Remember Pearl Harbor

Today is the anniversary of D-Day. Sixty-nine years ago, June 6, 1944, was the day the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy and began the liberation of Western Europe from the control of Nazi Germany during World War II. To commemorate this anniversary, I am writing this post about Pearl Harbor. I know I'm off by a continent and an ocean or two, but same war, similar tragedies.

Officially the Pearl Harbor and USS Arizona memorial are named The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. Last year they completed a multimillion dollar renovation of the Visitor Center there, adding new exhibit galleries, interactive displays and audio components to detail the events of the "date that will live in infamy" and the remembrances of those involved. The exhibit buildings are open and streamlined, with guests moving from one to another, chronologically learning about the day of the attack and remainder of the Pacific War. The USS Arizona Memorial lies out in the harbor, accessible only by boat. Visitors are issued tickets for a specific time to board the boat, with trips running continuously throughout the day. 

When we arrived in Honolulu, one of the first things we did was go online to reserve tickets to view the Arizona Memorial. We quickly found out that all the advance tickets for the days we would be able to go were gone. The only tickets that might be available were those that are distributed each day on a first come, first served basis (FCFS.) We thought we were going to be out of luck and had just about resigned ourselves to viewing the remainder of the exhibits, missing the Arizona. But then, Yay(!), Jeff to the rescue. My wonderful nephew, stationed at Pearl Harbor/Hickam AFB, had taken days off to be with us while we were on Oahu. He had one meeting he had to attend, so, on that day, he went in very early and was able to get the FCFS tickets for us all. What a sweetie. 

We arrived a little more than an hour before our ticket time to wander through the exhibit halls of the Visitor Center. Among other items, the exhibits feature giant, wall-sized murals which show aspects of the attack, complete with Braille. Here is a photo of one of the murals showing positioning of the ships in Battleship Row and the direction of approach of the Japanese bombers. 

Here is a shot of my approximation of the same approach as it is today. The battleship Missouri is docked on the left, the Arizona Memorial on the right and Ford Island in the background.

This shot shows Scott and I in front of one of the murals so that you can get a perspective of how large they are.

Before you board the boat that goes out to the Arizona, you see a 20 minute film (very good) about the attack on the Battleships. It contains a good deal of live footage and photos shot during that day. 

Marsha, Jeff and Scott waiting to enter the theatre.

Battleship Missouri, accessible for tours from Ford Island.

   
As we enter the USS Arizona Memorial, the group gets quiet, reflective and respectful.  The shattered remains of the sunken vessel are all around. The memorial basically straddles the midship area. The Japanese aerial bomb that struck the forward section of the USS Arizona ignited the forward magazine causing a catastrophic explosion that sunk the battleship in nine minutes.

I captured this overhead image from Wikipedia.

 A WWII veteran gazes down upon the wreckage. He and others toss flowers in to honor the dead.

The far end of the Memorial contains a shrine listing the names of the 1177 sailors and marines from the USS Arizona killed in the attack. The ship holds the remains of 1102 of them.

There were 1.4 million gallons of fuel on the USS Arizona when she sank. Over 60 years later, approximately nine quarts still surfaces from the ship each day. Some Pearl Harbor survivors have referred to the oil droplets as "Black Tears." 

President Dwight Eisenhower signed the law to create the USS Arizona Memorial in 1958. However, the public law stipulated that the monument would be built without federal funding because of budget restraints due to the Korean War. The Pacific War Memorial Commission was tasked with raising the $500,000 required it build the structure. Several organizations and individuals helped in the effort to raise the required amount. In 1958, the Territory of Hawaii contributed the initial $50,000. On December 3rd, 1958 the popular television series, “This is Your Life” hosted by Ralph Edwards, featured Samuel Fuqua, Medal of Honor recipient and the senior surviving officer from the USS Arizona. This broadcast kicked off the public fundraising campaign. Over $95,000 was raised for the new permanent structure. Three years later, The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, hosted a benefit concert at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena, raising over $64,000. The Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) partnered with the Revell Model Company to sell plastic models of the battleship USS Arizona. Enclosed inside the kit was donation information on the instruction sheet. This led to contributions of over $40,000. Finally, on September 6th, 1961, freshman Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye secured federal funding, which provided the final $150,000 to complete the construction, so in the end, public money was required to meet the goal. The legislation stated that the Memorial was “to be maintained in honor and commemoration of the members of the Armed Forces of the United States who gave their lives to their country during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941.” 

Several days after this visit, Jeff took us to his office building on Hickham AFB. It now houses the Pacific Air Forces Command, but it 1941 it was the large barracks fired upon while most of the men were sleeping on that long ago Sunday morning. 

The main lobby holds a disply of "Old Glory," the flag which flew over the base during the attack. 
 

The interior courtyard has been named The Courtyard of Heros, commemorating those that died in the Pacific War. 
 

Bullet strafing from December 7, 1941 remain preserved in the walls of the building. 
 

These next photos show the barracks as they are now, and how they were then. 
 

Hallway today

Same location, a sleeping bay in 1941.

Sailors, relaxing around the radio in 1941.

The same location today.

These and other images of that day have implanted themselves firmly in my mind. I've had dreams of the attack since this visit, placing myself as a civilian living on Oahu, standing paralyzed, looking at the skies as the Japanese planes flew in from the North Shore, down the lush green canyons to Pearl Harbor. In my dream I felt the panic they must have felt and agonized over the deaths of all those young men, horribly awakened to fight for their lives.  The website of The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument says it well:

More than just a significant military battle in world history, the events at Pearl Harbor awakened the local military and civilian residents to the character of war. At the moment bombs began to fall, these men and women were instantly engaged into the depths of the human condition.

December 7, 1941 Losses	United States	Japan
Personnel Killed	2,390
Navy	1,999	64
Marine Corps	109
Army and Army Air Forces	233
Civilian	49
Personnel Wounded	1,178	unknown
Navy	710
Marine Corps	69
Army and Army Air Forces	364
Civilian	35
Ships
Sunk or Beached**	12	5
Damaged*	9
Aircraft
Destroyed	164	29
Damaged	159	74

* Figures are subject to further review
** All U.S. Ships, except Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma were salvaged and later saw action.

 
Lest we forget. Thank you for stopping by. Please take a moment today to remember the lives lost on the beaches of Normandy, at Pearl Harbor, in WWII and all other conflicts.

Coming Off Aloha Time

Do you know that there is a five hour time difference between Central Texas and Hawaii?  It doesn't sound like much and I didn't feel it too much when we arrived in Honolulu. I did hit a wall the second afternoon, but all it took to adjust was a couple of nights going to bed about 6:00pm.

But, I tell you, coming home has been different. We were in Hawaii three weeks, which I guess is enough time to really screw with your internal clock. We've been home six days and I'm still having trouble waking up in the mornings. My eyes creep open, thinking it's about 5:00am, which is when I typically wake up the first time every morning, and then promptly go back to sleep. But no, it's 10:00! 10:00 and all I want to do is close my eyes and go back to sleep because, in Honolulu, it is 5:00am. The first few days we slept until noon, giving ourselves the weekend to "recover." Then, as each subsequent  day dawned, we gave ourselves another day because "we are not as young as we used to be and don't bounce back as fast."

When I do finally drag myself out of bed at 10:00 or 11:00, it's not like I spring into action either. I'm not exactly "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" as my mother would say. Here it is, day six back in Texas, and I haven't finished unpacking yet. On the other hand, it is now 7:35pm and I'm energized enough to finally write a blog, something I would rarely be doing on my normal schedule at this time of day. For me, if it doesn't happen before 4:00pm, it's not going to happen that day. AND, I moved my desktop computer and printer from my office back to my sun room/reading porch, necessitating a rearranging of the furniture there as well, both accomplished after 4:00pm. I guess there is something to be said for this "not a morning person" lifestyle. My husband will be so happy to hear me say this. 

Let me just say that I anticipate being back to normal soon, I hope. We had a really wonderful and memorable trip to Hawaii and I will be sharing some of our adventures here soon. I have some great stories to tell. 

For now, I will leave you with this photo from our trip, one of nearly 900 I uploaded from my camera yesterday. No, I won't post all of them here or on Facebook, but I will share some of the best ones soon. This one shows Scott and I after our first ever helicopter ride (for both of us) over the volcanoes near Hilo on the big island of Hawaii.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be back as soon as I can get my head and body off Aloha time.    

Challenge: Vacation

Time for a little Calvinball change in my writing challenge rules. I'm going on vacation.

In fact, I'll be very busy spending the week with two of my very best friends, Leah and Vicki. I go first to Raleigh, NC for a few days and then we drive up to Newport News, VA. There my friends and I will be attending a fundraising event for the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF.) This is a wonderful nonprofit organization that helps those who are battling life-threatening diseases cope with the business of being ill. PAF tries to manage the burdens of insurance negotiations, treatment, employment issues and legal problems for the patient so that he or she can concentrate on the most important thing -- getting well. I hope you will follow the link I inserted above sometime and read about the great work they do. My friend, Leah, is one of the founders of PAF and still serves on their Board of Directors.

