Retired Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Lyle Lookingbill
The following blog post was written by Navy Facebook Fan Lyle Lookingbill, a retired Master Chief Hospital Corpsman. In honor of the Sailors that sacrificed their lives at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and in recognition of those that have followed in service to our nation and our freedom.
As the son of a career Sailor I was lucky to experience many things that could be considered awe inspiring. From seeing the USS Nautilus (SSN 571) during a trip to the Northeast, to witnessing the tall ships with sails billowing entering San Diego Harbor during the bicentennial celebration. But, if I were to chose the defining experience which left the most lasting impression upon me, it would have to have been the visit to Pearl Harbor as a 12 year old to meet the USS Prairie (AD 15) for a tiger cruise back to San Diego.
During this visit, my father, a Chief Hull Technician, took me on a tour of the harbor, showing me the various memorials and sights. I will never forget standing up on the white deck of the USS Arizona Memorial and looking at the cold remains of the once proud ship. We met a man who had been there on Dec. 7, 1941, as an aviation ordnanceman at Ford Island Naval Air Station. He brought the sights to life with his stories. My father encouraged this impromptu history lesson by asking the right questions at the right times. It was at this time that I knew I wanted to be part of this Navy. The Navy that rose from the ashes of Pearl Harbor, and went on to defeat the greatest threat to freedom in the Pacific – if not the world! – had ever known. In my studies after this visit, I learned that the Navy I loved was more than WWII. Our Navy has always defended freedom. From John Paul Jones and the USS Ranger, through, and into the jungles and rivers of Vietnam. During my own career I saw the Navy fight tyranny and defend freedom across the globe.
I went on to join the Navy and serve as an HM (corpsman) retiring in 2008. I visited Pearl Harbor many times during my career, but the experience of that short visit to Pearl Harbor as a 12-year-old boy is still with me. It is because of that visit that I am enthralled with our Navy’s history. It is because of that visit that I serve today as a historic educator at the Muskogee War Memorial Park and Museum in Muskogee, Okla. If I can share the stories of the men and women of our Navy to those who would not otherwise hear them; If I can see the spark of what I felt at 12 flare in the eyes of one child, then my day has been worthwhile.
To those in our Navy’s uniform today, you are wearing the history of our Navy. It is the men and women that stood against the rising sun of tyranny that are honored today. Yet, it is in you that their memory is best remembered. You are America’s Navy, you must carry the torch first lit in 1775, and rekindled on this day 70 years ago. It is to you that America looks, longing for leadership, yearning for direction, and searching for security. Remember always, the history of our Navy is not who we were, or where we have been. The history of our Navy is who we are, and where we are sailing.
