Temple Day

This entire trip was a trip of remembrance for our dad.  The last vacation my dad and mother took together was to Hawaii, along with Beverly and Joyce.  Mother wasn't feeling the best on the trip, but hardly mentioned it to anyone.  Upon her return home, her visit to the doctor revealed that she had Stage 4 cancer.  We were all in shock!  My father stayed home from the law office to care for her nearly the whole six months until she passed away.  With the many memories he had of that last trip, and this being his first trip back to Oahu, he wanted to repeat that trip now with us that he had with Mother over 11 years ago.  One of the pleasant memories he had was attending a session in the Hawaiian Temple.  So, today we were repeating that memory.

On the way, we stopped to view a small island called Mokoli'i, or as many call it, "Chinaman's Hat," for its shape that looks like the straw hats the Chinese immigrants wore.  It used to be connected to Oahu before erosion cut it off.

The website stated:  "Mokoliʻi (or Chinaman's Hat) is open to the public from dawn to dusk. On weekends it is somewhat a popular secret with tourists and locals.  It can be accessed by kayak, boat, surfboard, or by swimming; depth soundings are only four feet on its west side.  The area is home to stonefish and sharks are often seen around the island, often in early mornings." 

This was a beautiful little park where you could see mountains, water, and just enjoy the beautiful outdoors.  We were all dressed up to go to the temple, but we enjoyed the scenery so much.

You really get a good idea of the many different terrains in this little park.  Look how steep these mountains are.

Soon, we arrived in Laie where the Mormon Temple is.  This temple is not one of our largest temples, but it is absolutely beautiful inside with small rooms that you move from one to another.  It takes about two hours to do a session inside.  We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful grounds, the sacred feelings we felt there, and the wonderful friendships of those who work inside the temple.

The top of the temple is in the shape of a square.  On each of the sides are friezes made of concrete and depict God’s dealings with Man.  The north frieze depicts the story of the Book of Mormon. The west frieze shows the people of the Old Testament. The New Testament and the Apostasy are depicted on the southern frieze of the temple, and the restoration of the Church through Joseph Smith is shown on the east frieze.

A beautiful reflecting pool is shown here as you look down the palm-tree lined street.

The grounds are immaculate with beautiful flowers and shrubbery everywhere you look.

 We were really hungry by now, so Beverly told us about a local shrimp restaurant that was basically a little trailer with a roof over an outdoor seating area.  She actually found it again for us since she and Larry had eaten there with the judges awhile back.  Joyce took both of these pictures, and I'm so glad she did.  It was really a fun experience.

She took this with her I-phone, but you can see how huge the shrimp were--and they definitely were filled with garlic, but very yummy.  Since we all had the same, we didn't mind.

On the way home, we stopped at another unusual rock formation near Laie--"hole in the rock" island.  Beverly again knew where this was because she said her son-in-law almost drowned here as a young boy.  Very scary!  Anyway, the hole was formed from the pounding waters of a tsunami clear back in 1946.

Oldest to youngest--Natalie and I are 20 years and 1 month to the day difference in age!  I went to school with her mother-in-law who was only two years older than I was.

Very windy there. 

Sorry, Joyce.  Much better picture of her in this.

Now, Joyce remembered a place she wanted to take us--Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.  Very interesting grave sites as we approached the Japanese Temple.  Joyce hadn't been there for 32 years, but remembered where it was.  I am so impressed with everyone's memories.  She said Jerry had shown them where it was.

This is known as the Byodo-In Temple and was built in 1968 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.  It was built entirely without nails!  It is actually a small-scale replica of the over 200-year-old Byodo-in Temple in Uji, Japan.

Walking around to the entrance of the temple, are little streams  filled with koi fish.

I love taking pictures of others taking pictures.  This was so cute getting a picture of Joyce taking a picture of this:

 She called it, "Frog spit!"  Hah!

There was, also, a beautiful, friendly black swan.

Inside was an 18-foot hand-carved Lotus Buddha.  It is covered in gold and lacquer.

Next to the temple, is the bell house which has a three-ton brass bell.

We all had fun swinging the chair on this log to ring the bell.  It is supposed to bring peace and tranquility.  It really did have a beautiful sound.

Crossing the bridge, going back to the car.

On our way to the car, we saw this old stump that looked completely dead with a new little tree growing out of it.  We said, "There must be some sort of lesson involved in that."  I'll let each of you make your own lesson learned!

After we returned, we walked through some beautiful resorts down on the beach.

 I love how all the stores and hotel entrances are usually open to the outside with real trees and plants growing right up through the roofs.

 The plants are so different than you usually see anywhere.

The Royal Hawaiian has been around for a very long time, but it has so much charm to it.

 A real piece of art made out of sand!

 Native Hawaiian wildlife sculptures.

 Picture of one of the earliest surf boarders along with the old boards.

The doors of the hotel are all hand carved.

 Beautiful night scene of the big hotels along the beach.

A popular statue in Waikiki and one of the most photographed spots is the Duke Kahanamoku Statue, which is standing right on Waikiki Beach.  Duke’s bronze statue welcomes you with open arms and on most days, he is adorned with flower leis that people hang over his arms and lay in front of his feet.

From the web:  "Duke is perhaps the most remembered and respected Hawaiian surfer, a champion Olympic swimmer and a master of canoeing – a true Hawaiian hero and waterman. He epitomized Hawaiian athleticism and helped the surf sport reach unbelievable popularity. The Duke is credited with bringing surfing to the mainland and possibly even to Australia. That’s why he is also known as “The Father of Modern Surfing.”

