106-year-old WWII nurse donates husband's heart bullet to Pearl Harbor museum
Alice Beck Darrow, a former nurse who cared for Dean Darrow during World War II, turns a personal wartime memento into a public memory at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Museum during a Hawaii stop on a Holland America cruise.
A 106-year-old World War II nurse donated a bullet that once lodged in her late husband's heart to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Museum, linking a long life of service to a defining moment in U.S. history. Alice Beck Darrow delivered the relic on Sept. 18, 2025, during a Honolulu stop on Holland America's Westerdam as part of a 28-day cruise.
Beck Darrow and Dean Darrow's story reaches back to 1942, when she was stationed at Mare Island Naval Hospital in California. Dean Darrow, a sailor who had survived the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on the USS West Virginia, was wounded during the assault; the ship had been torpedoed by six torpedoes and hit by two bombs, according to the National Park Service. Doctors later discovered a bullet remained lodged near his heart. After the surgery, the couple married that year, and the bullet became a cherished keepsake that symbolized the moment their lives and service intertwined. Beck Darrow raised four children in California, and her husband died in 1991. She kept the bullet safe through the years.
This year, Beck Darrow decided to return the relic to the public memory that surrounds Pearl Harbor. She said the decision to donate the bullet felt right, adding that the artifact belongs to those who served and sacrificed, not just to Dean and to her personally.
The donation drew praise from Holland America Line. Captain Vincent Smit said the cruise line was humbled to help her complete this journey, presenting the item to the Pearl Harbor museum during the voyage.
Beck Darrow has long been recognized for her work as a nurse. In 2024 she received honors for her wartime service, and she has continued to emphasize the importance of looking forward and staying engaged in life as she approaches the century mark, a message she has shared in interviews during the ongoing voyage.
The artifact's journey underscores the lasting role of personal memory in public history. By returning the bullet to Pearl Harbor, Beck Darrow aims to educate new generations about the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation and the realities of World War II service.
