Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Surly Horns

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.
Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business & Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Advertise... Tailgate Donations

Featured Replies

1 hour ago, 4th and 5 said:

Get there early, I spent an entire day there.

Plan to. Was the Tom Hanks narrative worth the extra cash? 

On 10/8/2025 at 5:22 AM, UpperWestside said:

Met a woman today who was on the Big Island on December 7th, 1941. Her recollections of that day as a 9 year old are still as clear in her mind as they were when it happened. She remembered feeling something akin to aftershocks during the bombing. Her brother, then 15 years old, was over at Hickam that morning and saw the Zero pilots flying right above him. He had no idea they were Japanese until someone in uniform pulled him inside to tell him they weren't American planes and they were under attack. She also shared with me about how life changed on all the islands during the war. They had mandatory blackouts at night over on the Big Island, they built bunkers in case of another attack and she vividly recalled carrying a gas mask with her to school every day.

A chance meeting like that was not going to happen in New York. I am really thankful she took the time to share that with me today. She barely spoke above a whisper, but she was so sweet to talk to. She had two family members with her. I gave her a fist bump and took a picture with her. Could not have been more gracious to speak with me after I told her why I was in Hawai'i.

I've been to the Arizona Memorial. My father served in the South Pacific during WW II doing sub patrol in a Dive Bomber for the Marines.

On 12/3/2025 at 11:11 PM, Coach pop a bitch said:

Going to the ww2 museum in New orleans in 3 weeks. Any must sees? 

Late response but Peche is great and a really easy walk from the museum.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

The biggest reason to be out in the Pacific is that I wanted to take a journey through the countries that the Pacific War was fought in. It was also to be able to listen to stories of those who were alive when the history of the war unfolded. Most of the soldiers are no longer with us, but there are people who were children that experienced the war at their doorstep. I had no real idea how I would meet any of these folks or when, but a co-worker who is Filipino heard what I am doing and asked if I wanted to sit down and interview her mother. I said for sure I would.

She took me over to Aiea where she stays up in the hills with her younger sister and their family. Her name is Maria and she’s 91 years old. She had turned seven in October of 1941. It wouldn’t be long after that Japan would invade the Philippines and show up in Leyte. I asked her what her and her family did. She said they abandoned their home and headed into the mountainous jungle to live. She could recall that time like it had just happened yesterday. She said for three years they subsisted on rice, fruits like bananas and vegetables like tomato’s to survive. She said they rarely made fires so the Japanese patrolling in their area would not find them. They had no pets due to the noise they would make. She said the jungle was their protection and that the Filipinos who stayed in the cities and towns suffered greatly under Japanese rule. Her daughter helped with translating and I mostly just listened to her and recorded our conversation that was about two hours or so. I asked her what was her first encounter with a Japanese soldier. She said it was after the US came back to Leyte. She recalled a Japanese soldier that snuck up on them looking for food. She said she ran away barefoot as fast as she could. She was laughing while recounting this. All the soldier wanted was food as the jungle was now his home too and when they came back later she said he had taken most of what they had cooked.

I asked her what was her memories of the United States soldiers that came back and she said that the memory of going with her cousin to the American barracks where her cousin asked for food and kerosene. She said the Americans always gave them anything they had. She remembers getting corned beef tins often from them. I asked if she thought theUS would be back after Japan had seized everything there. She said she never doubted it even though she was just a child.

She also could recall seeing an aerial battle where a plane was shot down over the jungle, but she did not know if it was a Japanese or American plane. She recalled that sight vividly though. The last thing I asked was what was it that has carried her through 91 years of life when the beginning of it was so rough. She said being happy and just thankful for life. Her daughter tha I work with is 59 and she said she has never once in her life seen her mother angry. She stays active with other groups of Filipinos here, she listed all th dances she can still do and she has made her own clothes her entire life. I saw some pictures of what she has made and Christ this woman should’ve been a fashion designer had she been born in another place. Her daughter had told me she had a sixth grade education and I asked about that. This was maybe cool because it helped her daughter learn something new about mom. She had a sixth grade education because beyond that the school closest would have required her crossing a river and then walking to school. It would’ve been two and a half hours one way. That meant the end of formal schooling. She would move to Manila and in 1954 at age 20 she would get married. I saw her picture with her husband. It was pretty cool. Same smile 72 years later and the same outlook on life of being kind to others and never getting upset over small things.

The last thing I’d like to share is that due to her surviving in a mountainous jungle her family blossomed and her grandkids all took advantage of the American education she never could’ve imagined. One is a scientist working in Texas. Another is finishing up at UH Manoa. One that is in his 30’s got his law degree from Harvard and now is getting a PhD from Cal Berkeley. There are others, but I didn’t want to ask too much. I got to see her backyard where she still has a pet turtle, rooster, chicken, dog and cat. She has a virtual forest back there of fruits and vegetables and a mango tree. It was awesome. She used to have a pet pig back in the Philippines before the war and another after. Her daughter said the pig would follow her around like a dog. Anyhow this family exists because of one woman surviving a war living in crudely made bamboo huts with giants leaves to protect from the rain for three years. Next week I am going to attempt to meet her best friend that is 95 who had a different war experience win the Philippines that was not as pleasant. I just wanted to share this because you never know where life will take you or who you will meet.

Thank you for sharing that wonderful woman’s memories with us here.

It’s one of the best WW2 stories I’ve ever read, and there have been many…..even from my family.

My earliest memory of international events is from the Berlin Airlift era - my dad said to clean my dinner plate because what I was wasting would feed a German kid for a week. Then he explained in simple terms what was going on “over there”.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...
Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business & Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Advertise... Tailgate Donations

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.