Duty to God, country,
parents, children

Tears came streaming at the first viewing of the "Pearl Harbor" movie trailer as thoughts turned to the unimaginable trauma from an unthinkable assault, faced by souls who became spirits and by those we know as survivors.

Thoughts turned to a little Tokyo girl who was evacuated with her family for "safety." They would experience their own trauma and return home to find their land gone. That girl, now the strongest woman on earth, would not volunteer these experiences to her hapa-haole daughters. Finally, a memory of a departed father, his whereabouts on Dec. 7, 1941, unknown, but who witnessed his own trauma in Vietnam.

The tears were mine, as they are every Dec. 7 when images of Pearl Harbor are replayed, even though I lost no forefathers -- from either nation. Yet the heart of this daughter of an American Army officer and Nihonjin mother fills to the eyes' overflowing. It was important for my children to watch TV coverage of the world premiere of the historic movie in their own backyard. It was crucial for them to learn that despite the blind racism that became "politically correct," Hawaii's Japanese Americans fought fiercely and bravely for America -- and, man-for-man, became some of the most decorated soldiers in the history of the Army.

Erika Engle

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