Early in the morning we left the ship and headed for a regular city bus to take us to Pearl Harbor where we wanted to pass the day before our late evening flight to Los Angeles.
The weather was wonderful: not too cloudy, not too sunny. Just right for the special day. But we saw many people in the bus were heading fo Wikiki beach to kill the time before their flights. To each his own way.
Above is the the photo presentation of our excursion on the grounds of the War Memorial of the Pacific Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
After purchasing the entrance tickets and having the time scheduled for us: 12.15 p.m., we had lots of spare time to enjoy our visit. First, our interest was WWII Submarine, called “Bowfin” which was located in the water, so we needed to walk up on the long bridge, and once on board, we decided to climb down the set of stairs, leading to the interrior of the submarine.
What a surprise! How compact it was! It was full of machinery, weaponry, the engine, crowded living quarters for the crew who probably stayed at sea in these conditions for long periods of time.
To the right we noticed a lone figure of a little lady cleaning the machine vigorously. I watched her doing her job for awhile. She did not notice my inquisitive stare: she kept on her duty as if I were not there. Then I came up nearer.
“Lady, are you going to clean this stuff for the whole day?”, I asked.
She stopped working and looked at me. 
“What’s your name?” I questioned, introducing myself.
“Martha”, she answered.
“Hello, Martha”, Janko joined in. “I want to take a picture of you, girls”, he offered. So he did.
Later we talked warmly, from heart to heart, about life. There is a photo of us at that special moment.
“Martha”, I asked addressing that Philippino lady,”do you know what events are happening on the grounds to-day?”
“Oh, yes. Go to the Memorial of the Lost Submarines and their Crews who perished with them. There are commemorative markers of each vessel and the names of the crew members. At the bottom of each monument is inscribed “On Eternal Patrol!”. The interview with SGM, United States Army (retiree), Mr. Sterling R. Cale is planned to be”, she explained. We thanked her very much for her time and rushed to that direction.
The interview was in progress. Below is the photo expose “Live History of Pearl Harbor: Interview with the American 90-year-old Veteran Mr. Sterling R. Cale”.
Our time: 12.15 p.m. arrived to turn to the Arizona Monument and we went to the theater where the film was on which described the tragedy of that terrible day: December 7, 1941. Watch movie trailer:“Pearl Harbor”
The newspaper dated that moment, connected to the sad history of the USA which was invaded by Japan, is mentioned in our top photo presentation as well as the Honolulu Newspaper “The Star Advertiser” of the present day.
The most impressive moment of all was to look at the water and see the outline of the ship which is a graveyard for 1,177 men. Their names are written on the wall within the memorial. During this air raid many Honolulu civilians were killed.
We understand and share the feelings of the American people who had fought against fascism in the Pacific Ocean.
Eternal memory to all of them!
Listen to: The Voice of Silence
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В России была подобная бухта в Севастополе, где располагался памятник морякам и кораблям, теперь – это Украина …)
Да, конечно, жаль. Я была в Севастополе и видела памятник в море погибшим морякам и кораблям. И в Музее Севастопольском была. Пёрл Харбор Музей построен по совершенно другому принципу. Стынет кровь и леденеет кожа, когда ходишь там. По крайней мере, у меня было такое впечатление, когда вглядываешься в воду и видишь силуэты застывших трупов моряков, погибших в тот злопамятный день.
Валентина
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