December 7th, 1941

[charlotte49er]

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii —

He was looking for a place of honor.

“My dad was really a very honorable man, and he was looking for a place of honor to be early in his life,” Lynn Cory Price said, speaking about her father, the first Marine to be buried aboard the USS Arizona since World War II. “I think he was looking for friends who held the same values, and he found that in the Marine Corps.”

James Evans Cory came to his final resting place during a Memorial Ceremony and Interment Monday at the USS Arizona Memorial.

In the years before his death, Cory spoke with his wife about what to do with his ashes after he passed. He told her to put the ashes wherever the family thought was best.

"He was very open to letting us do what we needed to do to be at peace," Boone said.

Cory passed away peacefully July 9, 1978, in his hometown. Cory's youngest daughter, like all of his daughters, shared a passion for history; she herself is a history major. For thirty years Boone tried to convince her mother to lay Cory to rest aboard the Arizona.

Former crewmembers of the Arizona who survived the attack have the opportunity to be buried aboard the vessel along with their former shipmates if they so choose. It was a dream of Boone's for her father to be the first Marine laid to rest on the ship. Finally, with the approval of her mother, her dream came true.

The memorial normally buzzes with sound during the day as visitors are boated in and out. Although patrons are asked to keep noise down out of respect for the fallen below, the whispers of dozens of tourists fill the vast space with an audible hum reverberating off the white walls.

An uncommon afternoon silence fell over the memorial during Monday's ceremony when following a Two Bell Ceremony, Committal Service and Rifle Salute, the world seemed to stand still except for the steady wave of the flag above and the 24 tender, yet powerful notes of Taps that blared from the bugler in the rear of the memorial.

"Daddy would be honored by this memorial," said Kay Cory Boone, Cory's youngest daughter. "He would love it. He would think we brought him home."

Cory's wife, Estelle, said her final goodbyes to her husband that day. He was a man she loved and was married to for 30 years, whose ashes she kept with her for 30 more. She walked through the respectful silence of the memorial. She walked past her family and guests, many teary eyed from the remembrance. She walked past the rows of Marines lining the memorial walls and by the rifle detail standing proudly outside the memorial entrance. She walked down the ramp leading to the dock of the memorial where divers waited to put her husband to rest. There, she watched as her husband - ashes in a bronze cube topped with an Eagle, Globe and Anchor - was given to the dive team.

The diver who took the ashes held Cory up, facing Estelle. The dive team steadily swam out to position, the entire time holding Cory above the water, facing his wife. As the team submerged into the abyss, only a set of hands and the cube remained above the harbor's blue-green shimmer. Slowly the sea collapsed around the cube as Cory went down into the harbor forever. Estelle watched him go.

The interment rejoined Cory with the Arizona: a part of history, a part of his memories, and now, by choice - his tomb. He rejoined the brothers he lost on the "day of infamy," a day that will forever echo in history, a day that pushed America and the "greatest generation" into World War II. He never forgot that day. He never forgot the "heat and sensation of the blast" he felt as the ship was hit. Nor did he forget the bravery and honor shown by the men along his side, the men of Pearl Harbor, and his brothers on the Arizona.

"Dad had made a comment, when speaking at a funeral, that you get to know your buddies when you're in the foxhole with them," Price said. "Pearl Harbor was Dad's foxhole experience. I think laying dad to rest with the mentors he loved, who had significant impact on him - those buddies of his, is the right thing to do. I think dad would be very pleased with this whole event."

James Evans Cory has become a part of Pearl Harbor and the Arizona forever, even though he always was. He answered his call to the sea.

[YoungPanthers89]

dont start nuttin, wont be nuttin,sadly they learned that the hard way

[Epistaxis]

A careful study of history will tell you that the events of Pearl Harbor were not the "start", but a culmination of world events that had begun long ago.

Inevitable? In my estimation, yes. Others disagree.

[mmmbeans]

The lynchpin of modern history.

On a much less important note....how bout Ben vs. Matt in the movie selection/career path thingy?

Matt makes Saving Private Ryan, Ben takes Pearl Harbor.

Matt gets the Bourne series, Ben does Gigli.

I'm just sayin', they are both very wealthy, successful young men, I just can't help noticing one gets roles that rock, the other gets poop.

Is it the actor or the choices they make?

Ben's become a pretty decent director.