#booksbybjthompson

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When Washington DC is burning, watch Rome burn to escape.🏛🏟😎 #writerslife #movies #storytelling #historyinpictures #quovadis #booksbybjthompson #rome #history #romansoldiers (at Rome, Italy) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4WjpbGjLYK/?igshid=7c079o7y4irt

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Oahu, Hawaii Research Journey for AIR — December 5–12, 2018 — Episode 21, Part 5 …and from my chaise whisper a goodbye to the day, a sadness, for the loss of life that never is too far from the surface, grabs again at my chest, invades my soul, but I don’t fight it. I’m here. I chose to be here. And the days after Pearl Harbor, this paradise was drowning in sorrow. That’s what happened at the start of the war. And that’s what happens in all wars. Sipping the last of my wine, I take one final look over at Waikiki with its white ribbon of lights, the only signs of life in a coffin-black ocean on a tiny spit of land that holds little me. This trip is like a precious gem. You’re so thankful you were given the chance to hold it. You know you’ll remember this experience until you die. But there’s a guttural urge to throw the gem as far as you can to let it drown deep in the sea, so you’ll never have to touch it again. My journey continues... #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson (at Honolulu's Chinatown) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4VzS0nDE4X/?igshid=sltdmmvjo80i

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Oahu, Hawaii Research Journey for AIR — December 5–12, 2018 — Episode 21, Part 4 Returning to Ewa, I feel renewed. My beach, my condo, they are restorative places where I can shed for a time the burden of seeing all too well into the past. But as I walk the shore in the late afternoon sun… Continued to Part 5... #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson (at Honolulu's Chinatown) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Vy5p5DOLP/?igshid=gmd1qquc3a7h

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Oahu, Hawaii Research Journey for AIR — December 5–12, 2018 — Episode 21, Part 3 At the end of River Street approaching the Honolulu port, there is a very old trade building, the entire structure made from bricks of volcanic rock. There was no date on the structure but just by looking you knew it had seen sailing ships dock into port from the 19th century or earlier. My eyes locked on this building, knowing that it had witnessed all on the island, from the first spice traders to the smoke clouds of the Japanese attack, and I venture to say it will outlive us all in the centuries to come. When I touched the bricks with their sharp sandpaper affect, they are impenetrable solid and as new looking as if they had been laid yesterday. After gobbling down a kalua pulled pork sandwich — a popular local dish — the tour ended and I and my new friends went our separate ways. I headed back to Ewa beach to digest another full day of unfolding history. I’ve said it before but I mean it. There are ghosts everywhere on this island for me, and none of them are showing their 77 years. Late teens and 20-somethings with the odd officer mid thirty’s. If anyone is old here, it’s me, milling among them. Continued to Part 4... #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson (at Honolulu's Chinatown) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4VylEFjBBJ/?igshid=9eas29wug63i

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Oahu, Hawaii Research Journey for AIR — December 5–12, 2018 — Episode 21, Part 2 North Hotel Street original buildings and its many upstairs brothels — back then, dark, dank and rat infested — but I’m sure the sailors and the ladies of the night didn’t pay much attention to the decor in those three heady minutes of carnal delight at $3 a pop. We eventually made our way down to River Street and the canal that runs alongside it. During the ’40s heyday, this street housed many houses of ill repute. Today, not much has changed other than the brothels are long gone, replaced by small cafes and boutique stores catering to the tourist crowd, but nowhere in Chinatown can you escape the ghosts of the sailors haunting these streets. If you focus your mind and allow the past to seep in, boisterous laughter, shouts and the odd cat calls can still be heard. The sex trade hasn’t disappeared altogether though, for the closer you get to the evening, the odd street walker will pass you on the sidewalk, dolled up in some kind of skin tight mini dress with 5 inch heels and gaudy hair and make-up. The dark side of Chinatown still exists, and you don’t have to look very hard at all to find it. Continued to Part 3... #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson (at Honolulu's Chinatown) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4VyLZqDjDl/?igshid=1od6znhciig2f

