Aloha to New England - Historic Concord

Concord is another historic town near Hanscom AFB.  From its Visitors' Center (link),

Incorporated in 1635, the town was the first Massachusetts settlement away from the tidewater on a non-navigable river. It was settled by the English as a frontier outpost of the Massachusetts bay Colony and was the first interior, non-tidal water town in Massachusetts. On April 19, 1775, it was the scene of the first battle of the War for Independence—the American Revolution. During the middle of the nineteenth century, a period aptly called “The Flowering of New England,” Concord was home to some of the greatest minds in America. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott, and his daughter Louisa May Alcott, lived, talked, and wrote in Concord. Because of them, visitors, both literary and transcendental, flocked to this town which became an American Athens.

The Colonial Inn celebrates its patriotic roots.

The Masonic Lodge overlooks Concord center.

The War Memorial honors its hometown heroes ...

... including Captain Hudner, Medal of Honor recipient.

This is a creative wall planter.

Glad to see literacy ...

... and arts alive in small towns!   Today's comments are open forum.  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, September 20, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 21.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

 A pumpkin patch with sunflowers!

Countdown to Pearl Harbor Day - Naval Air Station Kaneohe

Mokapu Peninsula
Public Domain

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy bombed the military airfields on Oahu before turning their attention on Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor.   The first - Naval Air Station Kaneohe.    Check out this link for pictures from that day.   NAS Kaneohe lost 18 sailors and one civilian during the two raids on the Mokapu Peninsula.   Yet the sailors fought back, including John Finn.  From this link,

Navy Chief Ordnanceman John Finn served as the aviation ordnance chief for the PBY squadrons at the station. The morning of Dec. 7, Finn was lying in bed when he was startled by the sound of gunfire. As he dashed to the hangar where he worked, he observed that nonAmerican planes were attacking the base.  He mounted a .50 caliber machine gun, used for training, and set up a defense position to begin firing at the Japanese planes that were destroying the base.

Finn firing may well have helped bring down the only Japanese plane to crash on land during the attack — the plane of Japanese pilot Lt. Fusata Iida, near the base of Puu Hawaii Loa. During the intense fighting that took place during the attack, Finn was wounded by shrapnel several times. 

He was instructed to report to sick bay to be treated for his injuries, which he did, but he did not stay long. During the period after the attacks, Finn supervised the repair of many of the damaged weapons used in the battle.  For his superior bravery and meritorious actions, John Finn was awarded the Medal of Honor by the President of the United States. 

Today, the Mokapu Peninsula is home of the Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH).   The base has a few markers and memorials for "this day of infamy" but I have not taken pictures of them.  Instead, I offer you the tranquility it has become, remembering the brave actions of those who defended the Mokapu Peninsula.

MCBH is located on the windward side of Oahu, so the winds are strong!  Above is the Fort Hase Beach (Fort Hase preceded both the Naval Air Station and the Marine Corps Base on the peninsula).    Despite the weather, it offers a stark beauty.

And then the weathered cleared!  Above is Pyramid Rock Beach - it is a family friendly sheltered cove.   So family friendly that it is often closed during the winter holidays for the First Family.  They vacation in nearby Kailua ... but come to MCBH for its seclusion and security.

At first, we thought the dark bump in the sand was a lava rock or a washed up tree branch.  But the sign reminded us that the beach was also popular with ....

... the Hawaiian monk seal!  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice form my convention stash.  This giveaway is open to all readers.  Comments are open through Saturday, December 8, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, December 9, on SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

Aerial View of MCBH
Public Domain

Giving Thanks - A steersman for a stormy day

I often sit at my computer and wait for inspiration.  Tonight, I didn't have to wait too long as my husband (in Korea) sent me an email.   He generously cropped my pictures from the Medal of Honor book signing on October 6 at the Hale Koa - House of the Warrior.    I add the words from Cathy Maxwell's guest post on Fox News (at this link).  

Thank you for stepping forward when others step back.

Thank you for placing yourself between us and danger.

Thank you for delaying plans for college, marriage, and other opportunities and choosing to serve.

Thank you for braving the unspeakable horrors of war.

Thank you for sacrificing time with your families and missing those significant milestones the rest of us take for granted.

Thank you to your spouses who find themselves living nomadic lives, often far away from the support of loved ones.

Thank you to your children who accept your absence as a way of life and understand they share you with a nation and sometimes the world.

Thank you to your parents who have nothing but prayers to protect you and must now trust you will be safe and that we will offer the best we have to you.

Thank you for continuing to support your country once you leave military service by following new careers and becoming the teachers, clergy, business owners, employees, pilots, civil servants and so much more that we need to be a successful society.

Thank you for involving yourself in your local community, your state, and your country, helping us to solve problems and to create a vision for our future using the skills you learned during your tour of duty.

Thank you for being a conscience to our nation.

Thank you for serving as a heroic example of who we are and what we can dream to be.

Thank you for your service.

The military can be a grand life, but there isn’t a fighter squadron, destroyer, or combat team that doesn’t know what it is like to lose people. Even in peacetime, soldiering is dangerous work and always has been.

Please, let us never forget that freedom comes at a price.

He ho'okele wa'a no ka la 'ino. 

A steersman for a stormy day.

A courageous person.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii