Where It All Started

I am constantly being asked "why Pearl Harbor?", "do you have family who were there?", and many other questions regarding how this all started for me. I have done many interviews and told many people my story but never have the time to tell the full story or accidentally leave out details. I have never taken the time to write down my full story before. And that is exactly what I am here to do.

In January of 2016 at the age of eleven, I hopped on a plane headed for Oahu, Hawai'i for a family vacation, not knowing my life would forever change. My dad told us ahead of time that we were going to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. He wanted me to get a good idea of what happened at Pearl Harbor before we went to the national park. The best way to do this for little eleven year old me, was a movie. On the plane he had me watch the 2001 motion picture, "Pearl Harbor." Directed by Michael Bay, starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, and Kate Beckinsale. This movie made Pearl Harbor so real for me. When the Pearl Harbor scenes began, I had to pause the movies so many times. Because I was scared, in shock that this actually happened, and overall sad. The writers really knew how to pull at my heartstrings. Except it wasn’t really the writers in those scenes because it actually happened. The USS Arizona really did go up in flames and 1,177 men perished. The Oklahoma did go belly up. Petty Officer Doris Miller was a real man who actually made history. It’s honestly impressive how historically accurate this movie is. The movie "Pearl Harbor" really was where this all started for me. Previously, all I knew was what I read from the book “I survived Pearl Harbor.” I knew those books were over real events but it didn’t click in my mind until I saw this movie. I’ll be honest, I absolutely loved the romantic storyline of this movie. I feel it was necessary for this movie to have the affect it did. While these people weren’t real, it makes Pearl Harbor personal for the audience. You grow attached to these characters and you start to feel the emotions they do throughout the movie. The actors truly did a wonderful job. This all contributed to making it feel real to me. "Pearl Harbor" is only rated PG-13. Michael Bay is known for big action movies and elaborate special effects. He originally wanted to make the movie rated R. I never would have been allowed to watch it at that age if it was rated R.

This movie is certainly not the sole reason I have a passion for learning history. But it did play a big part in my discovery of this passion. It introduced me to one of my favorite quotes of all time. "There's nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer"- Colonel Jimmy Doolittle. As well as one of my favorite songs, "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill. That song has such an emotional hold on me. I always think of the movie and Pearl Harbor in general. When I arrived at Pearl Harbor for the very first time, it was as if the movie had come to life. Even though it had happened so many years ago, I had just found out what exactly happened. Looking at the water and over land, I just stared. The movie brought it to life for me, but I vividly remember how real it felt standing there in that moment. I don’t recall how long we were there for but it was definitely the longest I had ever spent in any kind of museum, Memorial, or national park. I read every word on every sign, listened intently to the audio recordings, and just continued staring at every picture and structure. This was where everything changed for me. I was hooked. After the movie I cried. But after being at the memorial and doing my own research I sobbed. I sobbed at how tragic that day was. I sobbed for the 68 civilians and 2,403 military personnel who lost their lives. For the people who lost their children, brothers, sisters, significant others, and friends. It truly was the day that will live in infamy. I have always loved the movie. It makes me feel things no other movie has made me feel, even after watching it a million times. I still cry every single time I watch the attack scenes. I even watched the movie last night to remind myself of how it makes me feel to write this post, and I cried through a good portion of it. Every time I watch it, my heart breaks all over again. Especially since I have now met and developed relationships with men who were there on that day. I never had any personal ties to Pearl Harbor, but I do now. That ultimately makes the movie and going to the memorial so real for me. Watching, listening, and reading what these men and women went through and knowing them, it breaks my heart that they experienced it. The film did a wonderful job bringing this event to life and I 100% recommend it to anyone who is starting to learn about Pearl Harbor. It draws you in, and I know of many more movies and books that will keep you interested in this event. Those I will share as I continue my story in the coming weeks. That this all for this weeks post. I’d like to end by saying thank you to the men and women from Pearl Harbor. Thank you to the cast and crew from "Pearl Harbor." Thank you to those who have and are currently working at Pearl Harbor and educating people everyday. And lastly, thank you to those who are working to make sure no one ever forgets Pearl Harbor.