4 January, 2007
Again we had to awaken at the unholy hour of 8 in the A.M., and after being berated for not wanting any toast, we all clumsily made our way into the conference room. There we watched one of Capra's superb Propaganda films, poignantly called Prelude to War. This film did a fantastic job of portraying the axis powers as being totally evil, and would even go so far as to steal candy from an unassuming baby. How true this was man may never know, because babies have no place on the battlefield.
After watching the movie, which made us all want to go out and buy war bonds and grow victory gardens, we rallied at the Great White Whale, which was what I began to call the van since it took on a fishy smell. I think that this was primarily due to our attempts to see if she was sea worthy, but alas she only filled with sand and the interior became damp, so the test was aborted. Once we were all in the van, we set out for Pearl Harbor.
Once there, Roger performed a feat that no man should do in his life; he parallel parked a minivan. Across the street was the Mecca for all historians, Military and American alike; the USS Arizona Memorial.
There was a museum which explains the events that led up to the surprise attack, and then there was an informative movie showcasing the attack that happened on December 7th, 1941. The movie was quite moving, and it showed that the ship still leaks oil, even to this day. Once the movie was over, they opened the doors and burned our retinas. We then proceeded to embark upon a ferry, which was crewed by several of the Navy's finest, decked out in their white Tropical gear. The ride was swift and pleasant, even though several people did not agree with the waves.
Once we were safely tied to the dock and the gangway was lowered, we set foot on the awe-inspiring memorial. The feeling of being aboard such a historic site brought a hush to the crowd, and the mood was quite somber. There I saw several of the "black tears" bubble up to the surface, which was a ghostly reminder that the ship was still nearly complete under the salty brine of time.
When we left the memorial, the mood was still quite somber, so we headed back to the hotel. We were supposed to have a program lunch, but it was decided that we could all go and find our own meals and then be reimbursed later. We went to the Planet Hollywood and ate while a menacing figure of Arnold Schwarzenegger stood with half of his face missing, revealing the true cyborg that he is. After we ate our meal, we left and met back up with the professor at the hotel, and then embarked on yet another epic journey, this time to hike from the Nauuanu Pali Lookout on a trail that was once a highway.
We marched through the jungle for some time, and after hearing the mating cry of the Dilophosaurus, we made our way back to the van. After this strange event, we took the rest of the day to recuperate, and relax.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 11
1. John Dower called the Pacific War a race war because that was what it boiled down to. Propaganda from the US showed the Japanese as being buck-toothed squinty eyed short people with glasses so thick it seemed ridiculous that they could see anything. Since all of America at the time was run by the “white” race, all Oriental people were seen as possibly being enemies, so they were interned and kept under strict surveillance.
2. The USS Arizona Memorial was a somber experience that is a constant reminder of what can happen when someone threatens the freedom of the United States. It should remain constantly there to remind future generations of what sort of war World War II was, and not the sort that we see in movies.
3. People of all ages and from many different countries visit the memorial. Of the people that I saw, I would guess their ages ranged from 80 to teenagers. The people seemed to hark from all over, and many of them were Japanese.
4. I believe the people were visiting the memorial because they wanted to see the lasting memory of what had made America enter the Second World War. Some of them may have been visiting to pay their respects to those that lost their lives on that day, and others may have been coming to see the site that sparked the war that claimed a loved one.
5. The stories that were not told at the site were obviously the many different battles that had taken place once we entered the war. For that, the site would have to be enormous.
Again we had to awaken at the unholy hour of 8 in the A.M., and after being berated for not wanting any toast, we all clumsily made our way into the conference room. There we watched one of Capra's superb Propaganda films, poignantly called Prelude to War. This film did a fantastic job of portraying the axis powers as being totally evil, and would even go so far as to steal candy from an unassuming baby. How true this was man may never know, because babies have no place on the battlefield.
After watching the movie, which made us all want to go out and buy war bonds and grow victory gardens, we rallied at the Great White Whale, which was what I began to call the van since it took on a fishy smell. I think that this was primarily due to our attempts to see if she was sea worthy, but alas she only filled with sand and the interior became damp, so the test was aborted. Once we were all in the van, we set out for Pearl Harbor.
Once there, Roger performed a feat that no man should do in his life; he parallel parked a minivan. Across the street was the Mecca for all historians, Military and American alike; the USS Arizona Memorial.
There was a museum which explains the events that led up to the surprise attack, and then there was an informative movie showcasing the attack that happened on December 7th, 1941. The movie was quite moving, and it showed that the ship still leaks oil, even to this day. Once the movie was over, they opened the doors and burned our retinas. We then proceeded to embark upon a ferry, which was crewed by several of the Navy's finest, decked out in their white Tropical gear. The ride was swift and pleasant, even though several people did not agree with the waves.
Once we were safely tied to the dock and the gangway was lowered, we set foot on the awe-inspiring memorial. The feeling of being aboard such a historic site brought a hush to the crowd, and the mood was quite somber. There I saw several of the "black tears" bubble up to the surface, which was a ghostly reminder that the ship was still nearly complete under the salty brine of time.
When we left the memorial, the mood was still quite somber, so we headed back to the hotel. We were supposed to have a program lunch, but it was decided that we could all go and find our own meals and then be reimbursed later. We went to the Planet Hollywood and ate while a menacing figure of Arnold Schwarzenegger stood with half of his face missing, revealing the true cyborg that he is. After we ate our meal, we left and met back up with the professor at the hotel, and then embarked on yet another epic journey, this time to hike from the Nauuanu Pali Lookout on a trail that was once a highway.
We marched through the jungle for some time, and after hearing the mating cry of the Dilophosaurus, we made our way back to the van. After this strange event, we took the rest of the day to recuperate, and relax.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 11
1. John Dower called the Pacific War a race war because that was what it boiled down to. Propaganda from the US showed the Japanese as being buck-toothed squinty eyed short people with glasses so thick it seemed ridiculous that they could see anything. Since all of America at the time was run by the “white” race, all Oriental people were seen as possibly being enemies, so they were interned and kept under strict surveillance.
2. The USS Arizona Memorial was a somber experience that is a constant reminder of what can happen when someone threatens the freedom of the United States. It should remain constantly there to remind future generations of what sort of war World War II was, and not the sort that we see in movies.
3. People of all ages and from many different countries visit the memorial. Of the people that I saw, I would guess their ages ranged from 80 to teenagers. The people seemed to hark from all over, and many of them were Japanese.
4. I believe the people were visiting the memorial because they wanted to see the lasting memory of what had made America enter the Second World War. Some of them may have been visiting to pay their respects to those that lost their lives on that day, and others may have been coming to see the site that sparked the war that claimed a loved one.
5. The stories that were not told at the site were obviously the many different battles that had taken place once we entered the war. For that, the site would have to be enormous.
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