66th Anniversary of the Bombing of Oahu

Today marked the the 66th Anniversary of the Japanese bombing of the Island of Oahu. Most people refer to it as the Bombing of Pearl Harbor because of the extensive damage to the Pacific Fleet that was docked there. However, the Japanese didn't only bomb the Navy Base but also bombed the Army Air Force bases of Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows . Hickam sits right besides Pearl Harbor and was a primary target of the Japanese. The building I currently work in which houses the PACAF HQ was at the time the largest barracks in the Army. It was attacked and over 50 airman were killed. The building still contains scares from bullets that were strafed across it's facade. A monument in the Courtyard of Hero's commemerates the sacrifices of the men who were killed here.

Today a ceremony was held to mark the anniversary of the attack. Attending the ceremony were some of the remaining survivors of the attack. Unfortunately the numbers of survivors has decreased over the years. In a few years there will not be any of these brave men left. My wife and I's grandfathers were both in the Navy during WWII serving in the pacific. My grandfather was a Sea be and was sent to Pearl after the attack to help with the restoration. Chris's Grandfather spent time in port on Pearl during the war. Today made me wish I would have been stationed here at the beginning of my career when they would have been able to visit and see the bases. My Grandfather is still alive but his health is very poor. Chris's died a few years ago. The last few times I visited my grandfather, most of his conversations were about the war and the places he served in the Pacific. The memorial at Punch Bowl Cemetery traces the path of the Pacific Battles. I was able to follow along with the places my grandfather who we always called "Red", served. As a Sea Be, he was one of the first to land in such places as Guam, and Wake Island. Had it not been for the dropping of the Bomb bring the end of the War, he would have been landing on Japanese soil and it is hard to tell if he would have survived and if our country would have survived as well.

Today's ceremony also made me reflect the sacrifice my brother made for our freedom. At the end of the ceremony, taps was played, a 21 gun salute was fired and Amazing Grace was played on the bag pipes just like it was done at Josh's funeral. I can't think of anything more appropriate than the playing of Amazing Grace on the Bag Pipes to commemorate the death of someone who died for our country.