No Apologies
By J.M. Snyder
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 6 December 1941
It’s hard to imagine it’s the end of the year already, especially here, with the palm trees rustling in a balmy breeze, the sparkling ocean, the sandy beach. This is a tropical paradise, and the December I grew up with in the Midwest—short, dark days full of snow and ice, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, cold mornings and freezing nights, bulky coats, ski caps—that December is a million miles away, just like the rest of the world.
I keep having to remind myself I’m here on duty, I’m supposed to be here, but it’s hard on nights like these when I’m in Honolulu and the air is still and warm and smells of heady hibiscus blossoms. Here in this tiny bar every man’s a sailor, the “undress-white” uniforms with blue neckerchiefs and
