Another trip underway!

I'm back out on the road just 10 days after returning from Hawaii!  I'm squeezing in a swing through the southeast US before heading back to the classroom.  No I do not have any pictures up for this posting, sorry.  I have taken quite a few!  Just did not have a chance to peruse them and choose which ones I wanted to post.  I will post some in a few days, but wanted to give an update. 

Drove to Alabama and along way attempted to find an unusual marker in Laurel, Mississippi; the memorial was to a group of local southerners who had resisted the Confederacy and actually declared the "Free State of Jones".  The memorial was financed by a northerner.  Unfortunately I did not have a great description or location and after about an hour of driving from one end of town to the other I had to move on.  I still ended up arriving in Montgomery pretty late and had some rain to deal with as well.

Next day was better as found all I had planned and more in the Alabama capitol.  I really enjoyed the RAF pilots section of the Oakwood Cemetery as it is classically British in nature but was surprised there was a large contingent of French military graves as well.  And I discovered a Confederate burial section in the cemetery; it was the location for a large number of burials of soldiers who died in local hospitals.

I then had a nice drive to Columbus, Georgia and Fort Benning.  The base is home to the National Infantryman Museum which traditionally was located on post along with a whole slew of memorials to individual units as well as the national Ranger memorial.  I had conversed with an Army historian and so had a pretty good idea of what I could use for my project.  The museum has been moved to a new location just outside the base gates and is FABULOUS!  It is state of the art and also includes a Soldier's Center.  Many of the people pulling up in cars are families of new soldiers who come to learn about the life upon which they have embarked.  The museum not only catalogs the history of the US infantryman but also the lifestyle and roles of their families.  So it was very interesting to watch the various reactions.  The museum has interactive exhibits and a wonderful walk through exhibit that includes panaromas and videos and sound; it is quite good and moving.  They were also preparing for a big black-tie shindig (and fundraiser) event marking the anniversary of the end of hostilities in WWII in the Pacific.

I had a great drive around the base as well and finally found the Sacrifice Field that houses all of the current unit/division memorials.  Most of these are slated to be moved to the new museum grounds in the future; currently there is only a single one at that location.  The old site is really quite majestic and sits adjacent to the old museum building that reminds one of a different era.  While the base is somewhat quiet currently with so many units deployed, they are doing some major renovations as the Armor School is moving to Fort Benning from Fort Knox in Kentucky!  Part of base realignment.    The national Ranger Memorial is really impressive as well and I do not believe it will be moving.  There is a Ranger training area on base that sits adjacent to the memorial and really exemplifies the history of the Rangers in the US Army.

Finally with much of my work done late in the afternoon, I was able to amble over to the golf course on the base and get in a round of golf.  The base has 3 sets of  9 holes of golf that are rated:  easy, medium and hard.  They are also named for famous generals:  Bradley, Marshall, and Patton; I bet you can guess even without my having listed them in order which-is-which!  LOL  Unfortunately, the playing conditions were a little tough as the temperature was around 95 degrees with 100% humidity!  Whew I started sweating before I even loaded up the golf cart, but the heat did not deter me.  I chose to play the Marshall and Patton courses and actually shot better on the Patton (hard) course than the Marshall 9.  Finished with an 83 so not bad.  Very few folks out that late in afternoon and heat - even tough Army guys! 

From Benning, I went on down to Americus, Georgia for the night as I wanted to see Andersonville National Historic Site and I could start there the next morning.  I must say it was worth the trip, but more on that and pictures later. 

Mighty Mo and Rare USS Arizona View

 We did have one short day and since my project is memorials, I was determined to return to Pearl Harbor and tour the USS Missouri AND as important, scout out some memorials I had seen on our previous visit to the USS Arizona memorial.  The USS Missouri is the last battleship built by the US and I do love battleships...well hey I love naval ships!  The Mighty Mo as she is nicknamed was built during the later stages of WWII and served throughout the Korean War before being out of service for almost 30 years; during the Reagan administration she was refitted and then served during Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf.  The Missouri is famous as the location of the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII and the symbolism of having the Japanese sign the documents aboard a battleship was paramount.   The picture below is of the site of the surrender on board the ship.

 The Missouri sits next to the USS Arizona Memorial and provides beautiful views of the memorial.  Both from the ship and from the end of the dock to which it is tied.   In the first picture you can see one of the small boats that ferries visitors to the memorial.

   The bridge of the Missouri has been preserved from its last action in the Persian Gulf. Like the USS Arizona, the Missouri is on the naval base at Pearl Harbor and so the navy controls access; you buy your ticket at the park visitor center on the mainland and then take a bus over to Ford Island where you board the Missouri.

