No facts . . . No statistics . . . Nothing that would draw any of us in to learn something NEW about the attack on Pearl Harbor that happened in 1941. That attack drew the United States of America fully in to World War II. It raise the ire of many young Americans and spurred them on to service.
One of those who answered the call was a young father named Ben Hooper, from Greenville. Ben stepped up and answered the call. He joined the US Navy and was assigned to be a SeaBee (the construction arm of the Navy). Ben spent his time in the Navy island-hopping in the South Pacific, building runways and other facilities for American forces. He once told me about how they had to operate their earth-movers with a driver on the wheel and a gunner on the back to protect themselves from Japanese stragglers. He, like thousands of others like him, was a hero in his own right (although he would NEVER accept that label). He put his life on the line to protect the freedom of his family and his nation.
And for that I am most grateful and particularly proud. You see, Ben Hooper was my grandfather. And when I think about Pearl Harbor, I think about him. Yes, he DID make it home. He lived a full life in Greenville. He loved his grandkids, and they loved him. And he died in 1995 at the age of 82.
One Pastor's Perspective 
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