Chapter 90
This is for those who fought on that very tragic day.
(December 7, Saturday)
Lincoln opens his eyes to see the sunshine through the window. He gets up and looks around.
Lincoln's environment is no longer the Loud House, he was in a hotel room and he sees three more empty beds as well.
Lincoln gets up and sees Patriot land next to him on his bed. Lincoln pets Patriot.
The Eagle then looks to the calendar, Lincoln also sees the date was now December 7. "I guess it's that day huh buddy?"
Patriot squawks in response. Then the door opens and he sees Luna and Jordan come in all dressed up and with some breakfast.
"Morning bro" said Luna. Luna kisses he forehead.
"Good morning handsome" said Jordan. Jordan kisses his cheek.
"Morning guys, why didn't you wake me up? What time is it?" asked Lincoln.
"It's almost seven dude" said Luna.
"Also you deserved some sleep after what you did last night" said Jordan.
Lincoln remembered that last night he helped out an elderly man on a wheel chair after his chair was wedged between the elevator doors, luckily he remembered all the things that Lana and Lisa do with fixing things and he was able to get the elevator up and running and the old man out of disaster.
"Yeah, that was pretty tough and stressful too. I just didn't want the old man to die from fear, he seemed like he still had a few more years left to live for" replied Lincoln.
The two girls smiled.
"You did the right thing last night little bro and we're proud of ya" said Luna.
"What you did was very brave. You truly did learn a thing or two from Lana and Lisa" said Jordan.
"Now come on, let's eat" said Luna.
"Wait, you guys didn't eat breakfast yet?" asked Lincoln.
"We wanted to eat breakfast with you when you woke up" said Jordan.
"Okay. But where's Pop-pop?" asked Lincoln.
"He already ate his breakfast bro, he's down stairs talking to some veterans from the old was, I think he knows them" said Luna.
"Or better yet, he knows Pop-pop's dad" said Jordan.
Patriot also joins in on the breakfast.
"I still can't believe they would let you bring Patriot with us" said Luna.
"Well Pop-pop did talk to the man in charge of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Day and he said that it seemed like a great idea to bring an animal that symbolizes American freedom, it would really help with the whole thing" replied Lincoln.
"But remember we are not here on vacation, we're here to finish our book reports" replied Jordan.
"I know my love" said Lincoln as he wipes some syrup from Jordan's cheek. The two of them then share a small kiss.
Luna smiles and thinks it was cute. Patriot sneakily eats another piece of bacon from Lincoln's plate.
(An hour later)
The three kids and Patriot head to the lobby after they ate their breakfast and Lincoln got himself cleaned and well dressed.
They soon run into Pop-pop who was going upstairs. "Hey there guys, morning Lincoln."
"Morning Pop-pop, is it almost time for the memorial to start?" asked Lincoln.
"Almost. We just gotta head to the harbor for it first, I managed to get us a ride with some veterans on a bus. Also do you remember the old guy on the wheel chair you saved?" asked Pop-pop.
"Yeah why?" asked Lincoln.
"Well here he is" said Pop-pop.
They then see the 92 year old man on the wheel chair arrive, but he wasn't wearing the light blue sweater and brown pants. Instead he had the uniform of a sergeant along with his medals. He has white hair and a small scar on under his chin that reaches his left cheek.
"Good morning there youngin'"
"Good morning sir, it is an honor to meet you" Lincoln then salutes to him.
The elderly sergeant chuckles and salutes back. "At ease kid."
"I didn't really know you were a soldier from the war, was it at Pearl Harbor?" said Lincoln.
"The names William Harris, Staff Sergeant from the Battleship Utah. And yes I was there at Pearl Harbor" replied William.
"Wow, you really are one of the great living legends" said Jordan.
"Why thank you young lady" said William. Then he sees Patriot. "And this must be your bird."
Patriot flies and lands on Williams's wheelchair. "He is, his name is patriot and he is gonna be part of the memorial" replied Lincoln.
William chuckles seeing the eagle. "Now ain't that just somethin'. Well we should be headed to the bus now, there's gonna be a lot of veterans there."
They all make their way there. Luna decides to help William push his wheel chair.
"You don't have to do that kid" said William.
Luna smiles. "I know, but you're technically a hero of the World War and I don't want you to strain yourself by wheeling yourself on your own."
"Normally one of my pals would wheel me in, but I guess this is okay" said William.
"Did you come here with your family?" asked Jordan.
"Well, my younger brother and my niece are here with me, I never married and my little brother wasn't a part of the war, he was just eleven when I left home" replied William.
"H-How old were you when you left to the fight?" asked Jordan.
"Well I was about …. Eighteen at the time" replied William.
They were shocked, at that age he was legally an adult and he was sent to the front line. Only to be scarred by a disaster.
William, Albert, Lincoln, Jordan, Luna and Patriot board the bus and take their seats.
They meet up with a few veterans there as well. Most of them were survivors from the attack on Pearl Harbor, others were veterans who were transferred to Europe before the battle of Pearl Harbor. In other words they were pilots.
