Navy nurse, Pearl Harbor ‘sweetheart’ celebrates 100th birthday
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – One of Lake County’s cherished residents, a World War II Navy nurse who has been a stalwart supporter of Pearl Harbor survivors, is celebrating her 100th birthday this month.
If you’ve ever been to a Pearl Harbor commemoration or one of the associated events, it’s likely that you’ve met Alice Darrow.
Darrow, with a smile that never seems to stop and sparkling blue eyes, has been a fixture at the events for years. Beyond that, she’s known as a great friend and neighbor, a woman long committed to helping others and a devoted member of her church.
Born in Paso Robles on March 16, 1919, Alice Beck attended King City Elementary School and graduated from Hamilton City High School before she went on to Chico State, where she received her nursing degree.
She later enlisted in the Navy, and was stationed at Mare Island. It was there that the young Navy nurse met her future husband, Dean Darrow, in 1942 when he came in for heart surgery, a rare procedure at that time.
During the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941, Dean Darrow, then a 23-year-old fire controlman, was aboard the USS West Virginia when it was torpedoed. As the ship listed to its port side, he was thrown into the water, where he had to swim under a burning layer of oil.
As he was being pulled from the water and into a boat by a group of rescuers, the Japanese planes began strafing the water's surface. Unbeknownst to him, as he was being pulled into a rescue boat, he was hit in the back by a bullet from one of the Japanese guns.
A series of fainting spells led to doctors discovering, months later, that a bullet was lodged in Dean Darrow heart.
Alice Darrow tells the story of her husband’s surgery and how, shortly before it occurred, he elicited from her a promise to go on liberty if he made it out.
Thinking it wasn’t likely he would survive, she agreed.
And he made it, they went out on liberty, and would be married several months later after they both were honorably discharged from the Navy.
Together, they raised four children, and had homes in Pleasant Hill and Kelseyville. Their family now includes 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Alice Darrow likes to say that she was able to fill the hole in her husband’s heart with her love.
And Dean Darrow – who died not long before the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack – liked to say that the best thing he got out of the Navy was his nurse.
Alice Darrow still has that bullet, and she’s brought it with her to every Pearl Harbor commemoration, carefully pulling it from her pocket and holding it up to show everyone. It’s more than an inch long with its silver finish showing deep scrapes and dents.
But she doesn’t take it everywhere; she admitted to not bringing it with her to a birthday party held in her honor in Clearlake on March 16.
A month of honors
The honors directed toward Alice Darrow this month began on March 5, when Supervisor Rob Brown presented her with a proclamation, on behalf of the entire Board of Supervisors, on the occasion of her 100th birthday.
Brown called her an “amazing woman,” adding, “I’m so proud to have her as a friend, and not just on Facebook.”
The proclamation recounted her education, her Navy service, her marriage to Dean Darrow and their family, and her active support of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. As a “sweetheart” – a wife or widow of a survivor – she’s been a longtime member of the group.
Brown concluded by handing her the proclamation, giving her a hug and a kiss, and asking her if she would like to say anything.
“I’m blessed to be living in such a wonderful county. Everybody's been so good to me and I really have enjoyed my life up here,” she said.
Then, on March 14, Congressman Mike Thompson read into the House record a proclamation similarly honoring Alice Darrow.
On March 16, friends and family gathered to wish her a happy birthday at a special event held at the American Legion Hall in Clearlake.
More than 60 friends and family members were there; some of those who came to celebrate her traveled from as far away as Pennsylvania.
“Thank you everybody for coming,” she said.
She blew out the candles on the cake with the help of a child. “OK, go,” she said, before the boy helped her snuff out the burning candles.
“I love you all,” she told the group.
The next day, Darrow and family members including her daughter and granddaughter were in the pews at her church, Kelseyville Presbyterian.
During the service, at her request, her granddaughter Mattie Greathouse, a professional musician and music teacher, performed special music on the flute.
After the service, her church family held another celebration to mark her birthday.
Darrow, who has been a frequent traveler over the years, isn’t slowing down.
She’s planning to move to the Bay Area to live with her daughter.
And in April, she and members of her family will be heading to England for a new adventure. She said she’s never been there, and with her youthful outlook, curiosity and energy, there’s no better time than now to go.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.