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KonaPaul
12-05-16, 12:22 PM
31046

December 7th is the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that changed the life of many people. My father enlisted in the Marine Corps, and was in the 2nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Div. on the island of Saipan when he had a serious spinal injury, and was hospitalized, first at Pearl Harbor and then at the USNH Camp Pendleton. His 19 year old wife could not handle it and abandoned him and his two sons. After leaving the Corps, he worked in construction and went from foreman to superintendent to project manager. From his injury he lived his life in pain until his death by suicide at the age of 42.

Due to my father being in construction, we moved about once a year and my last year in high school was in Hawaii. Going to school where the majority of students were Japanese, I soon learned they were very interesting people with an fascinating culture and that they had no more control over the wars their government started than we did. After high school I enlisted in the Marine Corps at Pearl Harbor and after the Corps my first wife was a Japanese girl from Hawaii and we had two terrific sons.

KonaPaul
12-06-16, 02:01 PM
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese Zero fighter crash landed on the Hawaiian island of Niihau. Here are two links to the story:
https://www.damninteresting.com/incident-on-niihau-island/

http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/video/1915656990/

Gary W
12-07-16, 07:52 AM
KonaPaul, thanks so much for posting the Niihau story, interesting piece of history I had never heard before.
I was at the 74th Anniversary in Honolulu last year with 200 Young Marines, dedicating the first monument by a youth organization at the Punch Bowl and participating in the parade with the Young Marines.
This year we have over 300 Young Marines and Register Adult Volunteers on island participating in a wide variety of activities commencing with our Young Marines participation in the parade tonight. With so many Pearl Harbor veterans in attendance this year, the 75th Anniversary Celebration has been an outstanding learning experience for our Young Marines and something they will pass on to family and friends to insure "we never forget".

FoxtrotOscar
12-07-16, 11:16 AM
Excellent story...

KonaPaul
12-08-16, 12:40 PM
31053


My favorite quote from the 75th Pearl Harbor ceremony is from Adm. Harry Harris of the U.S. Pacific Command - “You can bet that the men and women we honor today never failed to stand for the national anthem.” The crowd erupted in cheers.