Is there any Japanese or American unexploded ordnance on or near the ARIZONA?
To answer the Navy’s (and the public’s) concerns about the sanctity of the ARIZONA, we agreed that under no condition would divers enter the hull. Thus we could reassure everyone that the remains of more than 1,100 sailors and marines would rest undisturbed. Dan also recommended that the survey be conducted over a two-year period, with the first year devoted to approximately two weeks of initial survey that would concentrate on the ARIZONA’s bow section. This would permit a better estimate of the manpower, time and money needed to carry out the entire project. When we took the refined proposal to Admiral Rorie at COMNAVBASE, we were much better received. No problems had occurred with our coin-recovery dives. Admiral Rorie and his staff were impressed with Dan Lenihan’s credentials and overall approach to the project. In fact, COMNAVBASE asked us to help find a solution to its own USS ARIZONA problem! During the 1942 salvage operation, the Navy had cut away structure from the ARIZONA an
