Japanese Ship at Pearl Harbor

Last month (September) I went to volunteer at Pearl Harbor and when I rounded the corner to the chapel I got goose bumps. I have to admit, I never LOVED history. Who am I fooling?...I never even LIKED it...to be honest, I didn't really understood the point of all the memorization.

Flash forward (at least past high school) and I suddenly figured out what all the drama was about. History, the past happenings of our nation, are who were are and how we got to where we are today. Ok, looking at our CURRENT mess, some of our HISTORY is not so great but it tells a story. The most important part about having that AH HA moment was that I realized it was the story of the people that was lacking in all those lessons. If you had put a HOLOCAUST survivor in front of me during the really boring battle talks, I would have been all ears. (If a history teacher is reading this...make a note!)

So, back to Pearl Harbor. Last year we went to Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th and it was very strange. It was a quiet Sunday morning, just like it was when the Japanese attacked and I had a real feeling for what it felt like to be there. So, last month when I rounded the corner and saw the same symbol (red circle flag) on a HUGE ship I got chills.






















Then driving a little more and seeing the Rising Sun (Japanese flag), I was really touched.

It wasn't that I thought we were still at war, or that we didn't allow Japanese ships in the harbor, but that after such a horrible attack, we are now allies.

Now, flash forward in your minds to Iraq. Will it ever be possible for us to go on vacation to Iraq?

Will we be able to show our kids where daddy built an Iraqi headquarters?

Will we get to go visit the friends he has made in the palace?

Even though I was looking at the Rising Sun in Pearl Harbor in awe of how far we have come, I am not seeing future where our kids will be safe to tour Iraq. I hope I am wrong.