← So Supernatural
So Supernatural
HAUNTED: Pearl Harbor
00:45:20
On December 7, 1941, a surprise attack from Japanese forces set Pearl Harbor ablaze, claiming over 2,400 lives in under two hours. Since then, countless ghost sightings have been reported in the area, including a few that have been caught on film. Locals and tourists alike believe many of those trapped souls are lost, confused and restless. Caught forever between that morning and eternity.
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- [00:00]
Yvette Gentile
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Yvette Gentile
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- [00:11]
Commercial Announcer
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- [00:15]
MeTV Announcer
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- [00:45]
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- [01:17]
Racha Pecorero
No matter how far we move or where our ohana or our family is at any given moment, Hawaii NE will always be home to us. It's where we grew up. Of course, we made the most incredible memories. We came of age. Many of those memories are happy, joyous, loving. But don't get me wrong, there were a lot of hard times, too. And I know, I know what you're thinking, okay? How can you have a bad day when you live in paradise? It's hard to imagine, but it's true. Life in Hawaii at the end of the day is still life. It's not shielded from the regular things that life can throw at you, or even the heartbreak of generational trauma or war. In fact, one of the most defining tragedies in American history happened right on the island where we were raised, on the beautiful island of Oahu. I'm talking about Pearl Harbor.
- [02:21]
Yvette Gentile
It's something that, as Kaimaina, as locals, many of us pass by and we're reminded every single day. It's like a forever imprint, embedded in our souls and in our spirits on what would have been the most beautiful, magical Hawaiian Sunday morning on December 7, 1941, at 7:56am Japanese forces bombed the U.S. air Force base in Pearl harbor, targeting the Pacific Fleet. Battleships were hit one after the other. Airfields were stranded, ships sunk, and thousands were caught in the destruction. We're talking sailors, marines, soldiers, civilians. Some died instantly in explosions, others drowned in burning oil. And some were trapped in the darkness of sinking ships. And by the end of the attack, 2,403Americans were dead. Many were recovered. Many were buried with honor. But more than a thousand souls were not still trapped inside the USS Arizona, which may be why people have such a visceral reaction when they visit Pearl harbor today. They talk about voices, footsteps, sudden chills in the quiet. It's almost as if the people who died that day are still there, waiting for their moment to cross over to the other side. I'm Yvette Gentile.
- [04:09]
Racha Pecorero
And I'm her sister, Racha Pecorero. E como mai. Welcome back to Sew Supernatural. Pearl harbor has always been such a haunting and a somber and sad place for me. Now, what you have to know, if you're not local to Hawaii, when you drive by Pearl harbor, when you're on the freeway, you can't physically see Pearl Harbor. You just see the sign for Pearl harbor when you're about to pass it. But my mom, our mom said that when I was a little baby, we're talking in the car seat, I would cry uncontrollably every single time we drove past Pearl Harbor. It didn't matter how old I was. I mean, it went on until I was like 8 or 9. But mom told me she was convinced that I had lived a past life at Pearl harbor, either as a soldier myself or as the widow of. Of a soldier who had passed away. Or maybe I had a child who had passed away in the attacks. She said the way that I had
- [05:56]
Yvette Gentile
that visceral, that gut wrenching feeling.
- [05:59]
Racha Pecorero
That gut wrenching feeling, yes, That I had to have been there. And that has haunted me ever since. And we all grew up in Hawaii, going to Pearl harbor all the time. You take visitors when they come to see you. It's one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful places I have ever known. I mean, I know we're 11 years apart, but I know that you feel the exact same way I do.
- [06:26]
Yvette Gentile
And when I think about it, I probably was 10 or 11. And like you just said, you know, whenever visitors would come to town, we'd take them there, we'd go there. So she took me there with family. And I remember having this sudden wave of just emotion, like tears just flooding And I couldn't, you know, I couldn't put into words what was happening. I didn't understand it quite yet, but she just comforted me, you know, wrapped her arms around me and held me so close I could feel those spirits, you know? And I think, in all honesty, it was the very first time that. That I realized what a war was at that age. And even now, all these years later, that same overwhelming feeling returns. I mean, it is an undescribable sadness that stays with you, like, long after you're gone.
- [07:29]
Racha Pecorero
Well, what many people don't know about Pearl harbor or Hawaii in general is what Hawaii went through to become the magical place that it is today. We're not going to get too deep or into the weeds on it, but we want to give you enough background that you have some context. And this is history.
