Through The Eyes Of A Pearl Harbor Survivor



John Weinberger, a West Bend resident who survived the Dec. 7, 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor, right, talks to Slinger High School Band Director Dave Hanke and students about his experiences. Weinberger traveled with the marching band in November when they performed in the Waikiki Holiday Parade.

By KRISTINE WALDEN - GM Today Staff

SLINGER - On the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a new generation is seeing it as though for the first time.

Slinger High School Marching Band members were able to experience the sights and sounds of Pearl Harbor through the eyes of a survivor, when they traveled to Hawaii with John Weinberger. The band was invited to perform in the Waikiki Holiday Parade on Thanksgiving Day, and also performed at the USS Missouri and attended memorials.

"I understand it more now. It’s a lot more realistic to me now," said senior Becky Faber, who said the most moving moment for her was watching Weinberger look at the memorial wall.

"You can talk about it in school, and it’s kind of like just something that happened in the past. Being there, it’s hits you how big it was," said sophomore Andy Vetrone.

"It was touching to see what actually happened, and to see the wall in Pearl Harbor with all the names on it," said senior Sam Duehr. "I have more respect now for all the people that fought there and for those who died over there."

Weinberger shared his experiences that day with students to keep the memory alive.

"It’s important (this generation) sees it first hand. Their parents should have seen it, now they know more than their parents," Weinberger said. "It’s all political, same as today. History keeps repeating and repeating itself."

"For us, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor is always going to be different," Band Director Dave Hanke said. "When we think of it now, we’ll be thinking of John. It’s not always where you go or what you do, but who you’re with."

Seeing Pearl Harbor through Weinberger’s eyes, Hanke said, completely changed the way he viewed that day in history.

"I went (to Pearl Harbor) last year and I thought it was a moving experience, but when we went with John this year, now it’s personal," Hanke said. "For our kids, what a great experience - watching John lay a wreath at the (USS Arizona) memorial, and knowing that he was 50 yards away when it was hit and you could see that he remembers exactly what happened - that was heart-wrenching. It was a life-altering experience. It makes us all different people."

Today, 65 years ago

"At this time today, I was working my tail off," Weinberger said.

"I had just turned 18 in June, and I was on the USS Whitney," Weinberger said. "It was the first time I had to handle a dead person - at 18 years old, whew, you think about that.

"Two of my buddies were on the Arizona. I went through training with them and wanted to get on the same ship they did. It’s a good thing I didn’t."

At the beginning of the attack, Weinberger said they thought it was just a training exercise. It wasn’t long, however, when it became apparent that Japan was attacking the United States.

"I heard something that sounded like rain, but it was the shrapnel, and the planes got so close with the torpedos, you could see the pilot’s face. The planes were 15 to 20 feet off the water when they dropped the torpedos. One just missed us. We were mad, I tell you. It just happened, just like that," Weinberger said as he snapped his fingers.

"I was 50 yards away from the Arizona when it was struck, and you swore the ship came right out of the water. You know when you go swimming in your clothes, and they stick to your body? That’s what the concussion felt like," he said.

"It was chaos all the way through, but we had so much darn training, that you automatically went through the motions," he said.

Once the attack was over, the chaos continued.

"The first ship to roll over was the Oklahoma," Weinberger said. "On the West Virginia, (those trapped) kept track of how long they were in there. They made marks until the 21st of December. That’s a hell of a way to die."

While Weinberger remembers the events of 65 years ago today, he notes how important it is for others to remember as well.

"We have to keep America strong and have a good military, and good civilians too," he said.


This story appeared in the West Bend Daily News on December 7, 2006.

London Follow-Up

I found out that my friend in London only lives a couple of blocks from one of the subways that was bombed. She was not injured but like many there, she was emotionally shaken by the experience. She and many of her neighbors are concerned about retribution attacks against Muslims in the area (my friend is Muslim and biracial: French and Algerian). My hope is that the strong condemnation of the attacks by London's Muslim leaders will diffuse some of that tension, especially if those same leaders help round up the Al Qaeda-linked terrorists that carried out these travesties.

My wife and I continue to pray for the London survivors and for the situation in general.

Best Wishes,
Allen

My Sympathies To London

I would like to express my heartfelt sympathies to the people of London, England today, following the brutal terrorist attacks in their subways and on at least one double-decker bus. I know people in the UK, some even in London. To my knowledge, noone I know personally was injured or killed in the attacks but that does not lessen my empathy for those who were. It could just as easily have been my friends...as easily as it could have been the United States or anywhere else in the world.

