Early, early morning again. Started with a text from back home at 2 am Hawaii time. Then another at 4. Not much sleep.
We left the hotel for Pearl Harbor at 7:13. Two minutes early, actually. And we needed every bit of it. As we got our bearings just inside the entrance, we heard music. The Star Spangled Banner. It was flag raising time. Everyone all around us turned toward the flagpole and stood at attention, hands and hats over hearts. Very moving start to the day.
Our first stop was the USS Missouri. It takes … a while … to walk around and down and up a battleship. Most fascinating fact: the big guns are all pointing in the direction of the USS Arizona Memorial in respect of the dead sailers buried with their ship.
Next we went to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. Lots of airplanes, most notably, representatives of every kind of plane involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent reprisals against Japan. The Bob Hope building was fascinating. All sorts of memorabilia of his many trips to entertain troops. I gotta say, though, my favorite site was beneath the actual radio tower that was present during the attack and in fact was the key landmark for the Japanese planes. Why so special? Well, the history, for sure. But they also had parked at the base of the tower two of the fire trucks that responded to the fires from the attack. Got me a photo behind the wheel. I don’t even have a photo of me behind the wheel of a Galveston Fire Department truck.
Our final stop at Pearl Harbor for the day (we are returning after the cruise to see the USS Arizona) was the Submarine Bowfin. And Chris had a major breakthrough. She (as did Kay Lynn) made it though the entire submarine tour without a significant issue with claustrophobia. That’s a big deal. Proud of her.
Tried loco moco - rice, hamburger steak, grilled onions, brown gravy, topped with a fried egg. Then we went to Magnolia ice cream and treats. Passed on the purple yam flavor and went with good ol’ reliable chocolate. I did try the Kona coffee/chacodamia nut. Interesting flavor, but not at 6 in the evening.
On the way home we saw some of the same street performers Cary and I saw the night before. Then we all went to the Waikiki Christmas Store for a commemorative ornament. I had a “discussion “ with a lady who may or may not have been … mildly intoxicated. She even tried to get the whole store to sing “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” Not very successful. None of us could remember the words. But, hey. What better way to end such a day than with a good Christmas Carol “attempt.”
Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Father, thank you for the sacrifice of all those in the armed forces. Please watch over them.
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