- [07:51]
Yvette Gentile
This is history, y', all, that should
- [07:53]
Racha Pecorero
be taught in every single history book, not just in the state of Hawaii. Hawaii was once recognized by the world as an independent kingdom until the year 1893. But that year, the United States was looking to stage a coup to overthrow its ruler, Queen Liliuokalani. This is a very long and very complicated part of history in itself. And I want you to know there is a grassroots political movement to take back Hawaiian sovereignty to this day. And if you want to learn more about the kingdom of Hawaii and Queen Liliuokalani's story from her own mouth, I highly suggest you read her autobiography, Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, which was published in the year 1898, five years after the overthrow of her kingdom. And I'm going to get a little bit more detailed and tell you how that happened right now. But the book tells you the entire story. So in simple terms, a big reason for the overthrow back in 1893 was so that the executives at sugar and pineapple companies could achieve bigger profits. They wanted to grow their products in Hawaii's beautiful, tropical, lush Hawaiian environment. And then they wanted to sell them in the United States without having to go through customs or even pay taxes. In other words, if Hawaii ceased to be its own independent kingdom and nation and it were to become part of the US that would be great for the CEOs. Bottom lines. Bottom line, what was it about?
- [09:38]
Yvette Gentile
It's all about money and greed.
- [09:40]
Racha Pecorero
As we know, in early 1893, the heads of those companies started spreading false rumors, saying the Hawaiian royal family was threatening them. They claimed they felt like their businesses and their lives were in danger. And that was when the U.S. marines sent troops to the Hawaiian Islands. They were supposed to protect the American businessmen and their families from these alleged threats or rumors. Well, a small number of Marines ended up taking matters into their own hands without any kind of authorization or oversight from the US Government. They formed an alliance with the business owners and they went after members of the Hawaiian government. By the time all of the dust had settled, Queen Liliuokalani was wrongfully imprisoned in her home, Iolani palace, and she had been forced to abdicate her kingdom. In her place, one of the coup's leaders became president of the newly formed American territory, which they ended up calling the Republic of Hawaii. His name was Sanford Dole, which might sound familiar if you're a fan of pineapples. His family owned the Dole Pineapple Company which still stands till this day. To this day it's on the way to the north shore of Oahu. But at the time when the overthrow happened, the Hawaiian people weren't treated like Americans. In fact, Hawaii didn't become a state until the year 1959. It was simply just a territory controlled by the US until that year. This meant the Hawaiian people didn't even have the right to vote in elections. They also didn't have to pay taxes. But the federal government could pass whatever laws they wanted to there. And the Kanaka Maoli or the native Hawaiians couldn't do anything about it at the ballot box. Meaning they did not have a voice on their own aina, their own land.
- [11:47]
Yvette Gentile
That's right. They were treated like second class citizens. And I have a very dear friend who, her grandmother worked at that factory, at the Dole factory and was treated, I mean, horrible. During this time, the American officials ran a decades long campaign to stamp out the Hawaiian culture. Mainlanders moved to Hawaii and open businesses there, many of which were focused on tourism. Meanwhile, many native Hawaiians found themselves unemployed and economically disadvantaged.
- [12:25]
Racha Pecorero
Then in 1908, ten years after the overthrow, the Navy built a base on the island of Oahu. It was a key location because Hawaii is roughly halfway between Japan and the United States mainland. Growing up, I always remember being told in school that Hawaii is one of the most isolated place on the face of the planet and a very strategic place for a naval base. This new base gave the US a presence in the Pacific Ocean and the ability to quickly respond to developments in Eastern Asia. They also opened an airstrip on Ford island, which is this tiny landmass inside the harbor by the naval base. Historically the area had been used for sugar plantations at the time, but now it held hangars, runways and so Many airplanes. The facility as a whole was called Pearl Harbor. Three decades later, pressures across the globe were heating up and World War II was starting to brew. Even though the US still hadn't formally joined the war by early 1941, tensions with Japan were incredibly high.
- [13:36]
Yvette Gentile
So Pearl harbor base became very important. It ensured that all of the American ships and planes would be ready if a battle broke out between the two nations. Unfortunately, on the early morning of December 7th, the Americans were caught completely off guard. But there was a signal that came through. They thought they were American planes, so. So they let it slide by. They had no clue that they were Japanese invaders that were coming in that day.