Targeting innocent civilians at morning rush hour, to inflict the most casualties, is as calculating and evil as the attacks of September 11, 2001. It is just as true in London as it was in New York as it is in Baghdad or Afganistan. There is no justifying it, regardless of how one views the political or even military decisions and viewpoints of the governments of the countries attacked.

This is the world we live in. This is the evil we must face every day.

Understanding that there are people to whom life means nothing while death and suffering is a means to an end and a great victory.

Some people say there's no Devil, but sometimes he makes himself plain and undeniable in the hearts of evil men.

But God is greater. God offers lasting hope and lasting salvation and true comfort while the Devil offers pain and suffering and temporary lust and temporary power.

My prayers and sympathies go out to the people of London. I may be one man but I stand with you today, and many others do also.

I John 4: 17 - 21 (King James Version)

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: bcause as he is, so are we in this world.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

We love him, because he first loved us.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Funeral For A Friend

Today was my friend's funeral/homegoing service. Although the morning started out rainy, by the time the service began, it was just cloudy and peaceful. The church was packed with people: her family, friends, coworkers and the church congregation. It was a beautiful service, with encouraging music plus words of commendation and praise for her life in Christ. I sang with the choir and was very proud to do so. The gospel was also preached for the living and the service concluded with music, including one of the songs that my friend was known for singing. It was moving and encouraging to do this, to feel the church was honoring her life by singing this song she not only loved but whose lyrics of testimony she lived.

A few years ago, another friend of mine from church passed away. We sang one of her favorite songs which she had performed during her life, a Hebrew song, at her homegoing. We did this because she was greatly involved in the foreign language program at the church. Although I had only known her for about 5 years, this woman was one of the first people to witness Christ to me and my wife. It is very consolating to be able to do something that would have pleased them, to do honor to their memory, especially at their homegoing.

Before I became a Christian, I used to fear death. I really did. Now, I don't feel that way. We're all going to die someday, that can't be helped. What matters is how we live this life. I can think of no better way to go on living than to tell people about what my God and His Son, Jesus Christ, have done (and continue to do) for me.

I have felt many emotions today but I am happy tonight. I am happy my friend has made her peace with God and gone to be with Him.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Tribute To A Friend

A very close friend of mine passed away today from an illness. She was in a wonderful interracial marriage to a dearly devoted husband. She was also my sister in Christ whom I had known for about 25 years. Out of respect to her family, I will not mention her name or go into the details of our friendship and history.

I only want to honor her memory here on IR Haven. I will miss her friendship here on the Earth but I know she made it to her spiritual home in Heaven. That is a true comfort. I am a witness to her sinless life as a Christian, which was only made possible by the Spirit of Christ.

The Lord knows, I aspire to make it home someday, too.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Taking History For Granted

A lot of people are using the term "nazi" these days, mostly for political purposes. It's coming from both sides of the spectrum, people trying to drive their point home that "those people are as bad as the Nazis." I want to discuss the relevance to us at IR Haven and why everyone should be a little more careful about what terms they use. The term "nazi" has a special place in history, as well as in infamy. It should not be used casually or out of proper context.

I was not even alive when the Nazis came to power and attempted to conquer the world. The end of World War 2 came over 20 years before I was born. I state this because some of the people using these terms are younger than me.

I did not really have a good understanding of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis until I did two things: I researched World War 2 on my own and I watched "The Pianist." That film chronicled the perspective of an actual Polish Jew who survived the occupation of his homeland, which included the creation of the Nazi ghettos (which is where the term "ghetto" originated) and the Nazi death camps.

"The Pianist" is the only movie I have ever watched that truly and utterly disturbed me in a way no movie ever has. I have only had that sensation one time before, back in the early days of IR Haven, when it had a forum. During a brief period, some racists would make seemingly harmless posts but include racists links.

One post at the forum led me to a website with a gallery of "art" by a racist. That art gave me a glimpse of what went through the mind of someone who has no regard for the life of someone of another race, who sees a group of people as less than human...lower than animals. I knew, in seeing the proud creations of this kind of mind, that I was looking at evil itself.

