 13 days held off some 4,000 troops of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. All defenders paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, but the cry "Remember the Alamo" became the rallying call of the Texas Revolution.

Tourists relive the event at the nearby IMAX Theatre Rivercenter, where "Alamo ... The Price of Freedom" is shown on a giant screen. The Alamo's Long Barrack Museum offers a film and exhibits with belongings of Alamo heroes. Operated by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, which saved it from ruin at the turn of the 20th century, the "Cradle of Texas Liberty" occupies beautifully landscaped grounds in the heart of the city.