This was an awesome insight into a piece of U.S. history. I think everyone should try to go visit Pearl Harbor at least once since it was such a pivotal time for the U.S. Our transportation guide picked us up on one of those open-air tour buses and he was an excellent storyteller! Not only did we learn about Pearl Harbor, but he also explained various sites along the way and gave recommendations of places to go and eat.
The only reason I'm deducting one star is that the whole experience was much longer than expected and I wish the tour company would have told us this upon pickup. Essentially, we were supposed to be back in Waikiki between 1:45-2:30 pm, instead, we were told to be back at the tour bus for departure from Peal Harbor at 3:45 pm! Our potentially 4.5-hour tour ended up taking 7 hours of our day since we also ended up in rush hour traffic. You really don't need more than 2.5 hours at Pearl Harbor so we were bored most of the time. Also, since you can't bring bags into Pearl Harbor, we didn't have access to our stuff (food, sunblock, etc.) and had to rely on whatever was at the tiny snack shop. Note: You can't buy sunblock anywhere at Pearl Harbor.
Recommendation: if you are planning to visit Pearl Harbor, invest in a clear bag/purse/backpack to bring some essentials.