[Hyacinth Bucket]

TOP GUN TOURS – HOME OF THE BRAVE

Home of The Brave Pearl Harbor Tours, Honolulu, HI 96825

http://www.pearlharborhq.com

Over the years we have gone on many wonderful tours; however, this one was exceptional and I would rate it as outstanding.

It is a tour that takes you to places that were bombed at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, including pictures taken by Japanese cameras during the bombing, who was involved that day prior to the bombing, who went up after the Japanese planes and what happened to these men, who was blamed for the lack of preparation to defend us, the Japanese spy who was in Oahu sending reports of what he learned back to Japan, and how events were misinterpreted based on the lack of knowledge of the people involved.

To create the reality of the day to the people on the tour, scenes from movies were shown on the bus traveling from site to site—pictures of what the area looked like. The narrative of our guide was excellent. You get to the Arizona Memorial quite early and see the film there about the bombing right around the time the actual bombing took place, to give participants a feeling of what the day was like when Pearl Harbor were bombed.

Part of the movie Here Comes the Navy is shown on the bus during the drive to the Arizona Memorial, a movie that was filmed on the USS Arizona. This gave tour members a clear picture of what the ship looked like prior to the attack.

We saw the documentary film on the attack of Pearl Harbor and then took the shuttle boat out to the Memorial, which is breathtaking in its simplicity. There is a wall with names of the people who died on the USS Arizona; there were pairs of brothers as well as fathers and sons who died together, and a separate listing of those who survived the attack and following their wishes were subsequently entombed in the USS Arizona after they died.

From the Memorial one can see drops of oil still rising to the surface from the sunken remains of the ship; this brings a lump to one’s throat and tears to one’s eyes. It was as if the drops of oil represented the last gasp of life of the sailors, a cry for help as the ship went down, the sailors crying “Don’t forget us!” It was, needless to say, a very emotional experience.

Selections from the film Tora Tora Tora were shown as we drove to Wheeler Army Airfield in Oahu; this was the next place the Japanese bombers hit. On a previous tour one of the guests who was stationed at Wheeler Army Airfield said that one of the Japanese pilots smiled and waved as he banked his plane to strike the soldiers on the roof of the buildings.

Also visited on the tour were the Schofield Barracks and Fort Shaftner, which were both attacked on December 7 as well, and the Punchbowl, the military cemetery in the hills above Honolulu.

To learn more about this tour please go to their web site.

HB

[The Great Fumar]

LEST WE FORGET !! ERNIE PYLE IS ALSO BURIED THERE AT PUNCHBOWL..

KILLED NEAR SIPAN BY A SNIPER DURING THE CLOSING DAYS OF WW2

A CORRESPONDENT FOR THE ENLISTED MAN..........LOVED BY ALL..

FUMAR

[Hyacinth Bucket]

I know GF. He was a great reporter. Truly a man of courage.

HB