If any place reminds us that an unannounced attack by a foreign country is possible, it’s Pearl Harbor.
That’s where a Hazel Dell couple were on Saturday when an emergency alert warned that a ballistic missile was headed for Hawaii.
Franck Geuder and Beverly Hohman were aboard their cruise ship, Pride of America, when they heard an announcement. It was not very informative.
“They would not let anybody disembark because of a threat,” Geuder said Tuesday, when he and his wife were back home.
“Then someone came down the hallway and said an intercontinental ballistic missile from North Korea was targeting Hawaii.
“Word spread quickly. Everybody soon knew. I didn’t see anybody afraid or panicking,” he said. “Some people were praying: not out of fear, but praying. Some got their cellphones and were calling their families.
“We just waited and prayed a little, turned on the TV and saw what was going on,” Geuder said.
One news segment “showed people had abandoned their cars.”
Ship passengers also considered best- and worst-case scenarios involving North Korea’s missile program.
“We don’t know how accurate their aim would be, and don’t know if there is a way to shoot it down or hack into its system and divert it.”
And worst case?
“We knew what could happen, and were just going to take whatever came.”
They didn’t have to wait long for the ship’s all-clear announcement, even though state officials reportedly took 38 minutes to declare it was a false alarm.
“The captain got on and said it was a false alarm and they would let people disembark. It didn’t take 38 minutes; maybe 10 to 15. I guess he checked with a more reliable source.”
The alert didn’t throw them off track too badly.
“We were scheduled to go to the airport and fly out. Our plane was about 45 minutes late leaving. We were back in Vancouver at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday,” Geuder, 71, said.
“It gave us a story to tell.”
On a side note, Geuder mentioned that he’d played the tuba in a Vancouver Pops Orchestra concert at Image Elementary School earlier Tuesday. Their set list includes music from “Midway,” a film based on America’s victory over Japanese naval forces six month after Pearl Harbor.
The rousing theme by John Williams was going through his head while things were in doubt Saturday morning, Geuder said.
“It’s an inspiring song,” said Geuder, who also plays organ and keyboard in a local church and for senior-citizen programs.
“It gave me a good feeling,” he said. Whatever might happen, “I feel confident in our country.”