The Nazis killed millions of people, most of them Jewish but also gypsies, homosexuals, the elderly and the disabled. Hitler was a nationalist, a socialist, a euthenasist and an athiest. The Nazi military was smart and brutally efficient. They took advantage of every perceived (and real) weakness of every nation they occupied. They would have dominated the world like the Roman empire had they not been stopped by the Allied forces.

People on the Left call people on the Right nazis and vice-versa. While there is certainly room for healthy debate concerning political leanings in either direction, the use of the term "nazi" to describe either side is to disrespect history and the true victims of Nazism. I think everyone should research World War 2 and the Nazis from that era.

We who are a part of the IR community should have a special understanding of this. Some people have experienced discrimination. Some have even been brutalized, imprisoned and/or had their lives threatened. But if we did not live under the Nazis, first of all, we should thank God and second, we cannot call ourselves victims of Nazis.

I'll conclude this with a true story someone once told me. He was in a shop and a young man was there to get a specialty item. The shopkeeper was unable to accomodate him and the young man accused him of racism. The older man assured him he was not being racist. The young man said "What do YOU know about discrimination, old man?" Then the older man lifted up his shirt sleeve and showed the man the barcode branded into his arm from the Auschwitz death camp. Upon realizing what he was seeing, the young man walked out of the shop without another word.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Death Toll Reaches 100,000

If it's reached 100,000 this early, this could get much more harrowing before it's all over. It's only been 3 days since the disaster...

More updates later.

- Allen

Follow Up (Part Two)

So, as we were driving to the burial service (after the funeral/homegoing), we notice a high-pitched shrill coming from our van. It was odd and only seemed to happen when we accelerated, which led me to believe it might be the brakes, but the warning shrill from brakes usually comes days before you actually need to replace your pads, so I figured it was safe to proceed.

We got to the husband's property where the burial was to take place (he'd had the foresight to make burial plots for himself and his wife, side-by-side) , attended the graveside service and prayers. The Lord blessed the husband to be strong. He even had a few words before one of the associate ministers gave the benediction. Then everyone came to offer personal words and condolences to the family. I just wanted to give my brother in Christ a heartfelt hug. I knew I had no words that could express more. When I looked in his eyes, I could see that he "got" me. Angel and I joined the choir for a closing song, which felt good.

Then we packed back into the van and started heading home. Now the hiigh-pitched shrill was replaced by a low-pitched shrill and the van felt like its gears were slipping. I also couldn't get it to accelerate over 20 miles an hour! So, I silently prayed and the Lord blessed us to get back to the husband's property.

I found the two brothers (no, literally they are brothers) who had worked so faithfully on our van and told them the van's symptoms. After driving it and trying to reverse in front of them, they were able to quickly determine that it was the transmission...the same transmission that had replaced the bad transmission before! But the good thing about it is that the parts are still under warranty, so even though it will take several days to get it repaired, it won't cost anything to do so.

We just had two hurtles to overcome and our brothers in Christ (the same brothers) helped with both of those hurtles. I knew that our car insurance covered towing but because of the remote location, I knew it would take some time for a tow truck to find us. And it was getting late and cold. One brother offered to stay with the van until it was towed while the other brother drove my wife, kids and myself home. And while the vehicle is being repaired, at least my job is within walking distance from home (about 1 mile, which I can walk in 15 minutes).

So, the moral to the story is: We got home, safe and sound, thanks to our brothers in Christ. What a great God I serve, that He can change people's hearts to be capable of such compassion, understanding and love -- regardless of nationality (our brothers in Christ happen to be African-American). Once again, I am humbled and grateful and I just have to share the blessings the Lord has done for me.

Have a great day!

Best Wishes,
Allen

Follow Up (Part One)

I apologize for not blogging in a week, it's been a strange week. I've been learning new responsibilities at my I.T.-related job; trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to get more sleep; and preparing for today's funeral/homegoing service for our friend who passed away on Thanksgiving.

It was a beautiful service! Essentially, the whole church congregation was there, as well as many family and friends. Her husband was remarkably strong (no doubt, with the help of the Lord). The singing by a combined church choir was a fitting musical tribute to the Christ in our dear sister's life. Also, I was very proud of our pastor. He commended our friend's sin-free life in Christ while also preaching against sin to the living. He offered the comfort and hope that only God and His Son, Jesus Christ, along with the Holy Spirit, can give. By giving the example of our friend's life, our pastor proved the point that it is possible to live Godly in this world, even in the midst of sorrow and pain.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Ephesians 2: 4 - 9 (King James Version)

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not that of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

While Everyone's Going Home, A Homegoing

I had an amazing Thanksgiving, but for the most unexpected of reasons. The holiday weekend really started Wednesday night. Angel, the boys and I went to see The Incredibles -- which is an awesome movie I would highly recommend to anyone! We went to the 9:30 pm showing and got out just before midnight, so that was a COOL way to end Wednesday...

