The band woke up bright and early this morning for a full breakfast before setting off to Kaneohe Bay. This was the naval air station that Bernie Comito, our Pearl Harbour survivor, was at on the morning of December 7th 1941. We headed over to the base while listening to some of the local history from our bus drivers before entering what is now the Marine Corps Base Hawaii and being shown around by some of the active marines stationed at the base. This was then followed by everyone gathering around and listening to Mr. Comito talk about his experience of the devastating attack and of what happened in his perspective. After this, we left for the Punchbowl Cemetery where we heard of the many men and women who laid down their lives to protect Hawaii and the United States of America. Both of these experiences were particularly eye opening as they gave us a chance to see the impact of the attack on Hawaiian life first hand rather than to simply hear about it in school. This was especially moving as we will be performing at Pearl Harbour tomorrow morning.
Afterwards, everyone had a few hours of free time which was spent eating food and enjoying the nice weather. Right before dinnertime, the band met up again to head over to Queen Kapiolani Park where we had a traditional Hawaiian picnic and the opportunity to make friends from other bands. It was an interesting experience as we could compare the differences between the bands while making new international friends.
Today was a very busy yet meaningful day, full of learning about the significance of the performances we will be partaking in tomorrow, as well as paying our respects at the Arizona memorial to all of those who lost their lives on December 7th 1941.
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