From the Fall 1967 issue of the Hawai‘i Guardsman
Lieutenant Colonel George Shiel McEldowney, veteran Army National Guard officer and former commander of the Big Island’s 2nd Infantry Battalion, 29th Infantry Brigade, retire on July 16, 1967 in Hilo, He received his second award of the Hawai‘i National Guard Commendation Meal during the retirement ceremonies.
Colonel McEldowney endured more that 28 years active and reserve service, including nearly 20 years with the Guard,
His son, Robert Shiel, 22, carrying on the military tradition in the family, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in June. Following additional training at Fort Benning, Georgia, the younger McEldowney, a lieutenant, will be assigned to the 11th Infantry Brigade at Schofield Barracks in November.
Other children included daughters, Lois, 20, Phyllis, 15, and Janis, 8.
Colonel McEldowney is a 1934 graduate of Leilehua High School on O‘ahu.
In 1940, he graduated from the University of Hawai‘i with a bachelor of science degree in sugar technology. He received his commission as a second lieutenant at the University in June 1939 as a member of ROTC. He taught ROTC for a year there.
Two days after Pearl Harbor he was called to active duty, serving in Hawai‘i and the South Pacific. He saw action at Guadalcanal, He was released from active duty as a mayor in May 1946.
Interestingly enough, it was in Hawaii that McEldowney received a medal for heroic action, when he saved a drowning soldier off Makapu‘u Point, O‘ahu in April 1943. For this, he was awarded the Soldiers Medal.
His other award and service ribbons include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Asiatic-Pacific Theater Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal.
Last year he was awarded his first Hawai‘i National Guard Commendation Medal for outstanding leadership and dedicated service. Colonel McEldowney also holds the Hawai‘i National Guard Service Medal for 20 years of Guard service.
Colonel McEldowney wrote the history of the activated 298th Regimental Combat Team, 1943-1945. This 58-page document has maps and photographs and was published in December 2007.
As you make your to-do list to wrap up the year, don’t forget to include checking on your retirement portfolio.
There are several moves you can make now to help boost your savings and set yourself up for a good year ahead.
“There are a handful of items that are sensitive to year end,” said certified financial planner John Roland, partner and private wealth advisor at Beyond Financial Advisors, an affiliate of Northwestern Mutual Private Client Group based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
“It’s an opportunity you can’t get back.”
Whether they are time sensitive or just make good sense, these strategies can help strengthen and optimize your retirement savings.
The Kūkā‘ilimoku is the official e-newsletter of the 154th Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard. The first issue came in September 1957 and continues as an e-newsletter today.
Today we feature the December 1987 Kūkā‘ilimoku issue. This issue includes the following stories:
* New 199th Fighter Squadron commander: Harold “Shaka” Schatz
* Commander’s Yuletide Messages
* CAM Sq. News & Views
* Promotions: include Irenio Mateo, Sherilyn Wong
* HANG Awards Banquet
From the U.S. News & World Report website
Paying for medical care is a major consideration when transitioning into retirement. Some health related expenses are simple to predict and can be factored into your budget, such as paying insurance premiums. However, health care costs can also be unexpected, and paying the resulting bills can be challenging.
Some of the highest medical costs to expect in retirement include:
* Insurance premiums
* Assisted living
* Nursing home care
* Home health assistance
* Dental expenses
* Vision costs
* Prescription drugs
Retiree News received word that Howard Hironaka, who supervised the life support section for many years passed away yesterday. Under his leadership, his section always excelled during inspections.
We will post Howard’s obituary when the information becomes available.
We will post Howard’s obituary when the information becomes available.
Retiree News extends heartfelt sympathy to Howard’s family and friends.
Special thanks to Billy Chang who shared this sad news with Retiree News
Eli Ichishita served as the Department of Defense’s State Personnel Officer for many years. On August 9, 2021, there was a retirement luncheon at Hee Hing Restuarant. Among the many people there were (clockwise from the upper left): James Townsend, Ronald Han, Emerick Kaneshi, and Timothy Fujino.
Squashed, spread too thin, nothing left. This is not how you want your lunch described, but for those who are part of the “sandwich generation,” these descriptions are all too accurate.
The sandwich generation is defined as those who are caught in the middle of both parents and children who rely on them for financial, physical and emotional support. During the COVID-19 pandemic, record numbers of adult children are moving back home while elderly parents may need more care, leaving those in the middle to make difficult choices between saving for their own retirement, funding education or living expenses for children, and paying for the health care needs of aging parents.
