Pearl Harbor

One of the things my Dad said he for sure wanted to do while in Hawaii was visit Pearl Harbor. We went on Saturday, August 1st, the day after Claudia and Bobby arrived in Hawaii.

We went aboard the USS Missouri, where WWII officially ended (with the Japanese surrender). It was huge! They said it's bigger than the Titanic and the USS Arizona.

Hannah and Sam had a really good time on it. Sam was convinced it was a pirate ship and he found it absolutley fascinating. There were lots of ladder-type stairs to climb which they thoroughly enjoyed. It was pretty interesting seeing what tight quarters the sailors had to live in.

There was a poem framed in the officers' quarters. It's called "The Flag" by Lonny Kelley. It reads:

They were raising the flag at the courthouse
when I saw the old man standing there.
While sitting on the ground reading my book
he gave me a cold hard stare.
The old man said when the flag was raised
that he didn't see me stand.
So he sat right down, said I'll tell you a story
then maybe you'll understand.

I've seen that flag standing on a stage
while attending a USO dance.
I saw her fly and stand real tall
at Normandy on the coast of France.
I saw her raised on Mt. Suribachi
after we climbed that murderous hill.
I've seen her draped on grey colored caskets
as she solemnly lay there still.

I saw her again on Pork Chop Hill
as she became a point of rally.
She came in handy when we took a beating
in a place called Chosin Valley.
Saigon wasn't such a popular place
while there she was even spit on.
But she held her own while being surrounded
flying high in a camp called Khe San.

I've left a lot of my friends behind
with a cross to mark their grave.
They fought and died and lost their lives
so that flag could forever wave.
So the next time that you see her
being raised into the air,
try standing with your hand on your heart
and show her that you really care.



Thank you to all of our veterans! Freedom isn't free.