I won't be posting while I'm gone because I want to spend all the time I can with my these ladies. Also the mobile app for Blogger is only so-so; mobile posting can be very frustrating. I will pick up the writing challenge when I get back and hope to have some new adventures to share. Although, you know what they say, what happens in Newport News . . . .

Thanks for stopping by.   

On My Way to Paradise

No, I'm not dying; far from it. My husband and I are leaving next week for the longest vacation we've been on together -- three weeks in the Caribbean and I can't wait. It hasn't been much of a winter here at home, but today it is rainy and cold with nothing but the same in sight for several more days. Come Tuesday I'll be boarding the plane for San Juan, Puerto Rico where we'll stay the rest of the week. Then we board a cruise ship for two weeks. The first of those we'll stop at Grenada, St. Lucia, Antigua, St Croix and St. Thomas. The second week we'll see Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Dominica and Barbados. 

We have been to Puerto Rico before and really enjoyed it. That's why we scheduled almost a week there prior to the cruise. We'll be staying at a hotel on Isla Verde beach, which is the beach you see in your mind when you think Caribbean. Here are a couple of photos from the last time we were there.

Isla Verde Beach viewed from our hotel room.

Rain storm approaching the beach.

 We also hope to make another visit to the only rain forest in the the U.S. National Forest system -- El Yonque, located in the mountains of Puerto Rico, north of San Juan. I have a better camera now than I did then, so I'll come home with much better photos. Here are some shots from the first visit. 

Our guide made his hat from one giant leaf, secured with the stem.

One of the waterfalls in El Yonque.

 As for the stops we'll make on the cruise, of the list, I've only seen St. Thomas and Dominica before. The rest will be surprises for us. The ship travels at night and docks while everyone is asleep. So every morning when you open your curtains, the view is new and spectacular. 

The soundtrack in my head has been playing the Alison Krauss tune "Oh, Atlanta" all week. Not because I'm thinking about Atlanta, but because of the line that says, "I-I'm on my way-a back to-oo Georgia."   Except, when I sing it, it comes out "back to paradise." Either way, hope you enjoy it. . . .

So stayed tuned; I'll be back with photos and stories in a few weeks. For those of you who may be worried that I have, with this post, told the "thousands" of criminals that scan the internet that I'll be gone for three weeks, don't worry. I have a house-sitter who will be here all the time. She's armed and will have three ferocious dogs helping her protect the house. 

Wouldn't you be scared?

Thanks for stopping by today. Until the first week of April, when you think of me, if you think of me, picture me like this....

How I Spent My Summer Vacation (so far)

Well, since we last talked, I have been very busy. In fact, it's been a whirlwind summer. I returned from the European trip and stayed home a total of six days before Scott and I were off to Las Vegas. To be honest, the timing of this trip was not our choice, but we had promised to take our son, Ben, and his girlfriend for their first visit to Sin City and this was the only time frame they had open. (Ben is having to move to find a new job since he is one of the thousands of victims of Rick Perry's "Let's Make Sure None of My Rich Friends Pay More Taxes by Firing Teachers Instead" policy. But that's another story.)

While we were in Vegas I was able to get front row, center tickets to see Barry Manilow at Paris, where we stayed. I have been a Fanilow since 1975 and I make no apologies. I love him. They allowed cameras at the show, just no video, and I took nearly 70 photos during the 90 minute show. 

When we returned home, I stayed put for a grand total of eleven days before I was off to Marble Falls for a weekend at the lake house with a group of my best girlfriends. (OK, I know Marble Falls is just a little more than an hour away, but it still counts as a trip.) The weekend was relaxing and uplifting and I'm glad we finally were able to get together. By mutual agreement, there are no photos of this get-together; none of us wanted to end up on Facebook in our bathing suits!


So now I am home for the rest of the summer and happy to stay put for a while. I wrote one post while I was in Germany, the one about Memorial Day at the Luxembourg Cemetery. Since then I haven't written anything and I'm beginning to get a little itchy. I plan to spend some concentrated time writing during July, mostly because it will be too hot to do anything but swim and stay inside. 


But before I leave you today, I want to give you some of impressions of Germany. We had such a wonderful time and I took so many photographs that I am having trouble deciding what to share. So I'm going to the bottom line -- food. Here are some photos of some of the great food I had on my trip. Enjoy! I'll see you again soon.

Sugar Waffles, Bruges, Belgium

Beautiful bread, everywhere I went

White asparagus, a specialty in Bruges

Profiteroles with chocolate sauce

Apple pancake in Bruges; our favorite!

Raspberry pastry in Trier, Germany

Pretzels, everywhere in Germany

Fresh salad with chicken in Koblenz, waiting for the Rhine River cruise.

White asparagus toast & salad in Trier

Veal cordon bleu and vegetable quiche in Luxembourg.