Two Sides of a Day: Honolulu

“Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace.” - Paul Theroux

With a mere 13 hours on Oahu, the choice of what to do should have been difficult, but for me it was not. My long-time friend Ruth, once a member of the AILA Board who, like me, has moved on to other things but maintains a membership nonetheless, lives in Honolulu. So getting together with her was the obvious choice. We enjoyed a leisurely beach-side lunch at the Moana Surfrider, spending a few hours catching up, then she helped me complete an errand in the last U.S. port we will see until late April.  It is always great to see Ruth, and yesterday was no exception.

The evening was devoted to a special “shoreside event” put on by the cruise ship for the 360-ish of us going on the full world cruise. We were bussed to Pearl Harbor where we boarded the USS Missouri—aka “Mighty Mo”—for a fascinating evening.  It was on the Missouri’s deck where WWII ended with the signing of the terms of surrender by the Japanese in Tokyo harbor.

The placement of Mighty Mo in Pearl Harbor is no accident.  Docked across from the site of the USS Arizona (the watery grave of the sailors who died on that ship on December 7, 1941, now a solemn monument), the two ships are bookends of the beginning and the end of the United States’ involvement in World War II.  The photo below shows the juxtaposition of the Missouri and the monument atop where the Arizona lies (apologies for the glass reflection—the best shot was from a bus window).

The evening began with news clips from the attack on Pearl Harbor, followed by a ceremonial lowering of the flag by three Hawaiian military veterans. The beat then went up with a “USO show,” with the music and costumes of the era, and some dancing and fun.  Then it was time to tour the Missouri, where we visited the deck where the surrender took place, the area in which the ship was hit by a kamikaze attack during the battle of Okinawa, and the gunnery and some operational areas.  The guides were excellent, providing the stories and color that brought to life the part that this ship played in history.

Just one of the stories told was how, despite the dead-on hit of the kamikaze attack, no American sailors died in the attack. However, the remains of the kamikaze pilot were found on the deck. On the captain's orders, rather that desecrate those remains, the 19-year-old pilot was given a full burial at sea. Fifty years later, his family heard of the story, and came to visit the Missouri and give their thanks for the respectful treatment of their relative.

An interesting aside was the story of how it was that the Missouri became the ship on which the surrender took place.  When the Mighty Mo was first commissioned, a Congressman from Missouri named Harry Truman was the one who christened it. When surrender time came, that congressman, now President, chose “his” ship for the honor.

This was one of those evenings that truly did end too soon.  I could easily have spent another hour exploring the Missouri, but it was time to go back to our own ship. Then came the thing that you would think I’d have done a lot,, but in fact this was the first time since boarding I had done it—sat out on our balcony and enjoyed the view and the pleasant weather.

And, with that, we sailed away from Honolulu at 1:00 am, and are now back at sea. 

Our next stop:  Fanning Island, Republic of Kiribati.