1985 Koga family photograph – Jason, Yvonne, Rex and Jan
Rex Y. Koga, 79, of Kailua, died in Honolulu on Thursday. June 21, 2018. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by his wife, Yvonne, children MSgt (Ret) Jan, SMSgt Jason, and Roxanne, and 8 grandchildren.
Rex enlisted in the Hawaii Air National Guard in 1957 after graduating from high school. He served 41 years and retired in 1994 as a Chief Master Sergeant.
Visitation: 9:30 a.m. Services: 10:30 a.m. on Friday August 24 at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary. Burial: 1 p.m. at Hawaii State Veteran Cemetery.
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This undated photograph shows the F-86 Sabre static display in side the “supply gate” of the then-154th Composite Group. The 154th Wing was designated the 154th Composite Group from 1978 to 1992.
It’s too bad the statics are gone and the 154th Wing compound is locked down.
Brigadier General Robert B. Maguire, 93, former Commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard and retired pilot and executive with Hawaiian Airlines passed away on June 13, 2018. Bob was born on December 5, 1924, in Glendale, California.
He earned his wings at age 19, flying from Brooks Field, Texas. With combat assignments unavailable he flew stateside in B-26, B-24, and B-17s. In 1947 he found his chance to move to Hawaii, where he joined the Hawaii Air National Guard (HANG) to fly P-47 fighters.
In 1950 the Korean War began and he took employment as a pilot with Hawaiian Airlines. Though his HANG unit would not see action in Korea, Bob found adventurous flying for a year starting in 1952 with C.A.T., a Chinese airline.
In 1959 he became Chief Pilot for Hawaiian Airlines and became a jet pilot when HANG transitioned to F-86s, and later to F-102s. In 1966, as Director of Flying (later V.P. Operations) at Hawaiian, he ferried the state’s first inter-island jet, a DC-9, to Honolulu and managed the airline’s transition to jets.
In 1969 as a sideline he hired pilots for the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! and of course joined in the flying.
Three years later he was promoted to Brigadier General and became Commander of HANG, a position he kept until retiring in 1976.
He and his wife loved traveling, golf, and tennis. Bob was a member of the Outrigger Canoe Club, Kaneohe Yacht Club, The Order of Daedalians, C.A.T. Association, and Quiet Birdmen.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Judy, daughters Diana, Cory, Maka, and Meagan, seven grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. He was predeceased by daughter, Kelly.
In accordance with his wishes, a private scattering of ashes was held. In lieu of flowers and gifts, please consider making a contribution to the Pacific Aviation Museum.
Related:
Taps: Robert “Bob” Maguire – Update
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From the Wired Magazine website
It’s a beautiful day. The family’s in attendance, side dishes and beer in tow. Your sister-in-law brought a trunk full of Super Soakers. It’s BBQ time. Time to kick back in the yard and fire up the … stove?
Hmm, that doesn’t sound terribly exciting, does it? But that’s basically what you’re doing when you cook out on a gas grill, which is powered by the same largely flavorless fuel as your kitchen stove.
True fact: Cooking on a gas grill is more convenient than cooking with charcoal.
B-57B observing a nuclear test during Operation Redwing, Bikini Atoll, 12 July 1958
Operation Redwing was a United States series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. They were conducted at Bikini and Enewetak atolls. The entire operation followed Project 56 and preceded Project 57. The primary intention was to test new, second-generation thermonuclear devices. Also tested were fission devices intended to be used as primaries for thermonuclear weapons, and small tactical weapons for air defense. Redwing demonstrated the first US airdrop of a deliverable hydrogen bomb – test Cherokee.
Because the yields for many tests at Operation Castle in 1954 were dramatically higher than predictions, Redwing was conducted using an “energy budget” – there were limits to the total amount of energy released, and the amount of fission yield was also strictly controlled. Fission, primarily “fast” fission of the natural uranium tamper surrounding the fusion capsule, greatly increases the yield of thermonuclear devices, and contributes the vast majority of the fallout – fusion being a relatively clean reaction.
Much ink has been spilled about George H.W. Bush becoming seriously ill after the death of his wife of 73 years, Barbara. Similarly, the father of fashion designer Kate Spade died a day before her funeral recently. Former British Prime Minister James Callaghan died of pneumonia at 92 in 1995, just 10 days after Audrey, his wife of 67 years, according to The Telegraph. Musician Johnny Cash died in 2003 four months after the death of his 73-year-old wife, June.
We could list many others, because anecdotes abound about couples married for over 50 years who end up dying within hours, days or weeks of each other — even if one spouse was relatively healthy when the first one died; the same is true for parents.
Is it possible that grief is implicated in illness and a higher risk of death?
From the Task and Purpose website
It was the thing of lore. Some doubted that it existed. But the true believers were right: The Fighter Pilots Bar in the Pentagon exists – and Task & Purpose has seen it.
Yes, your friendly Pentagon correspondent has seen the bar with his own eyes. Granted, this reporter is not Hans Blix, so this story will not include a detailed inventory of what beverages are available there, but this correspondent can confirm that the fighter pilot watering hole is the thing of splendor that witnesses have claimed it is.
Walt Disney World will always hold a special place in the heart of military spouse Allie. After all, it’s not every day that your future husband gets down on one knee to propose marriage during the EPCOT fireworks show.
But Allie, a former intern at Innoventions in EPCOT, also loves Disney because of how patriotic and military-friendly they are. And if you’ve ever taken advantage of the great discounts Disney offers military families, you’ll agree.
Thinking about booking a Disney vacation? Before you go, check out the following Disney discounts you can get as well as a few things to keep in mind. (The first thing to keep in mind is to have your military ID. You’ll need a valid ID to redeem all of these deals.)
National Guard soldiers may be plagued with sleep problems when they return home from the battlefield, according to a small study.
For the new analysis, published online in Sleep Health, researchers first surveyed 928 veterans on National Guard bases in Hawaii and New Mexico who had been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia or other war zones. More than 90 percent were male.
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This undated photograph show CMSgt David Pontes and then-MSgt Larry DeRego. Both were part of the supervisory team in the 154th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Chief Pontes retired and relocated to the Northwest where he later passed. Larry DeRego retired as Chief capping a long military career.
Men with localized high-risk prostate cancer can slow its spread by using a cancer drug that’s already on the market, a new clinical trial shows.
The targeted drug enzalutamide (Xtandi) reduced by 71 percent these men’s risk of either dying from their prostate cancer or having the cancer spread to other organs, compared against a placebo. The drug also delayed their prostate cancer’s reappearance by nearly two years, the researchers said.
Older Americans increasingly are discovering that retirement might not go as smoothly as brochures for retirement communities and river cruises across Europe suggest.
Carrying a boatload of debt, facing job cuts and dealing with bad health news make it tougher to pay the bills in retirement than many expect, even long after the Great Recession officially ended in 2009.
Some strategies worth considering if you are in or near retirement:
Review the Quarterly Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Newsletter for your information and planning.
It contains important information about getting your IRS Form 1099R and how the new tax law might affect you, information for your beneficiaries and news from several of our partner organizations.
DFAS Retiree Newsletter June 2018
