When I left on this trip, it was Halloween. We flew out of Port Hueneme, a naval base near Oxnard, California. I was flying with the 20th Air Lift Squadron (US Air Force), and this naval base was big enough to handle our jet.

From Hueneme, we fly directly to Hawaii, where we spent the night at Hickham AFB. It's right next to Pearl Harbor, and I have out there quite a few times. Whenever I fly over Pearl, and see the shadows of the ships under the water from the attack that pulled us in WWII, it gives me a chill.

Hickham, one of the prettiest bases I have stayed on, has some it's own unique history dating back to that infamous day when the Japanese attacked. The Japanese hit the air bases first - Wheeler and Hickham, before bombing the harbor. Their intent was to take out any planes that could come after them before they finished hitting the ships in harbor.

Briar
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When I walk around Hickham, on some of the buidlings, you can still see sprays of bullet holes across the walls of some of the buildings.