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KLMNO POSTLOCAL Talk to us. Talk to newsmakers. Talk to each other. Join the conversation at postlocal.com Pearl Harbor


Weasked readers to send memories of Pearl Harbor on the anniversary of the 1941 attack. Here are some.


A ‘sunny Sunday’ I


Elizabeth McIntosh,Woodbridge:


was listening to the radio on a sunny Sunday morning on the island of Oahu. TheMormon Tabernacle choir was broadcasting, and I was


looking forward to a quiet day of relaxation until theMonday workday. I was a reporter on a Honolulu newspaper. Suddenly the music stopped, and a strained


voice came on: “The islands are under attack. This is the realMcCoy.” Then more singing from the choir. The phone rang just then. It wasmy photographer, Campbell.His voice was taut: “Oahu is under attack. Japanese bombed Pearl. I’ll pick you up in 15 minutes.” It was a half-hour drive intoHonolulu. There


was no sense of danger along the country roads. People were walking their dogs, going to church, enjoying a quiet Sunday. As we nearedHonolulu we slowed down at a small shopping center, the bombed roof gutted, store wares, Christmas paper, toys all over the floor. In the middle sat a young child playing in the debris. Campbell stopped the car: “Here’s a picture. But the kid looks too happy.” I went up and pinched him ever so gently.He started to cry. Campbell got his picture. Reporting to work, I was assigned the Queen’s


Hospital inHonolulu.Here I heard for the first time of the sudden Japanese attack on the anchored warships at Pearl and the tragic loss of lives. There were civilians, too, caught in the crossfire. I sawa little girl, dead, holding the wooden handles of a jump rope; the rest of the rope was burned.


I Thomas Miller, Arlington:


was aMarine Pfc. at PearlHarbor’sNaval Ammunition Depot,West Loch. The 5th was payday, and those of us not scheduled to stand


watch had the day off, so for me it was off to Honolulu. Saturday the 6th wasmy duty day as main-gate


sentry. I had the mid-watch (1200-1600 and midnight-0400).No one liked the mid-watch, fighting drowsiness in the afternoon and fighting sleep and boredom after midnight. I remember one or twoMarines returning on foot from liberty during the night but not a single vehicle. By 0400,whenmy watch ended, there had been absolutely no indication that an enemy force at sea was preparing itself to attack the island. I lay awake shortly before 0800 when I heard what I first thought were firecrackers, but quickly realized that no firecracker made the loud noise I was hearing. You could say I jumped out of bed not into battle,


but into a war that wouldn’t end for four long years. For me, payback time came later, at Iwo Jima.


S Barbara Gumbiner,Washington:


ixty-nine years ago today, when I was 4 years old, I was playing in our living room whilemy parents were there listening to the radio, as


was their customary habit on snowy Sundays.My 1-year-old sister was in her playpen. All of a sudden the program was interrupted by


an urgent announcement telling us that an attack on our navy ships by the Japanese had occurred at our base in PearlHarbor... and I will never forget the subsequent moments because I had never before seenmy parents so upset and concerned and fearful. That day will always stay inmy memory because


it was probablymy first realization that outside distant events—that I did not understand—could reach intomy family and cause such emotional upheaval. Each Dec.7, I remember with a shiver that this wasmy first awareness of vulnerability from the outside world whichmy parents were helpless to control.


O I William Moran,Woodbridge:


n July 14, 1941, I was drafted into the Army. There being no war at that time, the period to serve was one year. When PearlHarbor came


on Dec. 7, we were in for “the duration plus six months.” At that time, I had completed Infantry Basic


Training and was stationed at Camp Shelby,Miss., and was in theMilitary Police.We were immediately dispatched to bus and train stations in Hattiesburg and Biloxi to inform all servicemen with leave papers that they were to report back to their units, as all leaves were canceled. I sawgrown men cry.My one year became almost five years and I sawservice in England, France and Germany. Fortunately I survived and came home safe and sound.


Krieger Henderson, Alexandria: was flying a Piper J-3 Cub over Charleston, S.C.


A fellow hometown classmate at the Citadel had never been in an airplane, so I, a private pilot at


the time, offered to take him for a ride. On return to the field we bummed a ride back to


school with a fellow who informed us of the bombing of PearlHarbor. I turned tomy friend Jack and said “Well, there goes our world.” How prophetic! I left school early, soon found


myself teaching Army Air Corps cadets how to fly; metmy wife-to-be, aNavyWave, on a train while both of us were being transferred; got married six weeks later, transferred to the Air Transport Command; and soon foundmyself in the China, Burma and India theater flying B-24s over the Hump [Himalayas], delivering gasoline to the 14th Air Force and supplies to the Chinese army. InMay, we will observe our 68th wedding anniversary.


6 MORE STORIES? Send them to tellus@wpost.com THE DAILY QUIZ


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Drinking and health A Duke University professor will take questions on binge drinking today at noon. washingtonpost.com/discussions


Tell us What do you think of this page and our local coverage? E-mail us at metro@washpost.com.


