I FOUND A PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR ONCE…
When I was attending university as an undergraduate in… well, a long time ago… I found a Pearl Harbor Survivor by the name of Allen Bodenlos wandering around campus by himself. He had an armful of mementos and war trophies in his hand, and a lost look on his face. Feeling as if I had stumbled upon a unicorn somehow, myself and another veteran I was with at the time whisked him up to our office in the Veterans Education and Transition Services Center.
It was there he told us how he had come to be alone, in the middle of campus. Papa Al, as he preferred to be called, had scheduled a talk with a class for that day, and when he showed up to give his presentation, the instructor informed him that plans had changed, and that he would not be able to interrupt. When we heard this there was an immediate suggestion from the group of veterans gathered around at this point, that maybe we should pay the class a visit ourselves. Feeling properly defended, Papa Al led us away from this idea with more story, and by sharing with us some of his treasure he had brought for show and tell. For more than two hours veterans listened to Papa Al recount his time in the Army as a bugler, in the pacific, and afterward. Veterans in the office that day chose to not go to their respective classes, instead opting to listen to our elder brother share story. Not one of us regretted it.
A couple of years later I reached out to Papa Al to see if he would be interested in coming back to visit us on campus, this time with a proper welcome and reception. He was on board, and immediately started making plans to visit us again. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Not long before he was supposed to travel, he fell ill and was admitted into hospital. Knowing this was always a possibility, I regretfully informed those individuals who had reserved for the event, but let them know we would still be gathering to talk about Papa Al and his comrades. We indeed met at the appointed hour, went through the ceremony, and even rang the bell from the USS Arizona in honor of all those who put themselves in Harm’s Way. Afterward, I wrote down what had happened, and when I finished I called Papa Al in his hospital room. Although he wasn't able to speak, those who were in the room held the phone to his ear while I read what we had done for him, and said goodbye. What follows is what I read to Papa Al while he was on his deathbed.
A memory for papa Al
“Dear Papa Al,
Everyone here in Tucson, and at the University of Arizona missed you this Veterans Day. We wanted to let you know that we all thought of you and your service to our country. I know you’re probably waiting to hear how everything went so I figured I would give you a rundown on how it all played out. We met at the university’s Berger Memorial Fountain in front of the oldest building on campus. An intimate group gathered at the fountain around 0730 or so, drinking coffee, talking about our plans for the day and engaging the other attendees as they arrived. The weather was beautiful at that time of the morning, and more than one person mentioned it. A little after 0800 I took to the speaker's platform and addressed all who had come out to share their first part of Veterans Day together. There were officers from the Air Force, Army and Navy who showed up in their finest dress uniforms, and leaders at all levels from the university, city and state.
My speech was simple, I talked about you! I told them about how we met, about the stories you shared with us, and about the excitement that was in your heart knowing you were coming back to visit. Needless to say, the crowd ate it up. From the fountain we took a leisurely stroll over to the campus tower, the one where USS Arizona’s salvaged bell hangs. Here’s where things get exciting, a contingent from the Pride of Arizona Pep Band was waiting for us! That’s right, they had come to play specially for you. I’m getting ahead of myself though, we’re not at that part of the story yet. The pep band was sitting there warming up in the Student Union Memorial Center’s Canyon near the salvaged anchor chains of the USS Arizona. We left them to warm up and headed into the USS Arizona Memorial Lounge, where we looked at memorabilia from the ship and her crew. I’m not sure if you’ve ever been in that room but it’s great, you would enjoy it. There are pictures, uniforms, flags, a plaque someone swam into the ship to recover, and a scaled down battleship that creates a walkway through various models and artifacts.
When the band was good and warmed up we got the signal and headed up to the bell tower. As you can imagine, we were all very excited to see the USS Arizona’s bell – yet alone having the opportunity to be there when it’s rang. In a very real sense it feels like visiting with an old friend, making sure everything is fine before we go our separate ways again. There are three rooms there, the tower room where the bell hangs is a tight space – about two grown men can fit comfortably but any more than that and it’s difficult to move. The room just inside is a little bigger, a number of people can fit, and the conference room that opens up from there is even larger. Once everyone found a spot where they fit we all waited with anticipation for the bell’s first jarring ring. Looking around I thought of you and started the lanyard swaying, then in rapid succession, followed by three brief pauses I pulled – ding-ding… ding-ding… ding-ding… ding-ding… we were moved into a moment of silence as the bell faded away into the morning air.
Just as the last sounds were leaving her bell, the Pride of Arizona kicked off on the lower level with a rocking rendition of Bear Down. Upon hearing this, every one of us up in the tower immediately began moving and singing along with our favorite song. Wanting to be nearer to the music we all headed outside to watch the band play. Now, I know I have an obvious bias here but I have to say that these Cats were Awesome! They all wore matching red and white striped long sleeve shirts, jeans and sneakers – not only that, but they were rocking and swaying while they jammed out. The canyon really carried the sound of their instruments and brought waves of music up to where we were at that you could feel. I can only imagine the great joy that would have brought you. When they were finished with their set, they took a bow and disappeared beneath us as they went their separate ways in the Memorial Center.
It all went off without a hitch!
I tell you Papa Al, you would have loved it.
Sending you our thoughts, prayers and love as you enter into the twilight.”
I read this to Papa Al in its entirety, and I wish I could say that he understood what it was I was saying, but I can’t. He wasn’t able to communicate at that point, and could only make unintelligible noises. When he did pass, I was invited to attend his memorial services in San Diego, at Balboa Park. An invitation I readily accepted.
A couple of years before this, I had coordinated a project on campus for Veterans Day 2012. I secured a grant to bring the Combat Paper Project to the University of Arizona for a week’s worth of activities. We held a number of workshops where we learned to transform our old combat uniforms into paper, and art projects. At the end of this project I had a large quantity of paper I had made from the uniform I wore in Iraq, and both of my grandfather’s trenchcoats who retired as Master Sergeants, and had served in WW2, and Korea. I transcribed what I had read to Papa Al onto one of these sheets, collected signatures from various leaders within the community I know, and gave it to his people there at the memorial ceremony.
Needless to say, I still think of Papa Al, especially as we near Veteran’s Day. I sure am glad I was able to hug him and listen to his story before he left us.
Thank you for helping me remember a friend.
-Rico
