The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial was built to honor those who died aboard the U.S.S. Arizona battleship during the attack on Pearl Harbor. 1,177 people died that day on the Arizona. Many people thought that there should be some sort of monument to honor the brave heroes that suffered a horrible death. They knew that a monument would cost a lot of money. It would cost about $500,000 to build the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. The government did not have the money to fund the monument. They turned to the people of America for the money. The Americans did not seem interested in funding the operation. The government tried to reach the people through television, the radio, and newspapers. Elvis’s manager read the article, in a newspaper, about the monument. He convinced Elvis to sing at concert and give all the profits to the monument’s funds. Elvis raised $65,000 for the building of the monument in 1961. In that same exact year, President Kennedy signed a bill, giving the last $150,000 needed to pay for the monument. Alfred E. Preis designed the memorial. He chose white for the color of the monument so the monument would give people hope for the future. The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial has twenty-one windows. Some people think the number of windows represents the 21-gun salute toward the soldiers that died aboard the U.S.S. Arizona. The 21-gun salute is the most prestigious salute in the army. The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial is built over the sunken battleship for further admiration towards the soldiers who suffered their death aboard the U.S.S. Arizona battleship.