Yesterday, we met with both sides of our family, which was nice. We enjoyed each other's company, had food together and got caught up on each other's lives. I'm really glad we were able to do that.

We ended up over at one of our First Light bandmate's house on Thansgiving evening. Most of the rest of First Light members were there, too, and we ended up singing a few First Light songs for some relatives of one of our bandmates...which, again, was fun.

Then there was a phone call that changed the whole evening.

One of our sisters in Christ, whom we all knew and loved, had passed away this Thanksgiving. She was not old. She had not died in a car accident. She and her husband (they're an interracial married couple) had recently gotten back from missionary work in Belize, Central America, where our church has a sister church. Upon their return, the husband had gotten sick but eventually recovered but the illness had persisted in his wife. They were visiting some friends from church when she decided to get some rest because she wasn't feeling well. She went to sleep and never woke up.

When we got the news, we were shocked but we were also immediately happy for her because, as one brother put it, "the scriptures are fulfilled" that she fell asleep in Christ. Hers was by no means a terrible death; our sadness was for her husband and ourselves, who will miss her on the Earth. Our whole church will be giving support and love to her husband to help him in this time of need.

But after learning this news and speaking about it for a few minutes, First Light began to sing songs to the Lord, in honor of our sister in Christ and the glorious encouragement she gave to us all by completing a life that was free from willful sin. Only the leader of the band had his guitar, so most of us just sang -- but we sang with all we had! There were tears and some "cracked notes" from emotion but the emotions were pure and they were beautiful. I will admit I cried as we sang "I Exalt Thee." Everyone was choked up, some cried freely, but they were tears of joy, not sadness...and the Lord deserved (and deserves) all the honor and praise and so much more. We sang hymns and original First Light numbers -- but in a way we had never sang them before. Obviously, this was not in front of an audience -- just ourselves, those in the house and, most importantly, the Lord.

It definitely goes down as my most memorable Thanksgiving...and I'm thankful for it.

Best Wishes,
Allen

Tribute To My Dad



My father, Joe Steadham, died of cancer on May 20, 1997, five days before his 56th birthday. The threat of colon cancer had already appeared once in his life, had gone into remission for ten years and then came back with a vengeance around 1995. This week marks the sixth anniversary of his death. I don't mean to be dark or macabre; in fact, it is my intention to honor my father and his life with this entry.

My father was a huge impact on my life. He taught me responsibility, dignity, humility, friendliness and a lot about how to be a father. My father was a people person. He made trips to the grocery story -- almost daily -- just to converse with people at the store...and get one or two items. He was deeply respected by his co-workers at the Texas Department of Health, where he worked for 32 years (almost as long as he was married to my mother, which was 33 years)...a fact that was shown when over 300 of them paid their last respects at his funeral.

But perhaps the most important thing my father ever taught me was not something he told me, it was what he didn't tell me. He never discouraged me from making friends of different nationalities, he never encouraged me to think or believe in a racist manner. And when I began dating interracially in the years before I got married, he would take the time and make the effort to get to know the women I was dating.

I'll be honest, my father and I had some issues to deal with when it came to my entering into an interracial marriage but once my (biracial) son Adam was born in October 1995, things began to change. My father was given a six-month prognosis in 1995 but he lived an additional two years after that, sharing the first two years of my son's life. I truly believe that my father's love of my son is what kept him going for so long. My mother was so moved by my father's love for Adam that she had a picture of the two of them buried with my father (see picture below).



During the last weeks of my father's life, I had many opportunities to talk with him and we both had a chance to make our peace with each other over past hurts and misunderstandings. I have since learned how rare an opportunity -- what a gift -- that was.

I loved my father and I know he loved me. I hope I can be that kind of father to my two sons.

I know that the Lord has blessed me to have a wonderful wife and family and I feel honored to live this life with them -- and you!

Thanks for sharing this experience with me.

Sincerely,
Allen