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Remember me – JBPHH helps grant one final wish

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christopher Stoltz
  • Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM --  Death is inevitable – inescapable. The scariest part is the when, where and how.

Dawn Harry, a former breast-cancer survivor from Huntington Beach, Calif., visited Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on May 10. She said she has always been fascinated with military history, particularly naval history – as her father was a naval aviator.

Dawn’s visit to Hawaii and JBPHH is part of the Dream Foundation, which is a program that grants wishes to adults who are terminally ill.

Originally, Dawn was a cancer survivor. Dawn overcame breast cancer once before, but one week short of her being cancer-free for five years, her doctors found metastatic, terminal cancer.

“I have been battling cancer for six years,” she said. “Last year, the cancer spread to my ribs, and eventually, the thoracic region in my vertebrae.”

Dawn said she has six months to live.

“I wanted to visit Pearl Harbor and Hickam while I still had a chance,” she said. “My father was in the Navy and it was important to me to see a glimpse of what made him, him. It was an honor to be able to talk with some of the men and women who serve, who help keep our country safe.”

Dawn’s tour allowed her to visit the 535th Airlift Squadron, where she was treated to a static tour of a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. After the static, Dawn had lunch at the Silver Dolphin Bistro and visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Dawn completed her base tour aboard the USS Hopper, where she was given a full tour by Commanding Officer CDR J.D. Gainey and Command Master Chief Augustine Cooper.

“It was truly a pleasure to host Dawn,” said Commander Gainey. “Any time we get a chance to highlight the hard efforts of our men and women, we’ll take it. We are just glad to be a part of this trip, and a part of her life.”

Commander Gainey and CMC Cooper presented Dawn with a challenge coin, and even a hat with her name embroidered. She shared some of her story with the crew, and thanked them all for their service.

Dawn said the visit to JBPHH fulfilled a lifelong dream of hers. She said her fight with cancer has been long and arduous, but has given her perspective.

“People who have had cancer are in a family grouped together – they all understand the feeling of knowing you may die,” she said. “There are also feelings of being at your lowest, the strenuous times you have to go through treatments, surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, injections, etc. There seems to be a silver lining, but then your hair falls out, you lose your energy and your life as you once knew it changes completely.”

Dawn said the best part of the trip to Oahu and JBPHH is that it helped her change this mindset, and more importantly – it helped her remember what it was like to be ‘normal’ again.

“The Dream Foundation, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force and the staff from our hotel all made me feel real again, in a very surreal situation. I just want to thank everyone for making my dream become reality, for making me feel special.”