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JOHN KELLY'S WASHINGTON


Getting young dancer back in step


stretched, bones jarred. Aches and pains come with the territory. But the pain that 14-year-old Caroline


A


Omland first felt in September was far from routine. An ache on the left side of her abdomen worsened over the fall. It came and went, but when it was at its height, it left the South Riding teen almost doubled over. “It wasn’t like any pain I’ve ever had before,” Caroline said. “It was like a cramp but a zillion times worse that wouldn’t go away.” Caroline toughed it out at first, not wanting


to miss practice with her Irish step-dancing team, the Aoibhneas an Rince Dancers. (Pronounced “evenish on rica,” it’s Gaelic for “joy of dance.”) It became clear, however, that this was more than just routine cramps, more than a pulled muscle. Caroline’s mom, Leanne, took her to the pediatrician. An ultrasound was ordered, and the cause was revealed: There was a cyst growing inside Caroline. A cyst is a pocket of fluid with something surrounding it to hold it in place, explained Dr. Veronica Gomez-Lobo, the pediatric gynecologist who sawCaroline at Children’s NationalMedical Center. The cyst was benign but big—about the size of a plum—and it had wrapped itself around one of Caroline’s ovaries. A cyst such as the


BILL O’LEARY/THE WASHINGTON POST


The Capitol Christmas tree, on the west lawn, has come to life for the season. About 5,000 ornaments cover the 67-foot Engelmann spruce fromWyoming, which will be lighted at night through Jan. 1.


Next stop...


Anitem detailing the plans of former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee— she’s launching a political organization aimed at bringing her aggressive brand of education reform to the national stage—energized PostLocal.com readers with strong opinions about her and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who hired her.


Still much to say about Rhee


kilgallinfred: You want to talk real reform, let’s talk about delivering content in what we now know as brain-friendly ways; let’s talk about grouping by ability and learning styles rather than strictly age; let’s talk about home involvement that includes parental reading habits and accountability for other domestic issues; let’s talk about dealing in a straightforward way with poverty.


jl09:Ms. Rhee and Adrian Fenty were visionaries and doers with best intentions for the betterment of the students.


kerryberger: A fresh approach to raising education standards was necessary, and unfortunately in our society, with a short-term mentality, we don’t give programs time enough to prove their effectiveness. The victims are a generation of children who only know a world of inconsistency. And we wonder why standards drop?


hotezzy: Rhee should be involved in the day-to - day operations of school systems so that she will thoroughly understand the system as it really operates, not just her theoretical educational systems.


Today on SUSAN BIDDLE/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST xxx1: At least she was willing to try.


ahang: I don’t think pushing gobs of money around to get candidates elected that favor school reform is going to change much. Everyone favors improving schools and education—have you heard of a politician opposing school reform?


dcpsinsider: I was a Rhee supporter when she came toD.C., and I still think her innermost intentions are sincere.However, she is not realistic and needs more classroom experience.


demtse:No advocacy group will succeed unless or until parents play a major part in the equation.


ProfessorPeabody: Where do I sendmy contribution? Keep up the good work,Michelle!


rlmayville: I wouldn’t wish Rhee’s old position on an enemy. It’s a no-win situation. She tried to change what she could, I guess.


Bfeely600: I can’t say I was impressed with Michelle Rhee.However, at the same time, I can’t in good conscience lay all of the blame forD.C. students’ problems at her feet either. Far and above, I believe the major problem is the lack of parental involvement in their children’s lives— not just in school, but in their life, period.


6


MORE FROMYOUR SCHOOLS Visit washingtonpost.com/education.


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COURTESY OF THE OMLAND FAMILY


Children’sHospital doctors removed a cyst from around one of Caroline Omland’s ovaries.


one inside Caroline can cause a young girl to lose her ovary, so surgery was called for. Caroline could have waited a fewweeks— the cyst wasn’t life- threatening—but there was something coming up that she had spent months training for: a big Irish dance competition. The doctors at Children’s understood how important it was to Caroline. “They knewthis


was make or break to continue with her team,”momLeanne said. “The surgeon said if we do it sooner rather than later, she could be back dancing in about three days if she wanted to.” Caroline’s name


was added to the surgical schedule for 5:30 p.m. that very day. Dr. Gomez-Lobo and Dr. Lauren Damle made two small incisions in Caroline’s abdomen and, aided by a laproscope, removed the cyst. It had caused Caroline’s ovary to twist and split in two, but the doctors left the reproductive organ in place. “The biggest message I like to get out there is


that ovaries should not be taken out,” said Dr. Gomez-Lobo. “They should be untwisted, even if they look like they’re almost dead.” She expects the traumatized ovary to come back just fine. Pediatric gynecology is a relatively new


specialty, combining two things that don’t often go together. “It’s a little bit of an orphan area,” said Dr.


Gomez-Lobo, who splits her time with WashingtonHospital Center. “Pediatricians didn’t feel comfortable with that part of the body, and gynecologists didn’t feel comfortable with children. . . . I think we’re really bridging that gap now.” Caroline missed just a week of practice, then


was back with her teammates to prepare for last weekend’s big competition at the Gaylord National.Hundreds of girls swarmed the hotel complex, ballrooms echoing with the percussive sound of their dancing. Caroline’s four-girl team danced the four-hand reel in the under-15 category. Though the girls didn’t finish among the medalists, it was the best performance the team had ever given. “We did really well,” Caroline said. “I love


dancing.”


Dance dance resolution Keeping kids dancing is what Children’s


NationalMedical Center is all about. And what I’mall about today is asking you to donate to the hospital’s uncompensated care fund, which helps ensure that all kids can get the same sort of treatment Caroline did, no matter their family’s financial situation. To make your tax-deductible contribution,


send a check or money order (payable to “Children’sHospital”) toWashington Post Campaign, P.O. Box 17390, Baltimore, Md. 21297-1390. To donate online with a credit card, go to www.washingtonpost.com/ childrenshospital or call 301-565-8501. kellyj@washpost.com


A complete list of PostPoints Spots can be found at washingtonpost.com/postpoints.


dancer’s life is not always an easy one. It takes a lot of effort to make things look effortless. Feet are pounded, muscles


Let it glow


WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010


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