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A Peaceful Arizona Experience...
Letter from a teacher.

In November 1997, I was given an assignment at Hau'ula Elementary School to prepare a song for our fifth grade level to sing at the Christmas Concert. All the other classes had already chosen the favorite Christmas songs and I was stuck trying to find one for my class. Every song I thought about just didn't feel right. Then one Sunday morning during the first week of December I was listening to the radio and KRATER 96.3 played a song I had never heard before. It was a song by Gordon Freitas entitled "Peaceful Arizona". I sat there with tears in my eyes and I knew that this was the song I needed to teach my fifth graders to sing at the concert. It was a song that was to be dedicated to all the families who have to spend Christmas without their loved ones who died defending our freedoms. I listened to the radio for two days until it came on again and taped it on cassette. Then I transcribed the words and took it to school.

In fifth grade we study the history of America and that week we were learning about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. One of the assignments given to the students was to find a family member who was alive during the time Pearl Harbor was bombed and interview them. They were to ask them certain questions and write their answers down. Then they were to take that person's picture with a camera given to them and these stories were placed in a class book. After the stories were published we all sat on the floor and each person shared what they had written. It was a touching and special moment for the students to hear their classmates share stories that were almost identical to theirs as they made connections with one another. After we shared stories, I had them quietly read the words to "Peaceful Arizona" as I played the song. There were many teary eyes during those few minutes. After listening to the music, I had them try to sing along with the tape. We did this four different times and by the fourth time they could sing it all the way through. The next day we invited the other fifth grade class to join us and we taught it to them. With 45 children's voices blending together it sounded beautiful. At the end of the song, while the music was still playing, two children said these words in unison: "To the people who lost their lives in World War 2 and their families, we say thankyou and have a merry Christmas. We will not forget you."

On the day of the concert all the children came to school dressed in white and each was given an American flag to hold. As we practiced in the room it began pouring rain outside and the concert was canceled. We invited all the parents into our room and performed the song for them anyway. The sound of children's voices echoed in that small room as these special young people proudly stood and sang to those who lost their lives during World War II. I was so very proud of them.

In February our class was asked to perform for some dignitaries visiting our school. That day we had a luau to celebrate the end of a huge Polynesian Writing Project. This time 8 young ladies learned a hula to the song and performed it while the rest of the class sang.

On May 22, 1998, our class went to the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. They dressed in their best clothes. When we arrived we were introduced to Mr. Richard Fiske, a survivor of the bombing. He talked with the students about his experience and shared photographs with them. One of my students asked if we could sing to him. So we stood outside the theater and began to sing. By the end of the song tears were streaming down many faces including his, the students and many tourists standing outside the theater. We finally got on board the boat and headed out to the actual memorial. The students were excited and eager to get there. For many of them it was their first time and the mood was solemn and peaceful. The students each went to the wall, covered with the names of those who lost their lives in 1941. They each chose a name and gathered in the middle of the memorial where they performed "Peaceful Arizona". What a marvelous feeling it was to sing the words and stand on the actual site where history was made. At the conclusion of the song each student found a quiet place on the memorial to drop a flower lei they had brought in memory of the name they had chosen. The water colored rainbows were now decorated with beautiful fresh flowers in a fitting tribute to those brave men who served so valiantly. The memory of this day will live on in the hearts of these children for the rest of their life. Each heart was touched in a manner that no textbook could ever attempt to duplicate.

Thank you Gordon Freitas for helping to change the lives of these students. For helping them to understand the sacrifices that were made that day. May you continue to be inspired to write such uplifting and memorable music.

Much Aloha,
Laurie Flores
Elementary School Teacher