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Transcription: {SPEAKER name="Warren Perry"}
[00:16:07]
After World War II, funds were being raised to turn the USS Arizona into a monument.

[00:16:14]
Well, the fund drive went on for years and years. It was going to cost a little over a half a million dollars to create the Arizona memorial.

[00:16:23]
The money just wasn't there and the fun drive kinda, kinda slowed and interest in it slowed down.

[00:16:29]
In 1961, when Elvis was in Hawaii filming Blue Hawaii. In March, he gave a concert at the base at Pearl Harbor and the benefits for the concert were given over to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Association.

[00:16:45]
The concert raised over fifty thousand dollars. Elvis himself is responsible for ten percent of the funds that it took to build the Pearl Harbor Memorial and to put it into place.

[00:16:57]
Interestingly after that concert, there was a renewed effort into establishing the Pearl Harbor Memorial and many people say that it's because of Elvis.

[00:17:07]
There are two plaques that I know of that attest to Elvis' contribution there.

[00:17:11]
One is at the Block Arena at Pearl Harbor, that talks about the memorial concert, and then the other is at Graceland, and its a plaque from Pearl Harbor memorial association to Elvis in thanks for his efforts to create the- to help perpetuate the fundraising of the USS Arizona memorial.

[00:17:31]
So, that's charity.

[00:17:32]
The last thing I want to talk about, very briefly, I want to talk a little bit about Elvis literature.

[00:17:38]
We all talk about Elvis in terms of big star and how Elvis really was the pacesetter for so many things- not just the music but also the industry that movie stars and rock stars spawn.

[00:17:52]
All the satellite stuff: the lunchboxes, the toys, the games, all this-

[00:17:59]
Elvis, I think, might be unique in that a whole body of world literature has been spawned by the Elvis phenomenon.

[00:18:08]
And I brought a few examples with me.