Thursday, December 07, 2006

Tonight at the venue formerly known as Gabe's and The Day of Infamy



Fan video for Killer Parties by The Hold Steady.

On a more important note. I rememeber visting Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial when I was around 11. My grandparents were retired and living near Poipu Beach on Kaui. My sister and I spent the summer there with my mom who had attended high school on Oahu during one of the stints of being moved around a lot due to grandfather's government job. She eventually met my dad there while he was in the Navy. During our last week we spent time in Honolulu and the Memorial was a haunting place even to a pain in the ass youth such as myself. I can still picture the oil from the ship of the entombed sailors slowly leaking upwards to the surface. The article below is from The Boston Globe

Final roll call for survivors of Pearl Harbor
By Jaymes Song, Associated Press December 7, 2006

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii -- This will be their last visit to this watery grave to share stories, exchange smiles, find peace, and salute their fallen friends.This, they say, will be their final farewell.

With their number quickly dwindling, survivors of Pearl Harbor will gather today one last time to honor those killed by the Japanese 65 years ago, and to mark a date that lives in infamy.

"This will be one to remember," said Mal Middlesworth, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "It's going to be something that we'll cherish forever."

The survivors have met here every five years for four decades, but they're now in their 80s or 90s and are not counting on a 70th reunion. They have made every effort to report for one final roll call.

"We're like the dodo bird. We're almost extinct," said Middlesworth, now an 83-year-old retiree from Upland, Calif., but then -- on Dec. 7, 1941 -- an 18-year-old Marine on the USS San Francisco.

Almost 500 survivors were expected to make the trip to Hawaii, bringing with them family members and haunting memories.

Memories of a shocking, two-hour aerial raid that destroyed or heavily damaged 21 ships and 320 aircraft, that killed 2,390 people and wounded 1,178, that plunged the United States into World War II, and that set in motion the events leading to atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

" We're witnessing history," said Daniel Martinez, chief historian at the USS Arizona Memorial. "We are seeing the passing of a generation."


5 comments:

TJ said...

You going tonight? Show's going to be really good . . .

Unknown said...

Definitely...looking forward to seeing them for first time.

TJ said...

Last night was my second, but the first--an outdoor festival--barely counts in comparison. I didn't know their stuff as well, but more important, their music was made for playing in bars.

What a great show.

Churlita said...

I am so jealous. Why are all the good shows scheduled for nights when I have my girls?

Unknown said...

It was definitely a late night and I dragged a teacher friend who has vowed never to go again on a school night but good show.