Now I had another destination I wanted to visit while on Ford Island and Ranger Martinez had told me how to access the area.  While on the USS Arizona I had seen a large stone that I knew must be a memorial on Ford Island located in a housing area; I was told this was the original memorial put up for the USS Arizona.  So of course I had to scout it out!  After walking through the Missouri, I headed back out to the bus drop off/pickup location and then casually walked  around the small roped off area and over to the road.  From here I headed toward the small base houses on this end of Ford Island.  Just about 50 feet beyond the ropes was a small memorial indicating where the USS West Virginia had been docked on December 7 (this is where the USS Missouri is now berthed).  This is a small white marble stone with a bronze plaque. 

I now just continued down the small paved road.  I reached a sign that stated that the area beyond was for "authorized military personnel only", but I could see another memorial farther down and the Ranger had told me I could go to the original memorial and well I just took off down the road walking with purpose (always appear as if you know where you are going and belong there!).  The area I was walking through housed the officers of the Marines stationed on Ford Island and so I passed the Colonel's and Lieutenant Colonel's and other homes; they are really quite quaint and look to be historical.  I soon found the USS Arizona berth memorial as well; it looks just like the one for the USS West Virigina and indicates the ship was berthed here on December 7.  But this was still not the memorial I had seen and so I continued onwards.  And then around the next small curve I stepped forward and was amazed at my view.     This was the original USS Arizona memorial placed here by the Navy League in 1955.  It is a large stone facing out towards the Arizona with a bronze plaque on one side that explains its purpose and underneath is placed a park bench.   I walked to the edge just a few feet beyond and took in the startling and peaceful view.  By this time the USS Arizona Memorial was closed for the day and so there were no visitors aboard, but the flag shown beautifully and proudly in the breeze.  I sat on the bench for a few minutes and tried to imagine that morning so long ago as it must have been just as peaceful.  I also wondered if any of the Marine officers ever come here to sit and contemplate as it is such a lovely spot and an exceptional view that is quite close.  This is a view that few civilians ever have of the USS Arizona.    This is a view I will never forget and I will always treasure these pictures.  I also made a small video of this site and the views.  It is below.  I will say my adventure did not end here as I could now see another small memorial in the far back edge of the nearby house at the end of the street and thus at the end of Ford Island.  I decided to take the chance and just walk on down to it since I had come this far; I was literally walking in the backyard of the Marine officer's yard.  As I stepped up to the small memorial that marked the berth of the USS Nevada on December 7 I had to step in some pretty nasty mud but it was so worth it!  Again there was a small bench placed here and I admired the view at the end of the island and imagined the USS Nevada attempting to get up power to flee the carnage that fateful morning. 

With a few more pictures in my possession, I headed back to the bus pick up area and smiled at the knowledge that I had some great views of Pearl Harbor for my project.

Okay so here I will share a few of the views I had on Kauai including the Veterans Cemetery -- see I did do some work there LOL.  (for golf pics check out my golf blog in a few days)

 Views from my room at resort:

Okay a little of the golf course views:

And beautiful Waimea Canyon:

Pearl Harbor Workshop

[For your info, I have now returned from my Hawaiian trip but am still posting to the blog to catch up.  Kauai was fabulous and the golf great, but trip home became an ordeal when flight from Honolulu delayed 5 hours so from time left Kauai to arrival at DFW was about 24 hours - yuck.]  After our military and civililan panels the day before, we again headed out to see more sites around Honolulu.  And again we had Ranger Martinez as our guide!  He's a great guy who has the best stories and oh well he's a golfer! LOL.

Our first destination was the Army Museum in Hawaii on the grounds of Fort Debussy.  The museum is inside an old shore battery on Waikiki!  The museum includes a history of Hawaii as well as the US Army in Hawaii and really has some great exhibits.  There is a nice focus on the Japanese American units that fought in WWII (442 Regimental Combat Team and 100th Division).  








I also made sure to photograph the piece of a tail of a Japanese "Kate" bomber that was downed during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
However, my favorite part is the exhibit on the Medal of Honor recipients from Hawaii.  This is located upstairs and really is quite impressive with the narratives for which the medal was awarded. 

  From the museum we headed to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific usually called simply the Punchbowl cemetery.  The cemetery is located in the old crater of an extinct volcano and was a sacred place for native Hawaiians long before it became a national cemetery in 1947.    Many US servicemen/women remains were moved here from throughout the Pacific at the end of the war.  Interesting, when the cemetery was established Hawaii was still not yet a state and so the cemetery was considered an "overseas" cemetery and administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission (just like the US Cemetery in Normandy I visited earlier in the summer); thus the layout and decor are reminiscent of those overseas cemeteries.  However, the cemetery is now administered by Department of Veterans Affairs.

The cemetery contains the remains of many of the Japanese Americans who fought in the famous 442 in WWII and there is a memorial specifically for them. As you know if you have been reading this blog this summer, yes my odd streak remained intact; as we headed across part of the grounds, within 10 feet I came to the final resting place of a Texan!   There were also some specific and interesting memorials on the grounds that I photographed.  The reconciliation memorial here is quite special as it was placed here by US and Japanese veterans of WWII.  And then I found one that reminded me of some old friends that I made back in 1994-95 when I chaired our campus year-long anniversary tribute to the 50th anniversary of WWII!  We had a large contingent of retired navy guys who were part of our senior education folks on campus who came to almost every program and provided me some great contacts; they eventually adopted me into their group -- they are the Tin Can Sailors (those who served on destroyers for those who don't know navy jargon LOL). 

Now I will admit this is a beautiful location and there are many gorgeous views, however I still prefer the cemeteries that have headstones as I think they have a stunning visual impact on the visitor and remind one of the cost of war. 

After the moving time at the Punchbowl, we were off to Hickam Field - the Air Force Base on Oahu.  We met Pearl Harbor survivors for lunch and a chance to talk with them in a relaxed setting -- the Officer's Club!  What great fun we had and I enjoyed getting to know Bob Kinzler whose daughter had graduated from West Point and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.   

 Oh and the scenery was fabulous!

  We then were treated to a really UNIQUE experience -- a tour of the old barracks at Hickam that were attacked on December 7!  The building still shows the scars of the attack although it now serves as the HQ of the Air Force in the Pacific!  So tourists do not get to come here but we did and had personal tour :)    Yes those marks are damage from Japanese fighters that fired upon the building with 20mm cannons as they flew over.  The damage has been preserved as a reminder.  There is also a small musuem inside that includes the original US flag that flew over the base on December 7 and was badly damaged but preserved and flown during the Japanese surrender ceremony on the USS Missouri.

Wow so what another great day!  We would have several more days of academic presentations that stirred our interest and many questions.  Some of these were hot topics such as the use of the atomic bomb and how we remember events. 

I also had a great chance to interact with my workshop colleagues and share our teaching ideas and methods. I made some good friends and shared some fun experiences.  We even had a short sunset cruise off Waikiki on a catamaran and then 3 of us met 3 Marines who were in Hawaii for an engineering class.  We dined together at the beach (well they let us join them at their table instead of waiting an hour for a table at the famous Duke's) and had fun talking military history and their service; they had all served in Iraq/Afghanistan and build air fields.  They were fascinated by our workshop and it was a sort of bridge from the past to the present.  Now stay tuned as my next post will take you to the Mighty Mo! and my personal adventure on Ford Island :) 

Listening to the Voices

I'm going to admit right up front that I am writing this blog post from my lanai (patio) of my room at my hotel on Kauai and watching and listening to the waves splash ashore under the moonlight.  I am a few days behind on my posts for the conference which is now concluded as we were busy morning to night and any other time was spent visiting and exchanging ideas with other participants.  So I have given myself a little break with my own personal sidetrip to the island in the Hawaiian chain that I always wanted to visit.  It is just for a few days and has helped me clear my brain a little.  My summer will take me almost 50,000 miles by the time I am done and this is a needed break.  Today I played 36 holes of golf on the north shore at some absolutely spectacular courses that were challenging as well as just gorgeous with views of the ocean - the Prince course and Makai Courses at Princeville.  And I am pretty proud that I scored so well with an 85 and 86.  Princeville has over 10 miles of cart path and stretches across 5200 acres.  I was then able to drive to the furthest point west one can drive in the US!  But tomorrow I will get back to some work as there are war memorials on Kauai!! LOL

After our great day visiting Pearl Harbor, the conference then provided us with the chance to listen to some special voices:  survivors of Pearl Harbor, both military and civilians as well as additional voices!  They truly were unique and touching.  The military veterans were first and they simply wowed us all.  There was an 87 year old veteran who served as a pharmacists mate in the navy; on December 7 and the next few days, he helped treat hundreds of wounded and pulled bodies and remains from ships such as the West Virginia.  He went on to serve at Guadalcanal and throughout the war and eventually earned a captaincy.  Another veteran had been stationed on the USS Pennsylvania and was seriously wounded during the attack and later was evacuated back to the mainland and transferred to the Atlantic.   Finally, we were all greatly moved by the story of a Japanese-American who was serving in the University of Hawaii ROTC program on December 7 and was immediately put into service helping to guard the island, until the military decided a few days later that these Japanese-American citizens were somehow "threats" to the nation and disbanded their unit and refused to allow them to serve.  His voice broke as he explained that the moment he had his weapon removed and was told his country did not want his assistance was the worst and most painful moment of his life.  Later he would be part of the formation of the 442 Regimental Combat Team comprised of Japanese-Americans and then he was chosen for Military Intelligence and was assigned into the Pacific.   Later in the week we had the opportunity to meet even more veterans and Pearl Harbor survivors.

