HAWAII -
You know that magical paradise where there
is sunshine, palm trees, lots of sand, blue oceans
with crashing waves, luau’s, pretty girls in grass
skirts with lei’s around their necks…
Yes, that was all there, in fact La Chel and I had
a surprise when we landed and headed into the
airport…there standing right in the path of the
people coming off of the plane was a cute young
Hawaiian fellow holding a sign with our names
on it and two beautiful orchid leis, one for each
of us (Ordered ahead by my very special son, Ken)
What a fun thing for him to do. Thanks, Ken !
We rented the car and checked into the beautiful
New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel in Waikiki in
Honolulu. The view from the room was gorgeous
overlooking the city, the ocean palm trees swaying
right outside and on the other side the well known
Diamond Head you hear so much about.
This was what I was expecting to experience there.
Never having been there before, I had visions
of what impact Hawaii would have on me.
Yes, it was all I had expected and I settled in to enjoy
every aspect of this vacation…
BUT little did I know that I was going to come home
with so much more than a gorgeous sunny vacation..
That impression was before our first day of being a
“tourist” and we headed off to start our visit at the
Pacific National Monument at Pearl Harbor.
That’s where the whole idea of Hawaii was changed
for me and I found out the most important thing about this
vacation was really finding out what really happened on
December 7, 1941.
There you can learn about how things really were
that fateful day.
Visiting the Pacific National Monument, the only
Naval Base in the United States designated a
a National Historic Landmark not only changed
my idea of Hawaii but made me so aware of
what actually went on there and what it was like
when the Japanese began the devastating
aerial attack on Pearl Harbor resulting in 2,390
dead and hundreds wounded and drove the U.S.
into World War II. (Oh sure, I had seen movies
about a this and realized it was bad but not
until I actually stood there on the USS
Arizona Memorial did the full impact of what
happened really hit me. ) It is such a horrific
thing we witnessed and yet so beautifully
preserved so we can all really understand
what happened that fateful day.
We went thru all the the film of the attack,
museums of the aircraft and viewed plaques
honoring those who lost their lives that day.
A guide showed us the hills off in the distance
where the Japanese planes came in. I can’t even
imagine the feeling that must have gone thru
those watching as those planes flew overhead
dropping all those bombs. It was an indescribable
feeling I had looking at those hills and trying
to imagine what those below were feeling. I had
not heard there were actually two attacks an
hour or so apart. Then they were planning a third
but cancelled it because their job was done with
the first two. Everything was already devastated
after the second attack.
Then we took the shuttle out to the USS Arizona
Memorial that is actually built right over the
sunken hull of the Arizona which is the final
resting place for most of the 1,177 crewman
that were on the ship. In the shrine room is a
marble wall that exhibits all the names of the
men who lost their lives on the Arizona.
That was an experience in itself. As the people
walked in every one got quiet. Not a word was
spoken as each of us stood before that wall
with all of those names on the wall realizing
they were the sons, fathers, the brothers and
husbands of many, many loved ones. And
the realization they are still entombed below
in their beloved ship.
What an awesome, sobering experience it was !!
SO Hawaii will never have the same
meaning to me as I look back on this
vacation….Yes, it is a beautiful, fun
playful place but it is also a place of
beauty in a different way.
The sacrifice that took place on Dec 7
and how the country responded made me
so proud of our country and appreciate
those whom we lost on that fateful day.
This visit to Pearl Harbor so changed me
that I shall never think the same of Hawaii
again !!!!!!!!
