It was stars and stripes Hawaiian style as the Wellington High School band traveled to Pearl Harbor to perform on the USS Missouri. Sixty-five students and 25 chaperones made the 5,000-mile trip March 22 to 28 to honor veterans of the Pearl Harbor attack and experience the culture and history of the Honolulu area firsthand. “It’s one thing to learn the history of Pearl Harbor, but it is truly an exciting experience to see the actual place where it all happened,” said Adam Clarke, a WHS band junior and percussionist.
The high school students were treated to a history lesson before performing at the historical landmark Monday, March 25, which proved to be a very moving experience for them all. Afterward, the band gave a patriotic performance at the Hale Koa Hotel, which caters only to active military guests.
The band’s visit also included a hike on Diamond Head Mountain, a day trip to the Polynesian Culture Center, a traditional beach luau, a visit to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, a private catamaran sailing, and a day at the scenic and remote secret island of Kualoa Beach, which boasts as the backdrop to various past and present television and movie productions such as Jurassic Park, Lost, Hawaii Five-0 and Gilligan’s Island.
This was the second trip for the Mighty Wolverine Sound band, which visited the area in 2009.
Above: total of 65 members of Wellington High School’s Mighty Wolverine Sound traveled to Hawaii last month. The trip included a patriotic performance at the USS Missouri site at Pearl Harbor Bay.
