By Chickasaw Nation Media Relations Office
A family vacation in 2016 to Hawaii turned into a passion for then 11-year-old Brooke Schocke. Visiting the USSArizonaMemorialwasa life-changing experience. The hallowed grounds inspired Schocke to dedicate time and energy to remembering and protecting the legacy of those who fought to protect the United States.
Now 18 and a senior at Azle High School, in Azle, Texas, Schocke acquired a piece of the USS Arizona battleship to be displayed at her school in perpetuity. The young Chickasaw accomplished this by establishing the nonprofit A Hero’s Dream, Inc., and befriending veteran Donald Stratton of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Stratton was a Navy seaman who served aboard the USS Arizona when it was attacked and sunk in Pearl Harbor. Stratton suffered substantial burns but recovered and continued his Naval service.
“The sole purpose of A Hero’s Dream, Inc. is to give back to the veterans who have given so much for us, to take care of the needs of our veterans and U.S. military families. (We want) to preserve the legacies and stories of all veterans who have passed,” Schocke said.
Donald Stratton died in 2020. His family traveled to the March 30 ceremony at Azle High School. The piece oftheUSSArizonaondisplay wasprocuredincollaboration between A Hero’s Dream, Inc., the Stratton family, the National Park Service and U.S. Navy.
Donald Stratton’s granddaughter, Nikki Stratton, represented the Stratton family during the dedication ceremony at Azle High School.
“She (Schocke) had a great relationship with my grandfather. She is really taking ahold of this story, and it’s a part of her,” Stratton said.
Schocke’s visit to the USS Arizona Memorial created a desire to meet a WWII survivor and help veterans of the war. She was unable to meet anyone that day. In 2018, she finally met Stratton and became friends with him and his family. His story, hope and dedication to the U.S. stirred her.
“Meeting Donald Stratton and other WWII veterans has fulfilled my dreams,” Schocke said.
According to the National Park Service, The USS Arizona Memorial was created in 1958 to commemorate military personnel killed in the Pearl Harbor attack. The national memorial preserves, interprets and commemorates the history of WWII in the Pacific from the events leading to the Dec. 7, 1941, attack.