On this Pearl Harbor Day 2025

On this Pearl Harbor Day, I’m reminded why it matters to share our passions openly and unapologetically, especially when those passions help preserve the stories of those who served.

Six years ago today, Museum Pros installed our very first traveling exhibit. I still recall the electric mix of nerves and excitement as we began setting each artifact. When museum guests approached the display, reading slowly and intently, my heart pounded. It was the unmistakable feeling of putting your passion on full display for the world to see.

That inaugural exhibit, A Sailor’s Story, was created for Airbase Arizona in Mesa. One of their docents was the son-in-law of a Pearl Harbor survivor, and his wife was determined to share her father’s service story. We were honored to help bring it forward.

Her father, Navy Radioman 2C Walter Hoffland, served aboard the USS Arizona. Only months before the attack, he was transferred to CINCPAC Headquarters, though he remained close with his shipmates and planned to join them for breakfast on the morning of December 7. Instead, he watched Japanese planes descend on Pearl Harbor.

Unable to help his former crew aboard the Arizona, Hoffland climbed to the roof of his building with a rifle and fired at the attacking aircraft. In the chaos, a piece of shrapnel ricocheted off the roof and landed beside him. He picked up that jagged fragment and carried it with him throughout his Navy career as a reminder of the day that shaped so many lives.

That same piece of shrapnel became the centerpiece of A Sailor’s Story. On installation day, as I watched guests lean in, read, cry, and photograph the display, I felt profoundly grateful, not only to tell Hoffland’s story, but to share it.

In the years since, that sensation has never faded. My nerves still jangle. My heart still races. Every installation is another moment of stepping forward boldly, offering something meaningful to the world, and hoping it resonates.

This Pearl Harbor Day, I’m especially mindful of the responsibility and privilege of sharing veterans’ stories. History connects us. It holds our triumphs and our tragedies. It guides us, warns us, and inspires us. But only if we choose to listen, and only if we choose to tell it.