HONOLULU — Carson High School Chorus students represented North Carolina at the Pearl Harbor Commemorative Parade earlier this month. For many of them, it was an opportunity to turn a page from their textbooks into a real-life memory they won’t soon forget.

Carson’s chorus joined about 300 other students from nine different states, singing “America the Beautiful” before marching in the parade and receiving medals and a tiki trophy to bring home.

Pearl Harbor was the site of a surprise military attack by the Japanese Empire, which prompted the United States’ entry into WWII. The attack occurred early Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941, and left 2,403 Americans dead.

Before their trip, Pearl Harbor resided only in the students’ minds but came to life during their visit.

“I knew some things about it,” Liligrace Brown said. “History has always been my favorite subject, especially if it had to do with World War II. Before I went, I knew what had happened. I knew about the bombings and just what Pearl Harbor was. But I had never known quite the extent. I learned so much about the backstory of Pearl Harbor and why it is named that.”

One of the factoids that Brown returned with was the origin of Pearl Harbor’s name.

“It is named after the Hawaiian word Wai Momi, meaning water of Pearl,” Brown said. “Since lots of pearls used to be found there, it was later named Pearl Harbor. So, little things like that really enhanced my understanding.”

That was not all she took away from the trip.

“I also learned that Pearl Harbor was the grand finale of the attacks that day,” Brown said. “None of those things had I known before.”

For Brown’s classmate, Lucy Burks, the trip drove home the significance of the attack and the legacy that it left behind.

“Before I arrived, I didn’t understand how much of an honor it truly was to be able to sing and remember everyone who died on Dec. 7, 1941,” Burks said. “When we arrived at the memorial and the parade, I felt so proud to have been selected to sing with my chorus. I’ve never experienced being more proud to be an American than on this day.”

Burks described the trip as the “most meaningful” one her choir has ever taken after seeing some veterans who experienced the attack firsthand.

“This experience was such an honor, one that I will never forget,” Burks said. “Seeing 103-year-old Pearl Harbor veterans on the stage in Waikiki was life-changing. They were so grateful to all of us for being there; it filled my heart.”

For Brown, seeing those veterans hit close to home and left her with a resonating takeaway.

“We should honor the military more,” Brown said. “I have always been super appreciative of our military as my grandfather is a veteran. But, at the ceremony, we heard from Pearl Harbor survivors ages 101-103. That really opened my eyes to see how much they did for us just hearing their background.”

As fellow chorus student Max Jones explained, the trip also illuminated a part of the world drastically different than what he was used to.

“My favorite part of the entire trip was visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center,” Jones said. “We were able to experience all the different cultures that came to make up Hawai’i as we know it today. My friends and I did and saw everything we were able (to), from spear throwing to singing down a canal in a canoe. Overall, it was a great experience with great food.”

Still, the historical significance was not lost on the high schooler.

“To take part in the event meant a lot to me,” Jones said. “It was incredible to be invited to sing in memory of the sacrifice and bravery of those involved that day. It was a great honor to be invited, and everyone in the group knew so.”

Classmate Gabriel Watkins agreed with Jones.

“Singing for the many lives lost during Pearl Harbor was a meaningful honor,” Watkins said. “I am deeply saddened by those who were taken by such unfortunate events. In our way, we can bring awareness to a tragedy by never forgetting their sacrifice and duty to our nation as a whole.”

Watkins also mentioned that he was proud to represent Carson High School and North Carolina as part of the parade and ceremony.

During the event, the Carson Chorus performed with hundreds of other students without much time to prepare for the collaboration.

“Personally, I didn’t have any trouble singing with the other choirs,” said Celia Sifford. “It actually made it easier for me to make sure I was singing my part right. As for rehearsal, we all got together and found our places on the risers. From there, we simply sang through the song twice before the ceremony began.”

Sifford added that she is glad she got to be a part of the trip and to learn so much about a distant place and time that now holds renewed significance to her.