Exploring Waters of Pearl

At the far side of America, students learn from the day that will live in infamy

By Duke University

April 7^th, 2022

Oysters once glittered the bed of the peaceful bay of Wai Momi on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. These, “waters of pearl,” as the Hawaiians called them, were eventually trafficked by ships. And then, on December 7, 1941, amid the wreckage of war, the battleship USS Arizona began to drift down to rest among the oysters. The attack on Pearl Harbor changed the course of American history, and shortly after the recent 80th anniversary marking that fateful day, Duke’s Program in American Grand Strategy took students, alumni and faculty to the island of Oahu to learn from and reflect on that history.

The trip took place during the university’s spring break, so students had to balance their mid-semester inclination to play and enjoy this tropical island with the opportunity to absorb some of the complexity of wartime strategies and local histories.

The views from 762 feet atop the Diamond Head (Lē‘ahi) crater were formed about 300,000 years ago. The trail to the summit was built in 1908 as part of Oahu’s coastal defense system.

In the calm waters of Waikīkī, students rented a surfboard and laughed at the various ways they tried to unsuccessfully stand up motionless and balance on the board.

Matthew King (‘18) organized a morning run along the Ala Wai Canal. He was joined by another alumni Scott Barton (‘87), and undergrad Maeve Sullivan (‘25). On one morning run he brought back donuts for the whole group to enjoy.

Nick DeParle (‘22) hiked to the top of Diamond Head. As a staff ride participant, he played the role of Emperor Hirohito and offered a defense of the monarchy and assurance of Japanese military superiority.

Students, faculty, and alumni share breathtaking views. They see a fortified bunker embedded in the crater known as a “pillbox.” Long range guns were installed in 1915, but a shot has never been fired from Diamond Head.

“I learned a lot about the Hawaiian diplomacy of the monarch that I didn’t know about before visiting the Iolani Palace. He was one of the first monarchs to travel the whole world.”

- Maria Morrison

As a night of beachside karaoke continued, students stayed close together, accompanied by Andrew Kenealy, a Graduate Fellow in the American Grand Strategy Program.

“And, Maria and I were geeking out over the preservation of artifacts, including this tiger claw necklace that belonged to Queen Liliuokalani. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”

- Ruthie Kesri

The Duke Program in American Grand Strategy embarks on annual educational “staff rides” in order to study the perspective of the people embroiled in historical conflicts.

Selected from a competitive pool of interviewed applicants, each participating student in the staff ride is a docent, having researched in depth one or two key figures in the drama so they can give first-person briefings of what that historical figure did and why they did it. The experience combines some of the best aspects of a battlefield tour, a crisis simulation and a seminar discussion.

At the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Duke faculty member Tim Nichols, who is wearing a yellow shirt in this photograph, marvels at Hawaii topography as students draw close to hear his observations about strategy.

“I couldn’t find out that much about my historical figure, Admiral Osami Nagano, during the research phase. So, I reached out to someone at the Library of Congress who sent me diary entries written in prison from Admiral Nagano. It’s a fascinating revelation and I’m excited to weave that narrative into my speech.”

- Rohan Gupta

John Hillen responds from his staff ride perspective as ADM Isoroku Yamamoto. Hillen (’88) is a member of the Duke Army ROTC’s Hall of Fame and offers a distinct perspective, having served as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs.

Lauren Tse (’25) crouches low through a bulkhead’s small watertight door to make her way through a tour of the US Bowfin Submarine.

Daniel Billings (’23) offers a careful presentation as Charles Lindbergh. The strategy was to acknowledge his shortsighted ethical flaws while stalwartly defending isolation and non-intervention in foreign affairs.

“’I thought you were my ally?’ and I’m like, ‘nah, stupid Nazi’ so I jabbed with the left!” Mohammad Khatami (’22) adds a playful moment of combat to Daniel Inouye’s story of valiant, yet segregated service in the all-Nisei 44nd.

“I played the role of Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese bomber pilot leading the first wave of air attacks. Reading through his memoirs and historical works, I felt stunned by Japanese decisions and American luck that prevented total catastrophe. The outcome could have been much worse, and we need to learn from the attack on Pearl Harbor so that it can never happen again.”

