History of Pearl Harbor

James “Jim” Neuman serves as the historian for Navy Region Hawaii, where he preserves and shares the history of Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, including the legacy of the USS Arizona Memorial. A 20-year federal servant, he began his Navy career in 1988 as an active-duty Ocean Systems Technician Analyst, later served in the Navy Reserves until retiring in 2022 as an Intelligence Specialist, and has worked as a Navy civilian. Since 2009, he has used history to inspire service members and civilians to understand and carry forward the lessons of the past. Previously, he worked as a tour guide and archivist at the Battleship Missouri Memorial, where he preserved historical materials and recorded hundreds of veteran oral histories for the National Archives. Born in Michigan and raised in Florida and Georgia, Neuman has called Hawaii home for more than three decades and earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Hawaii–West Oahu in 2005.