My Kind of Town
>> Arizona Memorial The terror factor
Three video cameras caught the explosion that lifted shuttle boat No. 13 out of the water just after it left the dock. Two were on the boat itself, one was on the lawn just outside the visitor center. One of Honolulu's four TV stations would lose out on the biggest story since Dec. 7, 1941.
These things happen. Because of press problems the Advertiser missed publishing a paper on Dec. 8, 1941. Which explains why the only historical newspaper headlines you ever see of the Japanese attack are the Star-Bulletin's.
The camera out on the lawn -- operated by Elmar Oliveras, a Postal Service retiree who was shooting for his class project at Olelo -- also captured a tall haole, graying at the temples, out by the water's edge putting a Sig Sauer P228 pistol to the temple of a well-dressed Filipino, forcing him to the ground, cuffing his hands behind his back. Elmar was a big Bill O'Reilly fan and suddenly saw a way of making his dream of appearing on "The Factor" come true. He'd call the Fox station later with an offer to sell exclusive video of the terrorist attack on Pearl Harbor. Sorry, 'Olelo.
Elmar kept shooting as a female Park Service ranger ran over from the security checkpoint, pistol drawn, tried to take control.
Mr. Graying-at-the-temples was having none of it, flashed some kind of ID. The ranger saw she was out-ranked, put the pistol away and went to work on crowd control.
Elmar zoomed in on the man lying on the ground. He appeared oddly serene as he looked directly into the camera and said "America, this is from the people of Mindanao -- give us our independence or the attacks will continue."
"Shut up, Muhammed," Graying-at-the-temples said, nudging the pistol further into his neck.
The words obviously shook Muhammed -- this man knew his name. The Americans had been following him. But who broke the code of secrecy?
"And you, with the camera, point it somewhere else."
Elmar made it a policy not argue with people holding guns. He pointed the camera toward the boat that was just now limping back to the dock, his soundtrack provided by a dozen sirens screaming toward them from all directions.
Commander Chuck Ryan, Navy intelligence officer, a k a Mr. Graying-at-the-temples, also turned to watch boat No. 13 dock, looking for signs of his partner, Lt. Martin Luther Washington. Above the sirens, Ryan could hear the pandemonium aboard the boat -- people crying, sobbing, moaning, a woman shouting, "Oh my God, he's having a heart attack!"
He saw the smirk on Muhammed Resurreccion's face and it required all of Ryan's discipline not to shoot it off.
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be emailed at dchapman@midweek.com