Five years ago my family and I took our first trip to Hawaii. It had been my desire, since learning more about my Uncle Pete, to visit his grave in the Punchbowl Cemetery on the island of Oahu.
As we walked along the rows of grave stones, looking for the one belonging to my Uncle, we passed many, many markers like this one.
Some of these stones even marked the spot of several “unknowns.”
As we later visited the USS Arizona Memorial, and saw the columns of names of the men lost that day, I couldn't help thinking that some of those names matched some of those “unknowns” we ‘d seen at Punchbowl.
For their sake, and the sake of their loved ones-who never had an actual place to say their goodbyes-I’ll remember Pearl Harbor.
I dearly hope I can visit Pearl Harbor some day. My brother and my sister-in-law visited there a few years ago and said it was very humbling.
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteIt is humbling-I was on the verge of tears most of the time-even more so when you see a veteran paying his respects. I look forward to going back some day.
Your words are a touching tribute, both to the lives lost and to their families, too. Thanks for sharing, and bringing a piece of history to us here today.
ReplyDeleteA lovely and moving post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice comments everyone-I'm glad we all feel the same way about honoring our precious veterans.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see graves like this when you know the important work they did.It's sad to see anyone's gravestone without a name. What a trip that must have been.
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