It didn't take long for them to finally reach their destination. Pearl Harbor, Lincoln could see the place where it all began, the biggest attack on American territory, the place of ruin and destruction, a place of great mourn. The capital of the American Pacific fleet.
The bus stops and they all get out, William is wheeled out by his brother and the Louds go their separate ways.
They do see some private black cars that arrived and carried with them other veterans, but most of them were from another pacific fight.
"Well looks like the guys from the battle of Midway are here, which means it's time for you guys to come say hi to an old friend of my dad" said Pop-pop.
They see an old man in his early 90's but still looking strong and wearing the uniform of an air force pilot, he had black shoes and light brown pants and wore shades.
The man then sees Pop-pop. "Well I'll be damned. Kevin's little boy."
Pop-pop chuckles "It's good to see ya too Horace."
The kids also approach him. "Hi." They all reply.
"And these two must be your grandkids I presume" said Horace.
"That they are. This is my grandson Lincoln, the middle child and his third eldest sister Luna. Kids this is Air force captain Horace Steiner, a good friend of my dad's" said Pop-pop.
They all salute to each other. "It is an honor to meet you sir" the kids replied.
"It's more of an honor to meet the grandkids of this young old geezer" said Horace.
Albert chuckles. "Yep, I'm older than anyone, but a few years younger than you."
The elderly man share a small laugh.
"So, who's this little lady?" asked Horace.
"Jordan Rosato, I'm Lincoln's girlfriend" said Jordan.
Horace was shocked. "Rosato? Do you know who your great grandpa was?"
Jordan was confused. "No. why?"
"Well what about your grandfather?" asked Horace.
"He passed away when I was nine. He was part of the Vietnam war or something" said Jordan.
Albert was shocked even more hearing this. "What? Really? What division?"
Jordan was thinking. "He never really told me everything about what happened. All he said to me that it was the most traumatic experience of his life."
Albert and Horace sighed. "Well, he was right about that one" said Albert.
"Nothing good came out of that war" said Horace.
"So, why were you asking me if I knew my great grandpa?" asked Jordan.
"Because you're great grandfather Arnold Rosato fought at Pearl Harbor and he lived to fight on during the battle of Midway alongside me and Fred Willard" replied Horace.
"Wait a minute. My dad was in the same war with Jordan's great grandpa?" asked Pop-pop.
"He sure was" replied Horace.
Lincoln and Jordan couldn't believe it, both their great grandpa's were at Pearl Harbor and went all the way to Midway.
Then they both had one question for the old man. "Can you tell us what happened?" asked Jordan.
Horace smiled. "Come with me."
They all followed him to some benches under a tree facing Pearl Harbor. "I guess it all happened when I was onboard the battleship Nevada …."
(December 7th, 1941)
Staff Sergeant Horace came out of the bridge and stood next to the giant guns. At that time he had black hair.
He then spots two soldiers who were dressed in pilot uniforms headed to him.
"What are you two boys doing here? It's Sunday, shouldn't you guys be with the other pilots relaxing?" asked Horace.
The two pilots looked at each other nervously and then back to the staff sergeant.
"Sir, we would like to apologize for what happened last night at one of the bars involving two of our own" said Fred.
Horace remembered about two guys fighting which escalated and turned to chaos real fast. "What were they fighting about?"
The two pilots looked at each other then back to the staff sergeant.
"We have no idea sir" said Arnold.
"Were you two involved?" asked Horace.
"No sir" they both replied.
Horace approached them both. "And why are you telling this to me and not to the admiral or to the captain?"
"The captain is in his office and said he does not wish to be disturbed also the Admiral is playing golf with some friends and we have no idea where that is sir" replied Fred.
"Also you were the closest officer we could find on the Nevada sir" said Arnold.
Horace sighed. "Well, you're not wrong. Thank you for the information, you two may leave now."
They both saluted. "Thank you sir."
But then Horace looked back at the two. "Hang on there you two."
They both stopped and looked back at him. "Walk with me."
They took a small stroll with him along the Battleship. "So if you guys weren't involved, then what were you two even doing there?"
Fred started first. "We went there after we both got letters from our wives."
"They said that our sons were finally born" said Arnold.
Horace smiled. "So they were both born on the same day?"
Fred chuckled. "Yeah, they were. Not just that but at the same hospital."
"That part was something we both couldn't believe sir" said Arnold.
"You two best friends or something?" asked Horace.
"Yes we are sir" said Arnold.
"Both of us grew up together and trained together, we have yet to see actual combat with our aerial skills" said Fred.
"I'm surprised you two haven't been transferred to London or something. You two could be great in fighting those fucking Nazi's and they're so called Stuka's" said Horace.
"Well we never got transferred. We just became the aerial reserve here on the island sir" said Arnold.
"Still it would be nice to actually put our skills to good use. Like those japs" said Fred.
"After what happened with china, I wanna see those freaks shot down along with their fleet" said Arnold.
Horace sighed. "Yeah, I gotta agree with you guys. I don't know if the oil embargo is even going to halt them from taking territory."
Just then Arnold saw something pass by one of their ships and headed for the Nevada. "Is that a dolphin or a shark?"
Horace and Fred also spot it. But Horace knew what it was. "TORPEDO!"
