Not overrated

 

I met this women, and I find her pretentious, judgemental, and rude. She said to me, "Hawaii is sooooooo overrated." It wasn't about being in a location, it was about being with my daughter. And oh yea, we got to visit Pearl Harbor with the USS Missouri, USS Bowfin, Pacific Aviation Museum. It's sad, because I like her spending time with her partner, but I'll never go to their place again likely.

 Admiral Nimitz, Commander Pacifc Fleet

 

    Photograph taken by a ship baker, seconds before the Zero hit the USS Missouri. Significant this ship is in so many ways. Pearl Harbor, her "final" resting home, is where the war with Japan began, and on her deck is where it ended. 

    Significant for me as well. My grandpa, James Hancock Miller was a CPO and a gunner aboard the USS Norton Sound. He fought in the battle of Guam and was struck by a Jap grenade. Japanese grenades were not as powerful as American ones as reported in literature I have read about the battle of Attu. My grandpa was placed in the deceased pile, and when someone went to collect his boots (boots are valuable!), he lifted his head and said, "I am not done with those yet." 

      Aboard his ship, he slept in a hammock in his turret. His bunk was far below deck and he was afraid of not getting to his post fast enough. The gun was one of the highest on the ship and was designed to go 360 degrees, but the Caption reportedly had to flip a switch to let it spin freely as you could shoot the ship if you spun the gun around. Well, a kamikaze Zero dove towards the ship and grandpa shot him down, saving everyone. The Jap survived and as a token of appreciation for saving their asses, the crew gave the Jap rifle to him. The captain asked him how he shot the plane down as it was back towards that ship and he should;t have been able to shoot that direction. Grandpa replied matter of factually, "I disengaged it (the switch)." I believe he was awarded the Purple Heart.
       I never got to talk to him about any of this. I knew he was in the Navy, but it somehow never dawned on me about the time frame of his service. Duh. My aunts graciously told me his story.