- [14:07]
Racha Pecorero
A group of American planes were out on a routine flight. Personnel at Pearl harbor expected them to come back any second. Finally, at 7:55am the base's radar screens showed an incoming fleet approaching from above. They just assumed it was their own American men, so they didn't make any moves to defend themselves. They didn't think they needed to. One minute later, at 7:56, the incoming planes dropped bombs on the island of Oahu. And that's when the service members realized this was not their American fleet. They were under attack. For the next half hour, Japanese planes rained explosives all across the island. Most of their attacks focused on the base of Pearl harbor itself. They blew up Ford Island's Naval Air Station, where most of the Navy's airplanes were based. They also destroyed barracks, killing 35 men who had all just sat down to Sunday breakfast. They dropped torpedoes on the harbor where eight battleships were docked. And each of those battleships had a crew on board who didn't have time to react or even take cover. Four of those eight battleships, including the USS California, the USS Utah, and the USS West Virginia, were hit by explosives. They began to sink, and 15 minutes later, the USS Utah and the USS West Virginia were underwater. The USS California managed to stay afloat for a few hours before it too disappeared under the Hawaiian waves.
- [15:49]
Yvette Gentile
Thankfully, the crews had time to evacuate back to land before too many were seriously hurt or killed. But when four torpedoes detonated on the fourth ship, the USS Oklahoma, capsized, there was no time for an evacuation or for the men on shore to mount a rescue expedition. The 400 people on board the USS Oklahoma all drowned when it went down. And when the planes targeted a fifth ship, the USS Arizona, the results were even more devastating.
- [16:28]
Racha Pecorero
To say that this was a massive warship is an understatement. It had 1,512 crew members on board. Like any other battleship, it also had large quantities of oil and gunpowder in its hold. So when four bombs landed on the USS Arizona, one of them ignited the gunpowder and the USS Arizona exploded. The blast wasn't big enough to destroy the entire ship though, but it damaged it badly enough that it sank too quickly for the majority of the people on board to evacuate.
- [17:08]
Yvette Gentile
Only 335 crew members survived. The remaining 1,177 service members went down with that ship. By the time the Japanese flew away at about 8:35am the sky was smothered with smoke and ash plumes were visible all across the island. Navy personnel scrambled to rescue whoever they could to get medical treatment for the survivors and recover any planes and ships. But they didn't have a long time because just five minutes later, at 8.40am, a second wave of attack airplanes arrived. A few people ran to their ground mounted anti aircraft guns firing into the sky. Pilots sprinted to whatever airplanes had survived the first attack to try and intercept. In the meantime, enemy aircraft dropped even more explosives on the remaining buildings, ships and planes. Even though this assault only lasted 20 minutes, this was so brutal that it felt like an entire lifetime had passed.
- [18:32]
Racha Pecorero
By 9am The Japanese were gone. But as the service members took stock of the aftermath, they learned it wasn't just Navy members who had died. Several Hawaiian civilians, including children, were also killed. On top of that, one plane dropped bombs on two sugar mills which were nowhere near Pearl Harbor. Apparently the plane got lost and attacked them by mistake. However, other enemy aircraft intentionally attacked some private planes flying by as well. More civilians died in those assaults. By the time the attacks were over, more than 2,400 people were dead across the island of Oahu. The Navy had also lost 21 warships and 188 airplanes.
- [19:21]
Yvette Gentile
The attack on Pearl harbor left a huge, I'm talking monumental cultural and political impact. President Franklin D. Roosevelt even said so the day after, on December 8th, he opened his speech by saying, quote, yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy. He went on to declare that the US was formally joining the war in an alliance with France and the UK as it was the best way to honor the lost and to ensure their death had not been in vain.
- [20:04]
Racha Pecorero
But in the meantime, there were survivors who had to deal with the aftermath of the attack. Take the story of Louis Lajes. On December 7, 1941, he was just 19 years old and stationed at Pearl Harbor. He was originally from Waco, Texas, but was serving aboard the USS West Virginia. He was on the ship when torpedoes began raining down. He could hear the explosion just seconds before the blast ripped right by him. Lewis was knocked unconscious. In fact, he was so badly hurt in the explosion, his fellow service members thought he was dead, they couldn't imagine anyone could have survived that blast. And when they couldn't find his pulse or even tell if he was breathing, they stacked him up with the other victim's remains to be buried later.
