106-year-old WWII nurse donates bullet from husband’s heart to Pearl Harbor museum

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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. 106 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 passing in 1991. 

Beck Darrow donated the bullet to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Museum on 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 sacrificed, 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,” as 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.”