Monday, October 20, 2008

Hawaii Day 1--Pearl Harbor

Our first day in Oahu (Oct. 12th), Lindsay picked us up from the airport, and took us to Pearl Harbor. It was a humbling experience to read the plaques of the first hand accounts. One story was of a crew stuck underwater for days after the Dec. 7th attack; they could hear tapping on the outside of the boat they were trapped in, so they tapped back. When the tapping stopped they thought they would never get out, and his commrade was ready to give up & drown. Shortly later, they were found again & removed safely from the watercraft.
This is the wall of names of the fallen on the Day of Infamy.
This archway we are standing under is one of the 21 archways that represents the 21 gun salute in honor of the fallen soldiers.
Behind me and Mitch is one of the few parts of the USS Arizona that can be seen above the water. The monument stands over the middle of the ship that was sunk, still entombing those who died that day.
This is my Meridian Geo-Pony who accompanied us to Hawaii & will take tales back to my 6th graders of his travels to the sacred site of Pearl Harbor. Being there reminded me of the way I felt when we were attacked on Sept. 11th. Both events were unexpected attacks on the unarmed & took our country into a war to combat inhumanity. May we never forget. I'm really grateful we had the chance to visit Pearl Harbor. It also gave me a greater depth of appreciation for those who died in the Pacific when we later had a chance to visit the Punchbowl Cemetery.

2 comments:

  1. I'm REALLY GLAD you like Pearl Harbor so much. I have been 3 times now and every time I've gone, it never gets old to me. I love visiting there and paying respects to the men who lost their lives that day. Freedom is something we take for granted as people living in America and I think it's nice to have these types of Memorials to help us remember why we have this freedom. I had fun going there, even though mapquest took us for a joy ride and we asked "Roy" with rap music and a cigarette for directions. OH MY GOSH! Too funny!

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  2. Hahaha! I almost forgot about good old Roy! He sure was a nice rapper guy! lol

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