- Jason Huang

Students from a cross section of Duke’s majors were represented, including public policy, political science, economics, history, computer science and math. By traveling to locations such as Pearl Harbor and other conflict sites internationally, participants become more empathetic students of history and better analysts.

“We’re standing on the dock of the USS Missouri, in what would have been battleship row during the attack on December 7th, and just behind us is the wreck of the USS Arizona, the largest single casualty where more than a thousand servicemen died.”

- Maria Morrison

The group of 35 Duke staff ride participants explored this historically preserved 80,000 square foot maintenance and engine repair facility known as Hanger 79 at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.

“It’s an absolute surreal experience to be in the same spot where this event occurred, and one of the things we’ve been talking about is how much land had to be trajected by these planes before they could even reach Pearl Harbor. So, the timing of the attack was one thing I misunderstood previously.”

- Kyle Melatti

Staff ride participants experience new vantage points and hold a new appreciation for the difficulty of decision making when they walk the grounds of war sites. In addition, memorials help establish the toll and tragedy of war.

“It’s been really stark, I think. I don’t think I comprehended the devastation of Pearl Harbor in this kind of depth.”

- Ruthie Kesri

“To see, physically, where it sank and reflect on the hundreds of sailors who are still within the USS Arizona and have never come out of it: it was a solemn occasion. It was especially poignant to learn that in the years after, many of those who survived the incident are coming back at the end of their lives to be buried alongside their fellow soldiers, in the ship.”

- Jason Huang

The group gathers to hear an overview of the USS Hopper and an introduction to CDR David Wagenborg. The USS Hopper was named after RDML Grace Hopper who is remembered as a pioneering computer programmer and decorated military leader.

Francis de Beixedon (’23) continues to ask questions about the KC-135 Stratotanker’s mid-flight refueling capabilities as the staff ride group moves to learn about another plane.

The group was given special access to walk the Hickam Air Force runway and tour the KC-135 Stratotanker and C-17 Globemaster. Elsewhere, they gained special on-site access to the rarely seen stealth F-22 Raptors.

Oahu has become the headquarters for the United States Indo-Pacific Command and this presented a unique opportunity – creating a contrast between history and current military readiness. Faculty and fellows from the Duke Sanford Counterterrorism and Public Policy Fellowship Program helped the staff ride group gain access to and hear from leaders such as MG James B. Jarrard, Chief of Staff of INDOPACOM, and the Commanding Officer of the destroyer ship USS Hopper, CDR David Wagenborg, and the Deputy Commander of the 25th Infantry Division, COL Jeffrey VanAntwerp.

“Visiting INDOPACOM exemplified the power of the Pacific and the American interests in the region, many of which I had not previously grasped the full scope of.”

- Maria Morrison

Scott Barton (’87) is one of a handful of alumni who return to staff rides to rekindle friendships and mentor new students. Students start to imagine their careers and adulthood more clearly in conversations with alumni.

The 25th Infantry Division offered Duke staff ride participants access to their obstacle training course. Maria Morrison (’22) was willing to lose a shoe in the scramble to clear the rope swing challenge.

“The goal is to bring the whole picture together. The crew gains proficiency, then it goes to the squad, the platoon, the battalion, the brigade, the division, to the corps, and then to the army, and in this case: the U.S. Army Pacific. They then work for PACOM. So, what we’ve really seen is how all those echelons combine together and how hard and complex it can be to carry out some of the requirements that policymakers give us.”

- COL Ben Jahn

Thanks to the generosity of donors, alumni and university support, Duke’s Program in American Grand Strategy has traveled on staff rides in previous years to Normandy, Grenada, Vietnam, Belgium and France, and Morocco. “A high-touch program like this is only possible with extraordinary buy-in from Duke leadership and, of course, from generous supporters,” said Peter Feaver, Director of the American Grand Strategy program. “Fortunately, AGS is blessed with both. All the stake-holders –leadership, alums, families of students –get that this is the kind of thing that should be possible at a school like Duke, and I am glad that it is possible.” To learn more about the program, visit ags.duke.edu.