At 106, Alice Darrow, a centenarian Navy nurse, stood alongside Pearl Harbor on Sunday, gazing out at the water where a bullet had narrowly missed killing her husband Dean in 1941. The unexpected chance of survival sparked an epic wartime love story.
Darrow arrived in Honolulu as part of VIP guest for the anniversary commemorations of Imperial Japan's December 7, 1941, aerial assault on U.S. ships and installations on Oahu. This was Darrow’s second visit to Pearl Harbor National Park Service memorial and museum in just 10 weeks.
Her husband Dean had been serving on the USS West Virginia when the Japanese attack happened. He suffered a bullet wound that almost proved fatal, but thankfully he survived after surgery at Naval Hospital Pearl Harbor where a medical team treated his wounds.
While being taken to a destroyer for further treatment, Dean became short of breath and dizzy. His vision would sometimes black out. The doctors initially thought it was due to the shock of the attack, but later X-rays discovered something shocking - a bullet lodged in the muscle of his back near his heart.
Alice Beck, a 23-year-old Navy nurse, tended to him at Mare Island Naval Hospital where Emile Holman, an esteemed Stanford University vascular surgeon, performed history's first known attempt to remove a bullet from a living heart. The surgery was successful and Dean recovered.
After the war, they went on to get married, had children, and started a family. Alice eventually donated a bullet removed from Dean's heart to the museum at Pearl Harbor after attending a ceremony there last September.
Alice Darrow is now being recognized for her service during World War II by awarding all World War II nurses with the Congressional Gold Medal. Her story is part of Pacific Historic Parks mission to teach children about the heroic efforts of those who served during wartime.
On Sunday, she was present at Pearl Harbor as one of the last remaining survivors of the attack. She paid tribute to her late husband Dean and said, "I keep thinking of him."
Darrow arrived in Honolulu as part of VIP guest for the anniversary commemorations of Imperial Japan's December 7, 1941, aerial assault on U.S. ships and installations on Oahu. This was Darrow’s second visit to Pearl Harbor National Park Service memorial and museum in just 10 weeks.
Her husband Dean had been serving on the USS West Virginia when the Japanese attack happened. He suffered a bullet wound that almost proved fatal, but thankfully he survived after surgery at Naval Hospital Pearl Harbor where a medical team treated his wounds.
While being taken to a destroyer for further treatment, Dean became short of breath and dizzy. His vision would sometimes black out. The doctors initially thought it was due to the shock of the attack, but later X-rays discovered something shocking - a bullet lodged in the muscle of his back near his heart.
Alice Beck, a 23-year-old Navy nurse, tended to him at Mare Island Naval Hospital where Emile Holman, an esteemed Stanford University vascular surgeon, performed history's first known attempt to remove a bullet from a living heart. The surgery was successful and Dean recovered.
After the war, they went on to get married, had children, and started a family. Alice eventually donated a bullet removed from Dean's heart to the museum at Pearl Harbor after attending a ceremony there last September.
Alice Darrow is now being recognized for her service during World War II by awarding all World War II nurses with the Congressional Gold Medal. Her story is part of Pacific Historic Parks mission to teach children about the heroic efforts of those who served during wartime.
On Sunday, she was present at Pearl Harbor as one of the last remaining survivors of the attack. She paid tribute to her late husband Dean and said, "I keep thinking of him."
I'm so moved by Alice Darrow's story 
. 106 is just incredible! To think that she had such a close call with her life back in '41 & now we're still getting to know her 
. It's beautiful how Dean got his second chance at life & they went on to build this amazing family together. I'm not surprised Alice has been recognized for her service 
, considering all the incredible sacrifices WW2 nurses made. She's an inspiration to us all! 
This is just so sad... I mean, can you believe it? A bullet almost took away a life, but instead, it brought together two souls who were meant to be 
. The story of Alice Darrow and her husband Dean is just heart-wrenching, especially with the anniversary of Pearl Harbor happening on Sunday 
.
. If that bullet had hit a bit earlier or been a little deeper, who knows? Maybe we wouldn't have the lovely love story of Alice and Dean 
. It's crazy how life can be so cruel at times, but also how it can bring people together in the most beautiful way 
.
. Anyway, it's always fascinating to see the stories of those who lived through some of history's most pivotal moments 
.
I'm not buying into this whole 'centenarian love story' thing. I mean, sure, it's nice that Alice Darrow is being recognized for her service during WWII, but let's be real, 106 years old is basically ancient history now 
. And what's with all the hype around Pearl Harbor? It's just a bunch of old buildings and some dead people on the ground... I'm not saying it's not important or anything, but can't we move on from the past already? 
The fact that she's still got her husband's bullet in her chest after all these years is just plain weird 
. And what about all the other nurses who didn't get their bullets removed and are now dead? 
Anyway, I guess it's nice that kids can learn from her story and all that, but let's not romanticize it too much, okay? 
what's up with all these WWII stories popping up everywhere? feels like we're being reminded how lucky we are to have made it this far 
Can you even believe Alice Darrow is 106? That's just insane! I mean, I know it's easy for us young'uns to forget what life was like back then, but this woman has been through so much. Her story with her husband Dean is just incredible - I love how they fell in love during wartime and had the best life together after that.
The story of Alice Darrow is just so inspiring! I mean, can you even imagine being 106 and still having that much love in your heart? 
It's crazy to think about how she was lucky enough to be treated by a team of medical professionals who were basically the best in the business back then. And that surgery that Emile Holman performed is just amazing - I mean, who tries to remove a bullet from someone's living heart? 
It's no wonder she was married to such an incredible person! Dean sounds like he was a real hero himself. 