Back from vacation- Some thoughts about the “Bookends” of WWII found at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor “Bookends” Plaque Marking Surrender Spot
Just back from vacation. Letting everyone know my regular posts will resume next Friday morning. My last day in Hawaii was spent touring the bookends of WWII. The bookends include the Arizona Memorial (the beginning) and the Battleship Missouri (the end). Our guide for the Battleship Missouri tour told the moving story of how General MacArthur handled the speech he gave at the end of the war. He spoke at the surrender ceremony that took place on the deck of the Battleship Missouri. The guide noted MacArthur could have talked about all the horrors and injustices of the war. Instead here is the heart of what he said:
“It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past — a world founded upon faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance, and justice.”
So, he chose to offer a message of hope at the end of the war. A message of healing for all sides. Perhaps this is a message worth pondering. See you next Friday morning.
Dr. Sam
Morena Doctor Sam,
We visited Hawaii a few years ago. It was an amazing place. The guides were wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
Jeanenne Milne from New Zealand.
The guide at Pearl Harbor was especially knowledgeable. He was a storyteller. The facts were accurate (I was a history teacher before I was a reading teacher). But they were also alive A couple of “reading” lessons in this. First teaching folks to read with prosody, viewing fluency as prosody pays off. It’s not how fast you tell the story, its how well you tell the story. Second, no matter how long and drawn out a conflict is, we can move past it and learn to work together again. I have to agree that Hawaii was amazing (magical). Aloha! Dr. Sam