On the way we stopped at the farmers stand for some picked mango and banana lumpia (delicious). I ate half of it before I remembered to take a picture for the food lovers.
We stopped at the vista on the Na Pali highway, one of the windiest places I've ever been.
When we did get out of class after lunch on our last day on Friday, I headed over to the northeast corner of Ford Island to see the USS Missouri. Before boarding, all I had to do was look over to my left to see the memorial to the the 1,177 Sailors and Marines lost on Dec 7, 1941.
Then I stepped aboard a piece of history. The battleship built by the US that also fought during the Battle of Okinawa and Iwo Jima during WWII, the Korean War, and saw its last action during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
The USS Missouri keeping watch over the USS Arizona. These two vessels are known as the bookends of World War II. The attack on the Arizona on Dec 7, 1941 got the US involved WWII, and the Missouri was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II on Sep 2, 1945.
The tour of the Missouri was great, from the personal tour by the vets who served aboard her to the self-guided tour with the iTouch.
The stories aboard the Missouri were unforgettable.
She still has a dent on her starboard side from a kamikaze jet that crashed into the her after being shot down in suicide mission. On 11 April, a low-flying kamikaze, although fired on, crashed on Missouri's starboard side, just below her main deck level. The starboard wing of the plane was thrown far forward, starting a gasoline fire at 5 in (130 mm) Gun Mount No. 3. The battleship suffered only superficial damage, and the fire was brought quickly under control. The remains of the pilot were recovered onboard the ship just aft of one of the 40 mm gun tubs. Captain Callaghan decided that the young Japanese pilot had done his job to the best of his ability, and with honor, so he should be given a military funeral. The following day he was buried at sea with military honors. (Source: Wikipedia)
This quote at the USS Memorial reminds of the Sundays at the Chapel at Officer Candidate School. Every service would end with this hymn, and there other verses added for Marines, pilots, Air Force, Soldiers, and even one for Seabees.
As much as I'd like to end there, I can't. My friend Rich had never been to a luau, and when in Rome... not that I'm an expert, I'd only been to one luau before this one at Germaine's. It was our last night in Hawaii, and we had a great time sitting with a woman from Liverpool who was football fan and a couple from Australia who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. It's a small world. The Aussie had actually spent time in Minnesota working with 3M. He was even in MN during the great Halloween snowstorm of 1991, and hadn't been back since. We had so much fun that I slept through the Germany/Liverpool match that started at 4am the next morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment