Saturday, March 28, 2009

USS Arizona Memorial
















The next day in Honolulu we visited the USS Arizona Memorial to WWII veterans. Many Japanese were also visitors. I spoke to one of the young couples who were waiting for the theater to open before riding the boat to see the memorial. When I asked what he thought of the memorial he indicated in broken English that it was a victory for the Japanese. I said, "In my opinion, Nagasaki and Hiroshima would never have happened if the Pearl Harbor had not happened." They nodded their heads. We took each others pictures and waved when we saw each other again.
There were no Miller relatives on the Navy ships when Pearl Harbor was attacked but Terry’s father, Bill Miller, joined the Navy on December 9, 1941 and was immediately sent to Honolulu to clean it up. On the back wall is a list of Navy personnel who didn’t survive including several Millers. Oil on the water was a poignant reminder that the effects of this war are still with us.

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