- [20:59]
Yvette Gentile
Later that day, somebody walked by the pile of the dead, and a bit of movement caught their eye. Lewis was still unconscious, unable to yell for help, but his eyelids were fluttering. And through an incredible stroke of luck, the other enlistees saw this, and they got him out of the pile and they sent him off for medical treatment. What's even more devastating is the other service members had already filled out Lewis's death certificate, so his family back home had already been told that he was dead. Lewis did eventually straighten that out, but naval officials were so busy dealing with the aftermath of the attack, it took days to get a telegram due to his family. And by then, his obituary had been published in the Waco newspaper, and his family had already held a memorial service for him. So for years afterward, anytime Lewis would visit home and bump into old friends, they'd react with surprise and just a little bit of fear. They'd ask, like, Lewis, aren't you supposed to be dead?
- [22:10]
Racha Pecorero
Wow.
- [22:11]
Yvette Gentile
The good news is Lewis didn't pass away until the age of 92 in 2014. And that's when people all across the Internet started sharing his story. Some of them described him as a ghost, but they didn't mean it in a literal sense. Instead, they were referencing the way Lewis returned after his alleged demise.
- [22:38]
Racha Pecorero
They might have been getting at something deeper, though, because there are so many people who have visited Pearl harbor and had the same type of reaction that I did as a child, that feeling that there's some ghostly energy or some spirit or some other entity still lurking there at Pearl Harbor. And perhaps those souls who are still trapped beneath those waters are reaching out from the other side, looking to deliver an important message.
- [23:16]
Commercial Announcer
METV is America's number one classic TV entertainment network, airing over 60 of the greatest TV series every week. Now METV presents the Golden Girls of Summer, showcasing the best of the Golden Girls. Watch Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia Weeknights on MeTV at 10pm 9 Central. Log on to metv.com now to find out where to watch MeTV. Free over the air and on cable, satellite and select streaming services. METV is memorable entertainment television.
- [23:49]
Racha Pecorero
Sometime after the attack on December 7, 1941, the people who lived and worked near Pearl harbor, began noticing this strange mystery mist on Ford Island. It appeared at all different times, so it was kind of hard to catch it. But it always hovered above the airstrip where the airplanes had once been parked. And this wasn't any ordinary mist because, according to eyewitnesses, it glowed. It would drift through areas there wouldn't normally be a fog.
- [24:22]
Yvette Gentile
And growing up in Hawaii, I don't think there was much fog.
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Racha Pecorero
We had vog from the volcano, but not fog. Some locals, some Kamaina, even said that it oozed out of walls, appearing inside people's homes and even other buildings. Others said they saw shapes in the mist, as though a person was walking right through it. But before the figure emerged, it would fade away into nothing. There's so many other stories that say when people would approach the Ford island Runway, they'd feel a sudden wave of terror, as though every bone in their body was telling them to run away and to never come back.
- [25:07]
Yvette Gentile
Over time, one of those spooky figures got a name. Charlie. Nobody knows who he was in life or even if that was his real name, but it's what locals call him. Supposedly, Charlie dwells on Ford island, where the airstrip was destroyed. And today the former airstrip is part of the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. Definitely, when you go to Oahu, pay your respects, because it will leave you forever changed. Maybe you'll see Charlie there because people say he'll turn on the faucets in the bathroom or crank up a radio when tourists pass by. And he's also been known to open doors for people. And we're talking big, heavy doors that couldn't just be blowing in the wind. I mean, sometimes visitors even hear keys jangling right before they swing open. All reports say Charlie is a friendly ghost, but he has his way of making his presence known.
- [26:14]
Racha Pecorero
Well, he's not the only spirit at Pearl Harbor. Take this account from an anonymous Air Force enlistee who we'll call Taylor. At some point, Taylor was stationed near Pearl harbor and fresh out of basic training. They didn't have a lot of experience yet, so they were assigned to do administrative support for a base commander. You know, answering phones, filling out paperwork, that sort of thing. It was a pretty easy job. Most of the time, Taylor would sit alone in an empty, silent office. But one day, while they were at their desk, they heard footsteps. It sounded like someone was walking right past Taylor and straight into the commander's office. Except Taylor was completely alone. They told themselves there had to be a logical explanation. There were other offices on the floor above theirs. So Taylor figured someone was probably just walking around on the upper story. And maybe there were weird acoustics making it sound like their footsteps were coming from that room. Taylor tried to ignore the sound and just get back to work. But no matter what they did or how long they waited, the steps didn't stop. It was like the person was pacing all around the room. At one point, Taylor had to get up from their desk for something, and the moment they stood up, the pacing stopped. When they sat down, the pacing started right back up again. Taylor got up and down a few more times to see if maybe this was just a coincidence. But the footsteps always started and stopped at the precise moment that they got up or down from their desk. That's when Taylor felt certain an invisible spirit was there in the room with them.
