It's been over 72 years since the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Of the roughly 2,500 sailors, marines, and soldiers who lost their lives that day, 1,177 of them died while aboard the USS Arizona, which remains the final resting place for many of them.

For the first time, technology is helping us get an up-close look at the sunken wreckage which still rests at Pearl Harbor. They're creating a virtual image which will help with preservation efforts.

Peter Kelsey has been to the USS Arizona Memorial dozens of times. His view of the giant battleship is a little different from most. He got to dive the wreck as part of a survey team.

"Nobody gets to do this," he said. "This is a war grave, this is hallowed ground. This does not happen. This is very special, and I was just shaking to put my gear on. It was powerful stuff."

Kelsey is an engineer with 3-D tech company Autodesk, which is working with the National Parks Service to virtualize the battleship. They're creating a highly detailed computer model of the ship, parts of which can be used for tangible replicas. By the end of the year, they hope to have a detailed six-foot model of the ship.

The model is expected to show details of the ship in its current state, including accurate colors, barnacles, and other effects of decades under the water.

The project uses lidar (a laser-based remote-sensing technology), sonar, and photogrammetry (the science of making measurements using photographs).

"It's a new way of surveying," he said. "It's a new way of capturing what's real that's in front of you."

Part of the process involves lasers - light beams are fired hundreds of thousands of times a second. The end result is a virtual ship. This and photo images are all part of the preservation process.

"Ten years from now, we could scan the whole thing again, overlay the two models, and look for change," Kelsey explained. "Is a crack expanding? Is a piece of decking collapsing?"

A veteran himself, Kelsey says the experience has been emotional for the team.

"I think every one of us at one point or another were brought to tears," he said.

Kelsey hopes to have a virtual underwater tour of the memorial available within the next couple years, so everyone can tour a part of our history.

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