“From My Journal”

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ALOHA, PEARL HARBOR!
Aloha! I hope you have visited Pearl Harbor. What a solemn place.
Do you know the significance of the date: December 7, 1941? Most people reading these words will know. Some may have heard the radio broadcast on December 8, when President Franklin Roosevelt said to the American people: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which shall live in infamy…”
The date will be remembered only if our children and young people know, hear about, or study our history. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii the country was united in patriotism and purpose. I read in a 2001 history of Pearl Harbor: “The will of the American people was steeled by Pearl Harbor. Honoring and avenging those lost became a national priority.” What a stunningly descriptive phrase Allan Seiden wrote of our national will as “steeled.” Where is patriotism today?

The Pearl Harbor Memorial
Do you know the history of the memorial? Years ago, fund raising was started to remember the people who died at Pearl Harbor and to have a place for the nation and the world to visit, learn the history, and remember. By 1961 there was not enough money.
On a recent trip to Hawaii our guide related a story we’d never heard. It concerns the renoun singer Elvis Presley. Since Elvis was born in our state, in Tupelo, I hoped you’d find the story of interest.
Elvis to the Rescue
In1961 when 26-year-old Elvis Presley was soon to be discharged from a two-year stint in the Army, the USS Arizona Memorial fund had only half of the required $ 500,000. Presley volunteered to headline a benefit concert, and committed 100% of the proceeds to the Pacific War Memorial Associations building fund which reassured military brass of the concert’s profitability.
On March 21, 1961, the concert was held at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena. The reserved seats sold at from $3 to $10! (Can you believe the low price since we recently saw Super Bowl tickets sold at ludicrous prices). And this was Elvis!
Author Allan Seiden reported: “The concert raised $60,000 but national coverage of the event restored the momentum of fund-raising efforts, with the USS Arizona Memorial able to open on Memorial Day, 1962” (Seiden, From Fishponds to Warships: Pearl Harbor, 2001, p. 113). Today’s visitors may be greeted by Japanese guides or see the solemn place with a baseball team of Japanese children, as were we. So my friends, pray for world peace and enjoy one more story about our own Elvis Presley! Aloha!