I’ve been to Pearl Harbor. It is one of the quietest experiences you will ever have. Waiting to enter the theater to watch the movie, people visit but not in loud voices or with any laughter. Once seated in front of the large movie screen, no one speaks. If you have never seen this movie or even if you have, it will have a profound effect on you and everyone sitting there. The main film footage was taken December 7, 1941, from the deck of the USS Solace, anchored nearby, by Army Doctor Eric Haakenson. You will see this footage. If you are an American, it will make you cry. It has that effect on everyone. When it is over, you can hear a pin drop and you can hear that pin for the next hour.

Leaving the theater, boarding the transport to the Memorial, that pin is sounding as, still, no one speaks. Climbing onto the Memorial and the entire time you are there, no one speaks. Reading the names of those lost on this ship and knowing she and her crew are resting just below you is an indescribable experience. Awesome, sad, reverent. There really were no words as tears slid down.

And you will know why we stand for the National Anthem and salute our flag and thank our military for being there for us, for protecting and defending our Constitution and Freedoms. Be sure and thank one this holiday season.