Of Robert Freeman, the WWII Memorial Park and Cemetery

My youngest had been nagging me to accompany him to the WWII Memorial Park & Cemetery. Apparently he was curious to see the bunker and the poem and dedication written on the monuments. Well, I thought why not indulge him?  How many young kids nowadays would be interested to see relics and read epitaphs on old tombstones of dead soldiers?

After running around and reading all that was written on the tombstones he asked me to read to him this particular monument.

When men go down to the sea in ships,
'Tis not to the sea they go;
Some isle or pole the mariners goal,
And thither they sail through calm and gale.
When down to the ship they go.

When souls go down to the sea by ships
And the dark ship's name is Death.
Why mourn and wail at the vanishing sail?
Though outward bound, God's world is round.
And only a ship is Death.

When I go down to the sea by ship,
And death unfurls her sail.
Weep not for me, for there will be
A living host on another coast
To beckon and cry, "All Hail".

Adopted from Robert Freeman

"What does that mean, Ma"? He is at this stage when everything ends with "what does that mean, Ma? So I explained that when sailors die, we should not cry for them because their spirits live forever in "some isle" - heaven and God "a living host" is there to greet them "All Hail". At that moment I was transported back to Prof. Manuel's English Lit 101. She constantly admonished us to "read between the lines". I was about to tell my son about reading between the lines but that would bring a barrage of "what does...." and we would be stuck here till sundown. I wouldn't want to stay any longer and the sad tolling of a bell makes the place feel gloomier. 

WWII Memorial Park, behind the flags is the cemetery
and if you look closely the cross is different from what
we are used to. That is because Unalaska was a thriving
Russian port and brought their Eastern Orthodox religion
with them. They are called "patriarchal cross", with a
smaller crossbar above the main cross.

Standing near his "favorite" memorial. Can't wait
to bring him to Washington, DC and check out all
monolithic monuments there.

Erected in memory of those gallant men whose lives were lost during
the air raid at Dutch Harbor by the Japanese Air Force
June 3rd and 4th 1942

This is a Peace memorial, written in languages of
the different nationalities that now live here.

This memorial is dedicated to the men who served, fought and died
with the 206th coast artillery anti-aircraft regiment, 1941-1944
World War II

SS Northwestern propeller. Destroyed during the Japanese air raid in
WWII. Dedicated to the men and women who lived and served
during the Aleutian Campaign.

More photos here.