WWII nurse, age 106, donates bullet from husband’s heart to Pearl Harbor museum
Alice Beck Darrow
A widow of a Pearl Harbor survivor has donated the bullet they removed from his heart after the attack to a museum. He successfully used the war wound to get the young Navy nurse to agree to a date with him (should he survive the surgery), and parlayed that into nearly 50 years of marriage and four kids.
The whole thing is a great story, but I especially like that this 106 year old WWII veteran made the donation on a stop during a 26-day cruise aboard a Holland America ship. The centenarian is still out there seeing the world and riding the waves. You gotta love that.
A lifelong story of love and service has been brought into the public eye through a compelling donation to a World War II-related museum.
At 106 years old, Alice Beck Darrow, a former nurse, knows more than most about survival.
So did her husband, Dean Darrow. The pair met while she was caring for him at Mare Island Naval Hospital in California in 1942.
The young sailor had survived the deadly attack on the USS West Virginia on Dec. 7, 1941. That ship was sunk by six torpedoes and two bombs, according to the National Park Service. One hundred and six people were killed in the attack.
While Darrow survived the actual bombing, he was shot as he tried to board a rescue boat.
It was several months later that doctors discovered that a bullet was still lodged in his body.
Darrow needed to have the bullet removed from his heart. Before surgery, he asked his nurse, Alice Beck, “If I make it through, will you go out with me?”
She said yes.
He survived the surgery, and the two were married that same year.
The bullet became a cherished object for the couple, Beck Darrow said. It was a reminder of the circumstances that brought them together.
The couple raised four children in California and were married for nearly 50 years.
She kept the bullet safe throughout their years together, as well as long after her husband’s death in 1991.
Beck Darrow donated the bullet to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Museum Sept. 18, 2025. She did so on that date because that’s when she was staying overnight in Honolulu as part of a 28-day cruise itinerary on Holland America’s Westerdam, she said.
The moment was “deeply emotional” for her, she said in a statement.
“Holding onto the bullet all these years meant a great deal, but it truly belongs to those who served and sacrifice, and to all who can understand its significance, not just to Dean and me,” she said.
“I knew it was the right decision.”
The ship’s captain, Vincent Smit, said Holland America was “humbled to play even a small role in helping her complete this journey.”
Beck Darrow is one of the last living links to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In 2024, she was honored for her role as a nurse.
She said last year, “Always have something to look forward to. It gets your body and mind ready for what’s next,” WTVU reported.
Now, regarding the donation of her personal memento, she said, “I think Dean would feel that returning the bullet to Pearl Harbor is the right thing to do. It honors so many, and I know he would agree it’s the right place for it.”
Category: Navy, Veterans in the news, WWII
That brought both a tear and a smile to my flabby black heart.
Good on ya, Mrs Darrow. Still up and about, kicking ankles and taking names.
It’s still early but I think this’ll be the best story I read today.
Modern equivalent, sadly: “he faked the shooting because he’s a toxic male. This guy is a predator.”
Dusty in here this morning.
Was it an American bullet?
Young men have ONLY one thing on their minds.
Surely an Angel has landed on Earth for a short while. Anyone who was a nurse on that terrible day has my lifelong respect and gratitude.
Oh lordy, she was a stunner back in the day. I bet it is the reason old Dean pulled through.
At least HER heart is (still) in the right place.
Getting a wife like that for 50 years beats the hell out of a Purple Heart. A tale of two lives well lived.