I post this same thing every December 7th because it really sums it up for me. I lived in Hawaii for about 25 years and Pearl Harbor was something that was part of the fabric of my life.
I lived in Hawaii long enough to have met many Pearl Harbor survivors. It was such an honor to shake their hands, listen to their stories, give them hugs, and marvel at how young they were when they joined up and went through all they did.
As a concierge in Hawaii, how to see Pearl Harbor was the number one question I answered. My guests came back with such gratitude more often than not. What I loved were the sullen teenagers who didn’t want to be with their parents at all. They came back to the hotel, at least for a few hours, changed kids.
I will never forget my first helicopter ride over battleship row where I could look down and see the USS Arizona and see the oil still seeping out. The first time I flew I thought about the Japanese kids not even understanding why they where there but knowing it was likely a suicide mission. I cried and cried. The other passengers thought it was for our guys, and yes, it was, but it was mostly for those kids and their families.
I took at least nine helicopter tours over Oahu over the years and when we flew over and saw the Arizona, saw the other ships, saw the seeping oil and the little fish struggling to survive failed to leave me grateful, angry that we are still fighting wars, and offering up prayers.
We as a world seem unable or unwilling to remember our past mistakes and greed and power and that means we will sadly always have something like this somewhere in the world.
I wish all the military dollars we spend could go to education and the homeless and the hungry. Sadly, we still need the military. I have hundreds of friends who have served around the world and I am so proud of them and their families.
