Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Pearl Harbor marks both a beginning and an end. The gallery opens at the USS Arizona Memorial, where silence honors sacrifice. It then moves to the USS Missouri, where peace was formally restored. For me, this visit was personal, my Uncle Erland served aboard the Missouri during the surrender. One letter, postmarked that same day, was sent to a girl named Ellen. In six years, she would become a mother, my mother. These images trace not just history, but heritage. They remind us that war is never abstract, and peace, once earned, must never be taken for granted.