We next listened to a panel of civilian survivors of the war.  First was a Japanese-American woman who had lived on the property adjancent to the entrance to Pearl Harbor and who witnessed the Japanese planes fly over her home on their way to attack the US Navy.  Her family was soon kicked out of their home that was then confiscated by the military; she suffered many hardships and she and her family were detained for a time in a camp on the islands while her father was sent to the mainland.  She is a strong proud woman today and urged us to make sure our students learn of the Japanese internment.  The next two speakers were Pacific Islanders from the Marianas; these men had lived through Japanese occupation, then US liberation and finally American occupation.  They told of being the battleground between two powerful nation-states and the price they paid, and they sadly desribed the nuclear bomb testing that was conducted on their island chain and made such places as the Bikini atoll unlivable today.  These were voices rarely heard in the US and I believe we were all fascinated and enlightened.  Our final civilian speaker had been born in Hawaii but returned with his family to Japan prior to the war, he ended up as a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and gave his first-person account of that horrible day.  His story was moving and thought-provoking.   We were all left to ponder our reactions and thoughts to such a moving and memorable day. 

As I am tiring quickly tonight, I will stop here for now.  The next post will explain much of the rest of the workshop including some additional site visits we made and my own personal adventure to photograph some little seen memorials of battleship row. I will leave you with another Hawaiian sunset looking out from our dorm (yes a dorm :). 

A Day Which Will Live in My Memory

The first day of our NEH Landmarks Workshop we departed the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii for a grand adventure visiting key sites related to World War II and especially the attack on Pearl Harbor.  We had as our escort/tour guide National Park Service Ranger Daniel Martinez who overflows with knowledge on all of the sites that we would see this day.  I felt goosebumps and excitement as we headed toward sites I had long read and taught about.  My mind returned to the times in class I had read the stories of Medal of Honor recipients from December 7th to my students.  One in particular remained in my mind and I would return to him near the end of our trip.

We began the trip on Ford Island which is still an active military base but we had access and our expert guide.  We stopped at what had been the area of the airfields first attacked on December 7 and were able to see the damage that remains from the attack.  One can still see the pockmarks from Japanese aircraft fire particularly 20mm cannon in the concrete. 

We also stood on the exact spot where the very famous photo of the USS Shaw exploding in drydock had been shot during the attack.  You could see hospital point where the USS Nevada had been run aground to avoid sinking and blocking the channel. 

The bus then brought us to the Pacific Aviation Museum which has a great smaller collection of photographs and vintage airplanes.  The original control tower on Ford Island also stands sentinal outside the museum.   

 From the museum we headed to the newest addition to the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument (the new name for the what had been previously known simply as the  USS Arizona Memorial).  A beautiful and touching new memorial has been added to commemorate the loss of the USS Oklahoma and the more than 400 sailors who went down with the valiant ship when she rolled over after numerous hits by torpedoes.  The memorial includes single white posts with the names of each of those sailors etched upon it.       

Our next stop was the visitors center for the USS Arizona memorial and our boat ride out to the famous site.  The visitor's center is currently undergoing a major redo and upgrade and the film that one usually views is currently being shown in a temporary tent facility.  The film explains the history behind the memorial and helps to set the mood, however we noticed that some people were bypassing watching the film.  We would view the film later in the week so we could compare it to the previous film that had run since 1981; our Ranger guide, Daniel, had helped lead the effort to create the new film. 
We boarded the last boat to the memorial.  The memorial is run by the Park Service but the boat ride is operated by the US Navy and its personnel who serve 3 year shifts on this duty.  Our full boat headed across the water of Pearl Harbor to our somber destination.    