- [27:57]
Yvette Gentile
And there are a lot of eerie stories like this one. But they kicked into high gear around 1958, which was 17 years after the attack. And that's when President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved construction on a memorial for Pearl Harbor. It was meant to be a floating platform right above the wreckage of the USS Arizona, but it wouldn't actually touch the ship because Eisenhower didn't want to disturb it. The memorial isn't accessible from land even to this day. I mean, visitors take small boats from the shore to reach it. During construction, there were several holes built into the memorial's floor so people could actually look down at the USS Arizona or even toss flowers into the water to honor those who had died. There is even a structure on land that features a theater where guests watch a short documentary about the attack right before taking a boat to the ship. And, of course, there's a bookshop, museum, and guided tours. It took three years to finish construction of the USS Arizona Memorial, and the doors opened to the public in 1962.
- [29:12]
Racha Pecorero
Since then, countless employees and visitors have reported strange sensations in and around the USS Arizona Memorial. Myself and you included. You can feel the immense sadness and immense grief when you were there, which of course, makes sense, because more than a third of all the fatalities at Pearl harbor were on board the USS Arizona. And sometimes those encounters begin on the boat on the way over to it. And once you get inside, many guests can hear screaming alarms, the distant sounds of explosions, sounds that are not coming from the memorial. In fact, guests can sometimes even smell smoke.
- [30:06]
Yvette Gentile
There are other stories that feel completely unexplainable, like this one that was shared online anonymously in 2023. The poster, who we'll call Peter, had visited Hawaii twice in his Life. He had gone to the USS Arizona each time. Peter's first visit to the memorial was when he was 15 or 16 years old. one point, he got caught up looking at one of the displays. While he was reading it, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It looked like a man in an old fashioned naval uniform who was walking past him. But Peter didn't pay him much attention. Finally, when he was done reading, he looked up in the direction where the man had gone. And no one was there. In fact, all Peter could see was a wall. There was no exit, no hallway, and the man couldn't have turned around. It was just like he vanished into thin air. Peter told himself there had to be a logical explanation. After all, he hadn't been paying much attention to his surroundings. Maybe he'd imagined the man in the uniform. Or the guy had turned around and gone back the way he'd came without Peter noticing.
- [31:22]
Racha Pecorero
But he couldn't have done that because you're in the middle of the water, right?
- [31:27]
Yvette Gentile
Exactly right. But anyhow, for the entire rest of his visit, Peter couldn't shake this eerie sensation that something, something strange was going on.
- [31:39]
Racha Pecorero
In 2008, another woman shared her story. She asked to remain anonymous. So we'll call her Fiona. Fiona was also on vacation in Hawaii with her family when they visited the memorial. As soon as she boarded the boat to head to the USS Arizona, she noticed a complete shift in energy. Then she said she heard screaming and voices begging for help. Fiona looked at all the other guests and crew members to see if anyone was going to respond. Except everyone else just kept on talking. It wasn't like anyone else could hear these pleas.
- [32:16]
Yvette Gentile
Now.
- [32:17]
Racha Pecorero
This wasn't the first time Fiona had experienced something like this. She frequently saw and heard things that others couldn't. Deep down, she believed she did have a sixth sense, an ability to speak with ghosts. So she told herself this was just another one of those times. No one was in danger. Everything was okay. Nobody needed to be saved. Maybe she was just hearing the screams of the past. Then, as Fiona glanced back to the shore, she saw a glowing orb darting around a palm tree. Back on the land, while she watched it, it flew over the water, getting closer and closer to her. And as the orb got closer, the sound of the screaming stopped and it was replaced by a new noise. Whispers. Fiona took this to mean there were probably many spirits at Pearl harbor, all of whom wanted to share their stories with her and with the world. The problem was, they were all talking to Fiona at once. So she couldn't make out any one voice in particular. But as the day went by, Fiona claimed she could make some of them out a little bit more clearer. And several spirits told her their stories. They explained that many of the people who had died in 1941 had already moved on to the afterlife, but there were just as many who hadn't. Some of them were afraid of what was coming next. Others just wanted to tell their loved ones goodbye one last time. At one point, Fiona claimed she spoke to a ghost named Red. He said that in 1941, he'd been dating a very sweet girl from his hometown in the Midwest. He didn't feel like he could move on without talking to her just one more time. So he'd been lingering in Pearl harbor for decades, hoping she'd visit the island of Oahu and just come to see him. Sadly, Fiona knew it wasn't meant to be. Because during this conversation, she psychically sensed that Red's girlfriend had already passed away. And she realized the girlfriend had not remained on Earth as a ghost. She was already in the afterlife, and she was waiting for Red to join her there.
