The widow of a World War II veteran has finally said goodbye to a keepsake she held for more than eight decades — a bullet that once rested in her late husband’s heart.
During the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Dean Darrow was struck by gunfire, leaving a bullet lodged in his chest. While recovering at Mare Island Naval Hospital, he met Navy nurse Alice Beck Darrow. Before undergoing surgery, Dean asked Alice out on a date — a gesture that began a lifelong romance.
They married in 1942 and spent nearly five decades together until Dean’s passing in 1991. Now, at 106 years old, Alice has decided it’s time to let the bullet — and their love story — be shared with the world.
“It became a little part of Dean, and I cherished what the bullet represented: love,” she says. “It was now time to let others hear of this love story.”
In September, while aboard Holland America Line’s Westerdam, Alice personally delivered the bullet to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Museum in Honolulu, accompanied by her daughter and son-in-law.
“Twenty-eight years ago, someone from the Museum at Pearl Harbor contacted me, asking if I would like to donate the bullet. I was not ready to part with it at that time,” Alice explains. “In recent years, we decided the Museum at Pearl Harbor would be the place for it — not a drawer.”
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Over the years, Alice kept her husband’s memory alive by attending local Pearl Harbor Survivors’ meetings as a “Sweetheart,” a title given to the wives of survivors.
“The men would share their war stories, and I would always end it with my love story,” she says. “Dean always said, ‘The best thing he got out of the Navy was his nurse.’ When the bullet was removed, I would tell them I filled that hole with my love.”
Reflecting on their first meeting, Alice says it truly was love at first sight.
“How could he not fall in love with his nurse taking care of him? He had been at sea for months with only a boatload of men,” she jokes.
Dean never missed a chance to show his affection.
“He would always remember my birthday with a gift or Valentine’s Day with candy. He was very generous,” Alice recalls.
As for the secret to a lasting marriage, Alice’s advice is simple and heartfelt:
“Stay in love. Do things together and travel. Don’t fret over small things like arguments. Say you’re sorry if you really are, and put it behind you. Tell each other, ‘I love you,’ at least once a day.”