Upon disembarking, we entered the long white structure and immediately individuals began taking photos. The Memorial itself was crowded with people and was noisy much to the chagrin of many of us on the tour; it was hard to focus on the site itself, but I walked along among the people both young and old and worked to let my mind wander back to that day.  All those young men, over 900, lay silently entombed forever in their ship; in this place they are immortal at least in our memories.  While some may view the USS Arizona as a reminder that the nation should always be prepared to defend itself, and others may view it as a reminder that we should strive for peace, I am always reminded that in war the ultimate cost is paid by the thousands of young men and women like these who sleep forever in the waters of Pearl Harbor.   This ship is both a memorial and a tomb and elicits emotions from most who visit.     The wall containing the etched names of all those lost on the ship that Sunday morning evokes a since of solemnity and sadness.    In addition, those crewman who survived that fateful day may request to be returned to their ship upon their deaths.  Their names are listed as well and on this day there were 2 read roses here also.  Ranger Daniel explained that this was a tradition started by a Japanese veteran of the war who had created a bond of friendship with a Pearl Harbor survivor and began an individual effort at reconciliation that has been embraced by some veterans.  The roses had become a sign of this reconciliation and are still delivered to the site on a regularly basis per the Japanese veteran's request before his death.  As Daniel began to explain this story to our group, many other people in this area of the memorial became silent and also listened in to the narrative.  We were all moved and Daniel himself, who had worked with these veterans, became choked up as he finished his story.  It was a poignant and moving moment and as I do at these memorials with lists of names, I quietly say a few of the names aloud; it is my small way of helping keep their memory alive.

I walked along the memorial and gazed into the areas beneath where the hulk of the ruined ship lies on the bottom.  Nearby one can see the mighty battleship USS Missouri that I would visit in a few days.     I also noticed over on the nearby shore of Ford Island a small memorial!  My interest was peaked and when I asked Professor Geoffrey White who was also leading our group, I was informed that his was one of the original memorials to the Arizona!  And yes I could probably access the memorial when I visited the USS Missouri -- I now had a new adventure in my sites.  

The Arizona site also contains the USS Bowfin submarine and the tribute to the US silent service.  I found this interesting as the site is very similar in what it contains to the Groton, CT site I had just visited a few weeks past.  Each of the submarines that had been lost at sea is remembered here and her crew names are listed. 

We boarded the bus and headed to our last stop at the park and a site that is not accessed by the general public as it is located on the opposite side of the island.  This is the tribute to the USS Utah, a training ship, that had been lost on December 7 with the lives of 58 men.  The navy had attempted to salvage the aging battleship but the task had proved diffcult and so it was decided that is should also remain at the bottom of Pearl Harbor.  Parts of the ship remain visible above water and a small but fitting walkway out toward the hulk contain a memorial plaque with an eloquent quote from the Senator from Utah who had led in the dediction of the memorial.  This site particularly moved me as I have for years related the sad but heroic story of Peter Tomich, an immigrant, who served in the navy and gave his life on December 7 to save as many of the men on the ship as possible by working to keep the power on.  For his extreme gallantry, he received the Medal of Honor posthumously, however, there was no family to receive the award and so the state of Utah became's its keepers until just a few years ago when Tomich's distant relatives were located in his home country.  

Upon departing the Valor in the Pacific Park (and the museum store where I did have to purchase some key items LOL), we headed into downtown Honolulu and the state capitol grounds and royal palace.  We were allowed a few minutes off of the bus to take photos of the famous statue of King Kamemeha.   However, I knew that the capitol grounds contained the Hawaiian Korean and Vietnam memorials and had seen them as we drove up so myself and one of my workshop mates headed out in search of it.  The memorial commemorates those Hawaiians who gave their life in either conflict and it is an elegant and beautiful memorial.  The site appears to be a simple serpentine wall with a step design along the wall, however, as you approach you see that each of the protruding stones has the name of a fallen Hawaiian etched upon it.   Many tropical flowers adorned the names. 

 

We made one more stop at the beautiful Pali Lookout that was the site of the famous battle that finally united the Hawaiian Islands under a single ruler.  The view of the north side of the island was spectacular!  And did see a gorgoues golf course below. 

This was a beautiful reminder that we were in Hawaii!!  We concluded this spectacular day with a welcoming dinner at the Japanese consulate.  This lovely home has been the site for the consulate for over 100 years and the current consolute and his wife are charming.  When she learned I was from Texas her face lit up in a huge smile because they had previously served at the consulate in Houston and had loved their time in Texas. I also learned that they would also be going over to the neighboring island of Kauai at the end of the week for some golf -- just as I  plan to do :)

Our workshop had begun with a sensory, on-site experience that brought to life all of the history and stories that so many of us knew by heart.  We teemed with thoughts and images and the next day we would hear the voices that enlivened those stories as well as brought us new narratives to incorporate.