- [34:45]
Yvette Gentile
I think what this shows is sometimes spirits don't linger because they're lost. Sometimes they're just waiting for that exact right moment or the right person or a final goodbye. Maybe some of them just want to be heard, but the question is, if they're still here holding on like that, like, is there anything we can physically do to help them? Or are we already too late?
- [35:21]
MeTV Announcer
METV is America's number one classic TV entertainment network, airing over 60 of the greatest TV series every week. Now METV presents the Golden Girls of Summer, showcasing the best of the Golden Girls. Watch Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia weeknights on MeTV at 10pm 9 Central. Log on to metv.com now to find out where to watch MeTV. Free over the air and on cable, satellite and select streaming services. METV is memorable Entertainment Television.
- [35:55]
Yvette Gentile
In 2011, Susan Devaney and her family packed their bags and left Australia for a trip to Hawaii. As part of their vacation, they decided to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. first, it seemed like a typical tourist stop. They went on a guided tour, they read the displays, and Susan took a ton of photos. She didn't notice anything strange until after they'd left the USS Arizona. Once they were back on land, Susan was flipping through the images on her camera, choosing which ones to keep and which ones to delete. And that's when she saw something very strange. It wasn't a picture. She had even remembered taking. It was a patch of oil floating on the water above the ship, and it looked exactly like a face. And it's not one of those cases where you have to squint and use your imagination. There are clearly two eyes, a nose, a frowning mouth, and a dark spot on top. That could be a hat or it could be hair. When Susan saw this, she couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't think this was a trick of the light or a coincidence. This image was too detailed to dismiss. And she even showed the picture to her husband. She didn't tell him what she'd seen. She just handed him the camera and asked what he thought. The first words out of his mouth were, quote, oh, my gosh, it's a face. I mean, Susan posted the picture online, and before she knew it, it went viral. Blogs, articles, social media posts claim Susan had actually photographed a ghost, the spirit of someone who had died on the USS Arizona and whose soul was maybe still trapped in the water. And if you Google this picture, you will actually see the face. It is clear as day.
- [37:58]
Racha Pecorero
It absolutely is. There's no way you can deny that that is a face in the water. It was such a big story. Reporters from major news networks reached out to Susan. The news spread so fast, she hadn't even left her vacation from Hawaii yet. But in her statement to cnn, Susan said she wasn't convinced her photo was of a literal ghost. Instead, she thought the trauma of the Pearl harbor attack had left a psychic scar on the area, and that pain had manifested into a face that she was able to capture on her camera.
- [38:38]
Yvette Gentile
Right. And for all to see. It's an interesting theory, but many ghost hunters believe there's a lot more to it than that. In fact, one paranormal investigator named Mary Beth Crane thinks Pearl harbor is haunted because of its unique relationship with Hawaiian culture. In her book, Haunted US Battlefields, Mary Beth discusses traditional Hawaiian beliefs about something Kaimaina call mana. In very simple terms, mana is a spiritual force. Every person, every animal, every plant, even rocks and any other objects, they have mana. When you walk into a forest or a cave or a church, you can feel the energy. And that is what mana is for us. Growing up in Hawaii, as soon as you get off the plane in Hawaii, you feel the mana. You feel the energy. You feel the presence of those ancestors. Right?
- [39:47]
Racha Pecorero
Mana is something that is Hawaiian tradition. It sits in the heart of every person who has touched the aina or the land of Hawaii. You just don't know it.
