View from the Empty Nest: Pearl Harbor--Last Thoughts

There are events in every generation that define them. People in my generation have grown up with Pearl Harbor as much a part of our history as the Great Depression was for our parents and grandparents, and 9/11 will be for my children and grandchildren. While we didn't live through it, it was so closely tied into our past, it was as if we did.

Visiting Pearl Harbor has been on my Bucket List for a long time. It did not disappoint. Through viewing the displays, the political climate around the world became clearer, describing the Japanese expansionist program, and the reason for the Isolationist attitude of the United States. Between the photographs, visiting the Arizona, and watching the videos, two impressions stand-out.

1) The most poignant moments were hearing the voices of those who were there and survived. Nurses at the hospital, children, soldiers, regular citizens; people who watched the planes flying low overhead, and heard the bombs drop.

One of the most startling images was this photo of children in gas masks. It is a haunting image and I was really taken aback.

The quote that accompanied the photo: "Life after the attack--We carried gas masks in our arms and wore hibiscus in our hair."

As I looked at the photo, my first thought was 'How awful!' But it was a war-time reality. It made me think about all the times that children have had to cope with extreme dangers. I hate the fact that my grandchildren live in a time when they need to be taught how to react in an Active Shooter situation. This photo reminds me that children, all through time, have had to cope with terrible situations. Children in England were sent by their families in London to live with strangers in the country, so they'd be safe from WWII bombs. Hitler's Youth were used to search the ghetto basements for abandoned babies when Jews were moved out. These are just a couple of examples of real life.

As adults we've always taught children to beware. Centuries ago, parents used stories like Little Red Riding Hood to teach Stranger Danger. Teaching children how to protect themselves may be scary for them, but it also empowers them. It is through the love and guidance of nurturing adults that most children survive terrible events and grow up relatively unscathed, even as they carry nightmares of bombs falling.

2) Pearl Harbor is a wonderful memorial, but it is when you visit the Arizona, that the impact hits home. Standing in the memorial, looking at the ship below, seeing fuel slowly bubble up to the surface, looking at the names on the wall; it is sobering.

I have had the privilege of visiting a few Sacred Sites in my life. The first one was in Germany when we visited Dachau, the concentration camp. The second one was the empty pit of the Twin Towers in New York. Pearl Harbor was the third. At each site, people walked in expectantly, curious about what they would find. At each site, people left in silence, overwhelmed by the inherent understanding of the loss of life, the sadness of war, the ultimate sacrifice, regardless of whether the victims had signed up for duty or simply been a victim of an ideology.

There was something else that I saw. Beautiful displays of Origami Paper Cranes.

The Japanese legend of 1000 paper cranes promises that whoever folds 1000 paper cranes will have their wish.

Sadako Sasaki with her parents, before she became ill.

Sadako Sasaki was a young girl who developed leukemia following the atomic bomb at Hiroshima. Sadako pledged to make 1,000 origami cranes before she died. Her wish? To live. She didn't. But her family carried her memory forward. Today the crane lives on as a symbol of world peace, and appears at sites where terrorism has taken lives. They are a sign of hope in the midst of tragedy.

From Dachau to Pearl Harbor, The canes remind us that war is sad, futile, evil, and should be vigorously avoided. But when it's inevitable, we have an honor and a duty to stand for those who can't stand for themselves. Pearl Harbor left me contemplating so much about America's place in the world, about the sadness, the futility of war, and about the dignity of life.

Most of all, it reminded me that, while we must never forget our history--both the good and the bad parts--we use the past to learn the lessons for the future, to remember the heroes, the survivors, and how we were able to grow beyond our tears.