The USS Arizona Memorial straddles the sunken battleship and is dedicated to remembering all those who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
The initial fundraising efforts to build the Memorial had stalled, with only half of the funds needed raised.
In an effort to re-energize the campaign, Hawaii journalists sent out an appeal to newspaper editors across the country asking for editorial support.
The next day both of the city’s newspapers, the Advertiser and the Star Bulletin reported on the press conference. Parker revealed that Elvis would appear in Honolulu on March 26 at a benefit concert for the USS Arizona Memorial Fund. ‘Every penny of that taken in must go to the fund’, Parker explained, ‘otherwise, we are not interested in doing the show.
The Bloch Arena at Pearl Harbor would be the venue. Of the 4,000 seats available, 100 ‘ringside’ seats would be sold for $100 each. The rest of the tickets, scaled at $10, $5, $3.50, and $3, would go on sale March 13. ‘Not a living soul will get a free ticket to this show’, stated H. Tucker Gratz, chairman of the memorial fund commission. ‘And that includes the performers, and even Colonel Parker’. Parker said he and Elvis would pay all other performers out of their own pockets, and all expenses would be donated.
$100 Ticket Photo from “The Elvis Files” Website…
Press Conference Photo from “Keith Flynn’s Elvis Presley Pages” Website…
Concert Photos from “The Elvis Files” Website…
More than 4,000 fans attended the concert on March 25, 1961, purchasing tickets ranging in price from $3 to $100.
The concert, which featured Elvis and an all-star lineup of entertainers, raised just over $54,000 toward the $500,000 goal. Many public and private donations followed the show, and the USS Arizona Memorial was dedicated on May 30, Memorial Day, 1962.