Pearl Harbor

Today is Pearl Harbor day. When I was in eighth grade, my Grandpa Bill gave a talk at my Junior High about his experiences in the Marines during WWII. He later came back and joined a panel of veterans, including one that had been AT Pearl Harbor. That vet talked to me at length about his experiences. I wish I could now remember more about that man and his story.

I've always been interested in history and especially my own family's role in it. Grandpa Bill was at Iwo Jima where he was wounded and he eventually made it to Occupational Japan. His brother was at Guadalcanal. Meanwhile, my other grandpa's Aunt Catherine was a WAC in the Pacific.

I'm lucky to have heard their stories and I wish I recorded things better. They say that a picture is worth a 1000 words, so here they are.

 

This is my Grandpa Jack's Aunt Catherine. She was a nurse and joined with the WAC. The story I remember most from her is when she got so sick with an illness (I think it was malaria) she almost died and how she and her fellow WACs would patrol armed only with heavy flash lights.



 

The tough guy in the middle is my Grandpa Bill. He dropped out of high school to work on the war effort and later joined the Marines. He fought in the battle of Iwo Jima and still has particles of sand in bedded in his hands! He would tell us how well they were all fed and how they got sick on it with the boat rocking. He'd tell us about being wounded, how he recovered at Pearl Harbor and after recovering, went to Japan as an occupational troop. He'd tell how this Japanese gentleman came up to him and another guard with a sword and how terrified they were that he'd try to use it. He ended up surrendering it to them. I'm so lucky to have this guy in my life.

 

This is my Uncle Laurel. He was one of the bravest and kindest people I have ever known.