I heard a great story last week from a Leonard Letter reader that I wanted to share with all of you on Pearl Harbor Day. The USS Utah was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship is on the opposite side of Ford Island from the Arizona and many tourists to the memorial do not even learn about the Utah or the 58 sailors still entombed in her. The Utah had a long and impressive service record before the damage at Pearl. Efforts to right and restore the ship failed so she lies on her side in the water to this day. Learn more about the Utah and her crew: I heard a great story last week from a Leonard Letter reader that I wanted to share with all of you on Pearl Harbor Day. The USS Utah was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship is on the opposite side of Ford Island from the Arizona and many tourists to the memorial do not even learn about the Utah or the 58 sailors still entombed in her. The Utah had a long and impressive service record before the damage at Pearl. Efforts to right and restore the ship failed so she lies on her side in the water to this day. Learn more about the Utah and her crew here. Cal DeKnikker (a Navy vet, son and grandson of Navy sailors, and father of a son currently serving) lives and runs a business in my district. He and his family are proud patriots who endeavor to honor those who serve our country, including those who died on the Utah. They maintain a USS Utah Memorial in Woodland. Another Woodland resident who passed away a few years ago had been given a sign from the Utah that had been salvaged from the ship and passed down as a souvenir. When this woman died, her family appealed to Mr. DeKnikker to do the right thing with the letters and he and his two Boy Scout sons made arrangements to present the sign to the National Parks Department in Pearl Harbor where it was interred appropriately. Read more about that effort: www.ussutah.org.
Cal DeKnikker (a Navy vet, son and grandson of Navy sailors, and father of a son currently serving) lives and runs a business in my district. He and his family are proud patriots who endeavor to honor those who serve our country, including those who died on the Utah. They maintain a USS Utah Memorial in Woodland. Another Woodland resident who passed away a few years ago had been given a sign from the Utah that had been salvaged from the ship and passed down as a souvenir. When this woman died, her family appealed to Mr. DeKnikker to do the right thing with the letters and he and his two Boy Scout sons made arrangements to present the sign to the National Parks Department in Pearl Harbor where it was interred appropriately. Read more about that effort: http://www.christianjames.com/uss%20utah1.htm .