- [40:03]
Yvette Gentile
Well, traditional belief says that when people die, some of their mana remains behind in their bones. Historically, Hawaiian funerals included certain rituals and practices to help preserve the mana. Mary Beth theorizes mana is still concentrated in and around Pearl harbor and sometimes manifest as ghost. And that's because almost none of the people who died in the attacks were able to get those proper rituals.
- [40:38]
Racha Pecorero
And it's not only just a theory, because, as I said, mana is the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people and of the kamaina, the people from the land, from Hawaii. Her theory does make sense, though, because There were over 1,000 service members whose bodies were never recovered after the USS Arizona went down. This is in part because the ship was still literally on fire when it sank. Many of the crew members were cremated in the blaze. Divers did search the wreckage after the attack. They wanted to try and recover as many bodies as they possibly could. But a large number of service members couldn't be found, or they ended up dying in parts of the ship that were inaccessible. To this day, the remains of many souls are likely still on board.
- [41:40]
Yvette Gentile
And every passing year, more remains join the ones already at sea. And this is because many people who survived the attack chose to have their ashes scattered from the memorial when they passed away. So they want to go back to that moment to pay respect and be with their fellow crewmen.
- [42:04]
Racha Pecorero
That's so beautiful. It's heartbreakingly beautiful. It's also supposedly common for battlefields to become hotspots for ghost hunters. Many paranormal investigators think it's inevitable. I mean, when you have that much death and bloodshed in one place, of course, spirits will linger, and maybe because of all that trauma, they have a difficult time moving on to the next life. It's also possible that the spirits of Pearl harbor simply just want to be remembered. After all, President Roosevelt referred to December 7th as a day that will live in infamy, Suggesting it will never be forgotten.
- [42:48]
Yvette Gentile
But he gave that statement nearly 85 years ago. And by now, a lot of those who live through Pearl harbor have passed on, or they were too young at the time to even remember it now. And there are only about a dozen survivors still living today. And they are all centennials. They're all over a hundred years old. And many people see December 7th as just another date on the calendar. We believe the spirits at Pearl Harbor Are going to continue to linger there forever and always.
- [43:28]
Racha Pecorero
Not everyone needs the reminder, though, because the attacks on Pearl harbor are still affecting the people of Hawaii today. As we mentioned earlier, the USS Arizona was fully loaded with gunpowder and oil when it exploded. While some of it did burn away. There were still millions of gallons of fuel inside its hull when it disappeared under the waves. For the past almost 85 years, that oil has been slowly leaking out of the wreckage, and it actually is threatening the wildlife that lives on the shores of Oahu. And you can even see it. You can physically see that oil seeping out. If you go and visit the USS Arizona, its hull has also been gradually rusting and deteriorating. Researchers believe it'll take another 100 to 150 years to rot away entirely. But when that happens, all of the oil still inside the wreck will likely wash over the entire harbor.
- [44:30]
Yvette Gentile
And this is a major risk to Hawaii's ecosystem. And there's no easy solution. If ecologists tried to move the ship or extract the oil, they could puncture the hull and cause the disaster they've been trying to prevent. And of course, many think it would be incredibly disrespectful to those who went down with the ship to move it or even alter it now. Instead, American officials are trying to explore methods to seal the hull and stop the oil from leaking without disturbing the dead or damaging the natural environment. In theory, yes, it's a brilliant solution, one that is forward thinking while still respecting the past. And now, more than ever, it's important to think ahead and also remember what's behind us, what came before us. If you're listening to this episode at the time of its release, you know that this July 4th is the United States semiquincentennial or 250th birthday. Like any other anniversary, it's a time to look ahead with hope, but also to remember our past and where we came from, including the times that make us incredibly uncomfortable. Hopefully we as a society can learn from historic injustices like the illegal overthrow of Hawaii's monarchy in 1993. One hundred years after the overthrow, the United States Congress presented the apology resolution to the people of Hawaii as a symbol of their wrongdoing in 1893. It was a start to begin the path of healing. Today, we want to honor the Kingdom of Hawaii and we want to honor every single living soul we've lost at Pearl harbor and ensure they are never forgotten. Because we shouldn't need a ghost story to honor the past.
- [47:10]
Racha Pecorero
This is so supernatural. An audio Chuck original produced by by Crime House. You can connect with us on Instagram @sosupernatural pod and visit our website at sosupernaturalpodcast.com Join Yvette and me next Friday for an all new episode. Mahalo nui Loa for joining us for this one. I think Chuck would approve.