REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR

I posted these two pictures on my photoblog, but I thought this would be an appropriate time to post them here, in observance of anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Thats Gabe and my dad, who retired to my mom's homestate of Hawaii after 20+ years in the Navy.  As a teenager I lived just minutes away from Pearl Harbor, and we could see it from our back yard.  I remember the very first time I ever cut out of school was to go to the Arizona Memorial with my brother.  For some reason it had become very important for us to go to the memorial and when we heard that the tour was free we decided to risk getting caught and we didn't get off the bus when it passed the high school.

If you've never been to the Memorial it would be hard for me to explain the emotions that swell up when you step onto the memorial.  Its a simple and yet beautiful structure built over the wreckage of the battleship.  Looking over the side you can see parts of the ship under water, and if you look carefully you can even see oil droplets floating up from below.  I thought of them as tears from the battleship for her crew.  Did you know that over 900 crewmembers are still entombed underwater in the wreckage?  While the dark tears rose from the ship below, my tears fell down to meet them.  I've been to the memorial dozens of times, and I cry each and every time.  The last time I went was two summers ago, with my own children.  And yes, I cried again.