Brad Hoopes
Dwayne Webster wanted to leave school and join the Navy. Being 17, he would need his parents’ permission. His father signed the enlistment papers, a decision that would haunt him the rest of his life. Dwayne enlisted on December 7, 1940. One year to the day he enlisted, December 7, 1941, Dwayne along with 1176 other sailors were killed when the USS Arizona experienced a massive explosion after being bombed. Initially, the Webster family held out hope, as Dwayne’s mother had received a gift package of silverware from Dwayne a few weeks after the attack. He had actually sent it the day before. In February they received the dreaded telegram that he was killed in action. The Dwayne Webster Veterans Park in Loveland is named in his honor.
Keith Holcolm found himself exposed out on the tarmac at Hickam Air Base when the Japanese attacked. A Japanese plane bore down on him. It was so close that he could see the eyes of the gunner in the plane as he swung around to shoot him. Keith would have been cut in half had the gunner succeeded. Fortunately, he was too close and couldn’t swing around enough. The plane then crashed, and Keith believes the gunner shot his own plane. Strangely, Keith felt guilty about this for the rest of his life.
Stanley Jones’ father was stationed in Hawaii when Pearl was attacked. Stanley, along with his family, fled up into the mountains to escape the attack. He looked back to watch the attack and wonder about the fate of his father. All families were eventually evacuated back to the States. After graduating high school, Stanley enlisted in the Army and was with the 11th Airborne. He would land in Japan to secure the airport for Gen. MacArthur’s arrival to accept the Japanese surrender. Stanley thus would see both the beginning and end of the war!
~ Brad Hoopes is preserving the stories of veterans. For more veterans’ stories visit www.rememberandhonor.com for the recent book, “Reflections of Our Gentle Warriors”