The Pearl Harbor Historic Fund has announced a $7.2 million donation from the estate of Alexander Gaston. 

In 2009, Gaston helped establish the fund, which is managed by the Hawai'i Community Foundation and Bank of Hawai'i. The initial gift was inspired by Gaston’s longtime friend Jay Dunn, who was a volunteer running the flight simulators at the Pacific Aviation Museum. A child told Dunn that a classmate couldn’t attend the museum that day with the class because his family couldn’t afford it. Dunn met with Gaston and Lee Collins, and the three decided to establish a fund specifically designed to address this problem for families in need. 

The latest gift will enable the fund to exist in perpetuity and provide opportunities to assist and educate school-age children by assuring that all children in Hawaii, regardless of their financial ability, will be able to visit, learn from and about, and enjoy the historic site’s four programs, including the USS Arizona Memorial, the USS Battleship Missouri, the USS Bowfin Submarine, and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Stocktrek Images)