talked with a Pearl Harbor survivor today/Mighty MO

March 22, 2004

I just had to share the truly moving and emotional experience I was privileged

to have today. We are still " stuck " in Honolulu, but will hopefully get a

standby flight out to DFW tomorrow. We took the kids to see Pearl Harbor today.

First, we got there VERY early in order to obtain free (but limited) tickets to

visit the USS Arizona Memorial and " battleship row " , where thousands of our

veterans are entombed...having died during or shortly after the attack upon

Pearl Harbor. As we were waiting for our group # to be called, an elderly

gentleman sat down beside me on a bench. He was a volunteer Pearl Harbor

survivor (proudly wearing his military cap..I apologize for not knowing the

correct term for it), and was graciously signing autographs on various souvenirs

visitors approached him with. He was kind enough to allow Lennie to take my

picture with him, and then autographed a postcard of the USS Arizona Memorial

I'd purchased. I intend to frame it when I get back home to TX. This elderly

veteran volunteers his time faithfully as often as he can to do this, as do

several others. I was so moved by his quiet, kind, serious and patient

demeanor. I thanked him for what he and so many others in our military (both

past and present) have done for us all. He smiled and said, " Thank you for

coming here to honor us. We must always remember that freedom is not free, lest

we forget the ultimate price many have paid. " I was greatly humbled, and could

not help the tears which welled up in my eyes. As many may already know,

veterans who survived the fiery bombing/sinking of the USS Arizona have the

option of being buried/interred " at sea " at the site of the USS Arizona upon

their deaths, and there is a separate marble memorial for those heroic

individuals. Many Hawaiian leis are always placed there in memorial.

After visiting the USS Arizona Memorial, we then went over to the USS Missouri

( " The Mighty MO " ), upon which deck the Japanese unconditionally surrendered to

the Allied Forces. The Mighty MO was used as a fully functional battleship as

recently as Desert Storm. We took an extended " Explorers Tour " , which the kids

really got a lot out of (so did we). It is impossible to leave there without a

whole new healthy respect for the tremendous fighting and firepower of our

military, as well as the men and women who lay their lives on the line for us

willingly. What's extra neat about the way Pearl Harbor is set up for tourists

to see is that you can visit both the place/event (USS Arizona Memorial) which

took the USA into WWII, as well as the USS Missouri where the USA ended the war

in the Pacific (the USS Missouri was actually in Tokyo Bay when the surrender

was signed by the Japanese).

Love,

~LoneStarRose~

(~~)

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