the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. - President Franklin D. Roosevelt
DISCLAIMER: As I will explain more in-depth in a following post, I am in no way romanticizing World War II in this blog entry or any other future entries relevant to my obsession with studying the WWII Era. I know it was a terrible number of years that cost millions of lives in the worst ways and I have utmost respect for everyone whose lives were tarnished by this war.
Just had to get that out there first.
About three weeks ago, I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to get ready for Pearl Harbor. When my family and I had first arrived in Hawaii and my parents were making an itinerary, I told them I didn't care what we did or where we went as long 1) we saw turtles at the beach and 2) we went to Pearl Harbor. A 6:30 a.m. departure was nothing to me as long as I got to feed my history-obsessed brain and indulge in my fascination with learning about World War II.
We had such an eccentric but lovable tour guide on this day, which made it all even better. I opted to take the narrated tour because I wanted to experience everything to the fullest, and wow, it was definitely an experience actually listening to the USS Arizona survivors share their stories. And it was something else to hear them break down and cry while walking and reading through the museum and memorial.
The fact that the memorial rests on top of the remains of the ship - a literal burial site for thousands of soldiers - is so fascinating to me and I think there's no better way the memorial could have been constructed. I was also really touched by the fact that many of those who survived ask to be buried with their fallen comrades.
And what made this day even better were the souvenirs I got from the gift shop - a copy of a newspaper that ran when the United States joined WWII and a copy of a newspaper that ran after the war was officially over. I had a complete fangirl moment - ask my mom, who fondly rolled her eyes and told me to quiet down - because these paper copies blended three of the things I love the most - history, journalism, and learning about World War II. The Rosie the Riveter tote bag I bought for less than $3 was a pretty awesome purchase too.
Our visit to Pearl Harbor was undoubtedly my favorite part of going to Hawaii.
Fine, it's tied with my encounter with five giant sea turtles on the beach. But still. History. Pearl Harbor. World War II. Woah.
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