And it was too late. One of the battleships were hit and soon bombs started to reign down onto the harbor and the Utah.
The Japanese have invaded Pearl Harbor. World War 2 has come to America!
Horace wakes up and sees Fred and Arnold helping him out of the debris. "Sir! Are you okay?!" yelled Fred.
Horace regained his vision. "Yeah, I'm fine. I ain't dead yet!"
All three of them look around and see the chaos that was unfolding. "We have to man the AA guns!"
"We gotta get to our planes!" said Fred.
"I don't think we can make it back to the airfields with all of this!" said Arnold.
They then spot some civilians on the harbor trying to take cover.
Horace then grabs both of them. "Come on!"
They soon make it to the AA guns and thank goodness they were still alive. "Man them and tear those Japs out of the sky! I have to look go the captain!" said Horace.
"Yes sir!" they both replied.
They then continued to shoot down as many Japanese planes as they could.
"Got one!"
"Die you flying japs!"
Soon they spot some friendly planes fly by and chase some Japanese planes. Both of them cheer and continue shooting.
It wasn't long until finally the attack was over.
Arnold and Fred get off the AA guns, they then see Horace come out of the door and he had some blood on him, the immediately rushed towards him.
"Oh my god! Sir are you okay?!" asked Arnold.
"The captain's dead" replied Horace.
Both men were shocked.
It turns out the torpedo made a critical hit to the ship, luckily they were able to stop the water from fully sinking the Battleship, but she was still damaged.
They then look around and see four of their great battleships have been sunk.
"To the life boats, now" said Horace. All three of them head for the life boats and head into the water to help save any of the sailors, but they couldn't save all of them.
(Present time)
"That was … the most tragic thing all three of us have ever encountered" said Horace.
Lincoln, Luna and Jordan were shocked. They're great grandparents were friends, best friends and they tried their best to fend of the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.
"S-So, what happened after that sir?" asked Luna.
"Well, after that Fred and Arnold both went off to become part of a bombing squadron to attack japan and its factories, it was a complete success and they were both safe when they crash landed in China" said Horace.
"When they succeeded in the operation, they were both filled with such pride and so was i. all three of us wanted to avenge our fallen brothers of Pearl Harbor and so we went off to become part of the battle of Midway and both you're great grandfathers fought as the among the dive bomber squadron and they both went their separate ways during the attack" said Horace.
"Arnold aided in bombing the Aircraft Carrier Akagi and Fred made a decisive blow to the Aircraft Carrier Soryu. That was the greatest victory all of us finally got, I was almost killed when Japanese planes attacked our Carriers, the Battleships were to shoot down any japs who were trying to go in for this kill" said Horace.
"I was almost killed when I saw a Jap coming in to bomb the Nevada, but then both your great grandpa's flew in and shot that Jap out of the sky, they saved me. They were my friends" smiled Horace.
They were all happy and almost at tears.
"After that we all went off to fight the Japs in the Philippines and we dealt them a decisive blow and sent them packing back to their mainland and that's when we took the fight to them at Okinawa. Arnold and Fred were shot down and crashed safely in the water, I took the privilege to get into one of the life boats and save their sorry butts. That was the last time we all fought together" said Horace.
"We never saw each other again until thirty years later" said Horace.
"Wow! Our great grandpa's were awesome!" said Luna.
"Yeah, they really were something" said Lincoln.
"I never knew the Rosato's and Willard's knew each other and way before we became friends with the louds" said Jordan.
Then they hear an announcement from the speaker that the memorial as about to begin. "Well, looks like it's time guys" said Horace.
They all walk with Horace towards the docks where they were holding the memorial and they all got a good view of the Battleship Arizona the one ship that seems truly visible from the water.
They could see some oil dripping from its top, the only thing that was not fully claimed by the sea. To Lincoln and Jordan it almost seemed like she was still crying, still mourning and still in pain.
Then Lincoln was handed the American flag from one of the surviving Admirals after all the speeches were made, he wanted him to let the flag fly across the sky at Pearl Harbor. But he wanted Jordan to be there as well, he told the Admiral who was his great grandfather as well as Jordan's and he accepted it.
The two kids went onto the stage and let Patriot pick up the flag and fly towards the Arizona.
They all watched and saluted as Patriot flies above the entire Harbor. Letting the American flag fly high to those who have fought and died at Pearl Harbor.
For Luna, Lincoln and Jordan they were truly proud that they're ancestors were friends, allies, soldiers, brothers and alongside them is probably the last family member they have from the past Air Force Captain Horace Steiner.
One thing was for certain, Lincoln and Jordan may have found the story they needed for their book report. But they also found out the true story that faith led them to each other and to this moment, in which they will never forget, together.
A salute to the brave soldiers who fought and died on that day of disaster. May they all find peace wherever they are.
I would like to thank 1049 for coming up with the idea for this chapter, the rest of the concept was all me.
The idea for the name of Lincoln's Great grandpa is actually the first name and last name of Pop-pop's voice actor, the rest were just names I came up with, so they were just OC's.
As all ways, Leave a review and tell me what you all think. Thanks for reading guys.