WWII Nurse Alice Beck Darrow Donates Her Late Husband’s Bullet to Pearl Harbor Museum

Through remarkable donations to WWII museums, the stories of love, service, and survival have continued to emerge. Alice Beck Darrow, a former nurse, has a lot to share at 106 years old. She knows a thing or two about resilience, just like her husband, Dean Darrow.

The couple’s story began in 1942 at the Mare Island Naval Hospital in California, where they met while she was caring for him. Dean had survived a harrowing attack on the USS West Virginia during the infamous events of December 7, 1941. Tragically, that day claimed the lives of sixteen others.

Although Dean managed to survive the bombing, he was shot while attempting to board a rescue boat, and a few months later, doctors found a bullet lodged in his heart. Before undergoing surgery to remove it, he turned to Alice for support, which she readily gave. The two married in that same year, and the bullet became a significant symbol in their lives, a reminder of the circumstances that united them.

They raised four children in California and spent nearly fifty years together. Even after Dean’s passing in 1991, Alice safeguarded the bullet. On September 18, 2025, she decided to donate it to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Museum, inspired partly by a cruise stop in Honolulu.

“It felt right,” she said about the donation, as she reflected on the bullet that represented more than just her husband’s survival. “It belongs to those who served and sacrificed.” Captain Vincent Smitt of the ship mentioned feeling humbled to help her complete this journey.

Beck Darrow sees herself as one of the last living connections to Pearl Harbor, and she was recognized for her nursing contributions in 2024. Looking forward is something she cherishes. Reflecting on her donation, she believed deeply that returning the bullet to Pearl Harbor was simply the right thing to do.