Our dad enjoyed the rest by this statue.

This brought to the end of another great day!

Another Day of History and Memories

Another day for visiting special historical places--especially filled with memories for our dad.  Today, we would be visiting Punchbowl, or the National Cemetery of the Pacific. 

Since we would be outside again, we were thrilled that it was such a beautiful day.  This was the view from our balcony.

From the Website:  "In ancient times, the extinct volcanic Punchbowl Crater was known as Puowaina which means 'Consecrated Hill' or 'Hill of Sacrifice.'  It was the site of many secret Ali'i (royal) burials and a place where offenders of certain Kapus (taboos) were sacrificed."

 
Today, the Hill of Sacrifice is the location of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific where approximately 53,000 World War I, World War II, the Korean, and Vietnam veterans and their dependents have been interred.  Today, almost the only veterans that can be placed there are if they are cremated; however casketed and cremated remains of eligible family members of those already interred there are buried above their veteran family member, we were told.

Notice how the flag at the entrance into the cemetery (picture above) is flying at half-mast.  We were told that they do this every day until about 2:00 p.m., I believe, since all burials are in the morning, and this is a tribute to those who have died who served their country no matter what day they are buried.

My dad and Joyce looking to the top of the memorial.  Along each side are ten marble slabs called Courts of the Missing which contain the names of 28,788 military personnel who are missing in action or were lost or buried in the sea in the Pacific during World War II, the Korean War, and some of the Vietnam War.

At the top of the staircase in the Court of Honor is a statue of Lady Columbia, also known as Lady Liberty or Justice.  She is representing all grieving mothers.  She stands on the bow of a ship holding a laurel branch, the symbol of peace. 

The inscription is taken from Abraham Lincoln's letter to Mrs. Bixby, who lost five sons in the Civil War:

"The solemn pride that must be yours, To have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."

View from the top of the stairs, looking down.  Notice that it is after 2:00 p.m. and the flag is now fully raised.

A small chapel is located behind Lady Columbia where the Star of David, Christian Cross, and Buddhist Wheel are seen.  This is a non-sectarian place of worship and contemplation.

On either side of the chapel are maps and descriptions of all the wartime activities that took place.  Dad had us reading them to him, telling his first-hand remembrances of all that had happened in each of the places.

Dad was especially interested in the Battle at Iwo Jima.  As a flight engineer, he realized all too well that if that island wasn't taken, their planes couldn't fly all the way of Japan and back on one fuel tank of gas.  Many pilots and their crews went on a one-way flight to Japan, knowing they would have to parachute down and become prisoners of war, or would die.  

As the above narrative tells:  The battle raged on there for 26 days until it was finally captured.  

Of the 22,060 Japanese soldiers entrenched on the island, 21,844 died either from fighting or by ritual suicide. Only 216 were captured during the battle. According to the official Navy Department Library website, "The 36-day (Iwo Jima) assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead."

The narrative on the plaque above states:  "The seizure of Iwo Jim entailed heavy American casualties (26,000), but even before the capture of the island had been completed, its great importance as an air base was demonstrated.  (There were three air fields there making it a perfect place for our planes to land and refuel.)  The Bombardment of Japan was intensified, combat effectiveness was increased;  undoubtedly the number of Americans whose lives were saved by the operation of this air base exceeded the number lost in its capture."    Wow!  No wonder the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima was such an important moment that it has been immortalized in a statue which we all can identify.

Suddenly, Natalie showed us how all the trees along the side were pruned to look like wreaths.  We thought that was so fitting.

We then took a walk along the "Memorial Walk" that is lined with a variety of memorial markers from various organizations a d government that honor America's veterans.  There are at least 60 boulders containing bronze plaques along the pathway.  At the top, there is a lookout point.  Here, Dad, Beverly, and I are looking over at Honolulu.

Since it isn't that large of a city, you can identify almost everything you see.  The beautiful ocean is in the background.

We then decided to drive around where the graves are.  Here we stopped to see the grave sites and where they buried the first war dead.  Joyce thought of this picture of having Beverly and I sit on these big Banyan tree roots.

Here our dad was looking at those markers.

The first interment was made January 4, 1949.  The cemetery opened to the public on July 19, 1949, with services for five war dead:  an unknown serviceman, two Marines, an Army lieutenant and one civilian--noted war correspondent Ernie Pyle.  Our father remembered reading his many articles about the war.  Ernie Pyle was one of the few civilians awarded the Purple Heart for his journalism of the war, and he also received the Pulitzer Price for his folksy-type reporting that always championed what the soldiers went through.  Sadly, he was killed by a Japanese sniper while he was out with some of the soldiers.

Another person that we really identified with was Ellison Onizuka who was buried near these first five.  He was the Japanese astronaut who was killed with all of the other astronauts in the ill-fated Challenger explosion in 1986.  

As I have said before, our dad has always taken us to Presidential Libraries, state capitals, the national capital, and many other historical places of interest since we were children.  That is the reason we all have gained such a love of history.  I know that my husband, along with my sisters and their spouses, have continued this tradition in our own homes.  After visiting this memorial, I was reminded and certainly hope our grandchildren grow up with a pride for our country, our servicemen, and what it means to have freedom in America.

After spending several hours at the Cemetery, we went to a mall which was decorated with beautiful growing plants, and had a wonderful meal there at Macaroni Grill.  Then, of course, you get girls together--you know you are going to shop!  We got Dad a new Hawaiian shirt and some new jeans.  He seemed to really like our choices!