Nearly 1 in 5 people with hypertension may be unintentionally taking a drug for another condition that causes their blood pressure to climb even higher, a new study suggests.
Left untreated or undertreated, high blood pressure will increase your risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and vision problems by damaging blood vessels. Lifestyle changes such as weight loss, restricting salt intake, and/or medication can help move your blood pressure numbers back into the normal range. But asking your doctor whether any drugs you are taking for other conditions might be pushing those numbers up is worth the effort, the researchers said.
We recognize December 13th as the birthday of the National Guard. On this date in 1636, the first militia regiments in North America were organized in Massachusetts. Based upon an order of the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s General Court, the colony’s militia was organized into three permanent regiments to better defend the colony.
Today, the descendants of these first regiments – the 181st Infantry, the 182nd Infantry, the 101st Field Artillery, and the 101st Engineer Battalion of the Massachusetts Army National Guard – share the distinction of being the oldest units in the U.S. military. December 13, 1636, thus marks the beginning of the organized militia, and the birth of the National Guard’s oldest organized units is symbolic of the founding of all the state, territory, and District of Columbia militias that collectively make up today’s National Guard.
Celebrating 385 years as a National Guard, we reflect upon the legacy of all our predecessors, and focus on living up to ourselves as we work towards our mutual goal of being Always Ready, Always There.
Off the Hawaii Air National Guard Facebook page
It takes nothing less than a world-class team to push out more than 45 fighter sorties within a single duty day, and that’s exactly what the Total Force Airmen from the 154th and 15th Wings did during this week’s Sortie Surge.
Maintenance personnel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam have demonstrated sheer mastery of their craft, which enabled the Hawaiian Raptors to succeed in this historic endeavor.
Aviators and leaders on every level are taking home invaluable on-the-job training from this week’s Surge, targeted for risk management and mitigation and enhanced lethality throughout the force.
“The Hawaiian Raptors’ maintenance leads the CAF (Combat Air Force),” said Col. Shane ‘Nuke’ Nagatani, 154th Operations Group commander, “and it’s because of this that we lead the CAF in F-22 experience and combat readiness.”
The Kūkā‘ilimoku is the official e-newsletter of the 154th Wing, Hawai’i Air National Guard. The first issue came in September 1957 and continues as a monthly newsletter today.
Today we feature the December 2012 Kūkā‘ilimoku issue. This issue includes the following stories:
+ Hometown Heroes Honored
+ HIANG Command Chief selected for NGB post
+ Promotions: including Ryan Ortega, Seth Johnson
+ 154th Force Support Squadron Stand Up Ceremony
Market conditions are pressuring the 4% rule, a popular rule of thumb for retirees to determine how much money they can live on each year without fear of running out later.
Withdrawing money from one’s nest egg is among the most complex financial exercises for households. There are many unknowns — the length of retirement, one’s spending needs (health costs, for example) and investment returns, to name a few.
The 4% rule is meant to yield a consistent stream of annual income, and give seniors a high degree of comfort that their funds will last over a 30-year retirement.
From the Medical News Today website
When a person has heart palpitations, they may notice that their heartbeat does not feel right. Often, heart palpitations are not serious, but they can indicate a condition that needs medical attention.
People are not usually aware of their heartbeat, but sometimes, it comes to their notice. This may be because their heart is pounding too hard, too fast, too slow, or irregularly.
From the Yahoo Finance website
In the early morning hours of Saturday, November 13, 2021, Captain Gerald L. “Jerry” Coffee, USN (Ret.) received “final orders.” Surrounded by loved ones, he left for heaven at his condo in Alexandria, VA, where he and his wife, Susan, his partner and wife of 27 years, lived parttime.
Jerry Coffee believed in the invincibility of the human spirit. He battled dozens of serious medical challenges and always miraculously bounced back. He lived a long and amazing life of inspiration, incredible adventure, and family love. His military decorations include the Silver Star, two awards of the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars, the Air Medal, two Purple Hearts, and the Vietnam Service Medal with 13 stars. He was 87.
Jerry Coffee was a friend of the Hawaii Air National Guard. While in uniform, his unit flew against the 199th Fighter Squadron. He made several presentations to HIANG members of over the years.
Related:
Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox: Jerry Coffee (2014)
Gerald Coffee: Beyond Survival Keynote
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