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(WJHL) — A Navy seaman from Cumberland Gap who died in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and was accounted for last year will be buried next week in Maryland. According to the Navy, Seaman 1st Class William Brooks was stationed on the USS Oklahoma (BB-37), which was one of the first vessels hit during the attack. The ship was struck by several torpedos and had rolled over within minutes, trapping hundreds of sailors below deck. Brooks was among the 429 sailors who lost their lives. He was 19 years old. https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/cumberland-gap-sailor-who-died-in-pearl-harbor-to-be-laid-to-rest-in-maryland/amp/ #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson #oahuhawaii #bookresearch #ussoklahomamemorialpearlharborhawaii #ussoklahomaremainspreservationproject (at USS Oklahoma Remains Preservation Project) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf9eoFTJMXi/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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#WelcomeHomeWednesday Sailors assigned to U.S. Navy Region Hawaii participate in an internment ceremony for U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Everett Raymond Stewart, of California, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 16, 2022. Stewart was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which sustained fire from Japanese aircraft and multiple torpedo hits causing the ship to capsize and resulted in the deaths of more than 400 crew members on Dec. 7, 1941, at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Stewart was recently identified through DNA analysis by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) forensic laboratory and laid to rest with full military honors. (U.S. Air Force photos by Staff Sgt. Blake Gonzales and Tech. Sgt. Rusty Frank) #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson #oahuhawaii #bookresearch #ussoklahomamemorialpearlharborhawaii #ussoklahomaremainspreservationproject (at USS Oklahoma Remains Preservation Project) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfUJO8gl6WJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Fleet Week, 1938... happy times... #fleetweek #usnavy #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson #oahuhawaii #bookresearch #ussoklahomamemorialpearlharborhawaii #ussoklahomaremainspreservationproject (at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii) https://www.instagram.com/p/CcHIW6VJf_8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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On December 7, 2021, the remains of those who remain unidentified from the #USSOklahoma from #PearlHarbor attack will be reinterred at the #Punchbowl. We will meet you some day. Until then, rest well...💖 https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/pentagon-ends-program-to-identify-sailors-killed-during-attack-on-pearl-harbor.html #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson #oahuhawaii #bookresearch #ussoklahomamemorialpearlharborhawaii #ussoklahomaremainspreservationproject (at USS Oklahoma Remains Preservation Project) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXWo8IyPRUx/?utm_medium=tumblr

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To all the palm fronds that hiss, To all the grains of sand lying cool, To the chopping December waves lapping upon shore And to the lunar rainbow, then, Maybe as now, That reverently remembers how To all of us here, alive, this very moment, Because of them, Remember, and give blessed thanks To all their souls, tonight plus eighty, Who were vibrant and full of life, With hope everlasting To a handful of hours before the dawn, Let our love and honor and respect mingle with their bravery, So as they sleep, we will not weep, We quietly, heartily, carry their torch Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, The brass bell tolls... For you, our Greatest Generation, Is why we all forge on Our loss of you will never be in vain As the pulsing blood of freedom e'er remains The sorrow, it is out to sea, And with the evening tide Flows your peace everlasting To a time, In a harbor, We shall all abide Anchors a weigh. Calm seas ahead. Bos'n call, "Turn in. Keep silence about the decks." Remember Pearl Harbor. ~ Barbara Thompson #rememberpearlharbor #pearlharbor80 #WWII #greatestgeneration #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson #oahuhawaii #pearlharbor #ussoklahomamemorialpearlharborhawaii #ussoklahomaremainspreservationproject #pearlharbormemorial (at Pearl Harbor National Memorial) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXK8erxLfeF/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"101-year-old returns to Pearl Harbor to remember those lost By AUDREY McAVOY and GILLIAN FLACCUS HONOLULU (AP) — When Japanese bombs began falling on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class David Russell first sought refuge below deck on the USS Oklahoma. But a split-second decision on that December morning 80 years ago changed his mind, and likely saved his life." #rememberpearlharbor #pearharbor80 #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson #oahuhawaii #bookresearch #ussoklahomamemorialpearlharborhawaii #ussoklahomaremainspreservationproject (at USS Oklahoma) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXJzFtCPfXg/?utm_medium=tumblr

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#WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson #oahuhawaii #bookresearch #ussoklahomamemorialpearlharborhawaii #ussoklahomaremainspreservationproject (at USS Oklahoma Remains Preservation Project) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXH6xvgFq7f/?utm_medium=tumblr

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https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/recovered-and-identified-soldiers-uss-oklahoma #nationalww2museum #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson #oahuhawaii #bookresearch #ussoklahomamemorialpearlharborhawaii #ussoklahomaremainspreservationproject (at USS Oklahoma Remains Preservation Project) https://www.instagram.com/p/CW_2TZYvKhJ/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"On 18 November 1941 - Eleven Japanese submarines sail from their homeports to take part in the attack on Pearl Harbor." - National Maritime Sanctuaries https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/maritime/japanese-mini-subs/ #WWII #PearlHarbor #oahuhawaii #rememberpearlharbor #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #booksbybjthompson #AIR (at Māmala Bay) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWci6oQrUO4/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Happy Cocktail Hour, cats 'n' dolls!🍸 #deanmartin #sway #cocktailhour #BooksbyBJThompson (at A Bar near You) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUbFxukvkjW/?utm_medium=tumblr

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"Joint Base Pearl Harbor - Hickam Facebook Group The Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency announced that Navy Fireman 1st Class Paul E. Saylor, 21, of Johnson City, TN, killed during World War II when the USS Oklahoma was sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, was accounted for on Nov. 24, 2020. On Aug. 20, 2021, after 80 years he was finally returned home. Saylor was buried at Happy Valley Memorial Park next to his parents, the Rev. Samuel and Mary Saylor. #NeverForget 📷by John Thompson" #WWII #writersjourney #writersofinstagram #AIR #booksbybjthompson #oahuhawaii #bookresearch #ussoklahomamemorialpearlharborhawaii #ussoklahomaremainspreservationproject (at USS Oklahoma Remains Preservation Project) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTAktEOB0zG/?utm_medium=tumblr