Nine National Guardsmen from Hawaii were added to the Medal of Honor Gallery last night at the National Guard Memorial in Washington, D.C. The nine include eight who fought in World War II and one who saw action in the Korean War.
All had been awarded Distinguished Service Crosses, but the awards were later upgraded to the nation’s highest military honor. The World War II veterans were upgraded in 2000 and the Korean War veteran’s status was upgraded in 2011.
Lt. Col. Mark Takai of the Hawaii National Guard Association said a few words at the ceremony. A plaque with the nine names will be unveiled by Maj. Gen. Darryll Wong, the Adjutant General of Hawaii.
The Medal of Honor recipients from World War II are Pvt. Mikio Hasemoto, Pvt. Shizuya Hayashi, Tech. Sgt. Yeiki Kobashigawa, Pfc. Kaoru Moto, Pvt. Masato Nakae, Pvt. Shinyei Nakamine, Capt. Francis Brown Wai and Staff Sgt. Allan M. Ohata.
The Korean War veteran honored is Pfc. Anthony T. Kahoohanohano.
The Medal of Honor Gallery in the NGAUS headquarters is administered by the National Guard Educational Foundation.
Representative Tulsi Gabbard has named retired Air Force Colonel Walt Kaneakua, who most recently served as military liaison for Senator Mazie Hirono, to be her Hawaii district director.
Kaneakua, a former Aloha Airlines pilot who served 27 years of active-duty service with the Air Force and the Hawaii Air National Guard, also served as the late Senator Daniel Inouye’s executive assistant for military affairs in Washington, D.C.
“I am proud to announce Walt Kaneakua has joined my team as the Hawaii district director, bringing with him 32 years of public service and experience,” Gabbard, D-Hawaii, said in a statement. “His deep commitment to serving Hawaii and our country, as well as his thorough knowledge of military, economic and Hawaiian affairs, will serve our constituents well as we constantly work toward addressing Hawaii’s key priorities and needs.”
Taken from a Pacific Business News website post. http://ow.ly/t2CqT
Representative Gabbard’s press release: http://ow.ly/t2CXx
Last year, Stephen Lum of the department’s Public Affairs Office completed a photo gallery recognizing the eighteen individuals who served as Hawai‘i’s adjutants general through the years. Each photo includes short biography of officer. This photo gallery is in the hallway outside the Adjutant General’s office here at the State Headquarters.
Special thanks to Steve for another superb job.
To share Steve’s hard work, we will post one of the photos each week. This week’s photo features Hawai‘i’s fourteenth Adjutant General, Major General Alexis Lum.
click on photograph to enlarge
The National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force has finished hearing testimony and will have its report ready for the president and Congress on Feb. 1.
Thanks to these Retiree News readers who registered to “Follow Blog via Email”: Bert Yanagida, Les Bise, Celia Espinosa, Jim Drake & Gayle Seiflen, Moises Felipe
Thanks for the following new registered readers whose email address did not include a recognizable name: soraoka.ohana, boxa8627
If portion control is part of your diet struggle, the best tool you have to judge whether there’s too much food on your plate is one you already have with you: Your hand. This graphic shows you how to judge servings of meat, pasta, even butter with your hand and fingers. Read more http://ow.ly/sMgCg
As the Iraq and Afghanistan wars wind down, the active army is struggling with organizational structure and manning. General Ray Ordierno has made disparaging remarks about the Army National Guard. In the Army’s proposed restructuring, they want to take the Arm,y Guard’s aviation assets and missions. The following is a NGAUS article about two congress members rebuttal. Be sure to use the link to read their entire letter.
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Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who are co-chairs of the House National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, also doubt the accuracy of some of Gen. Ray T. Odierno’s remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Odierno said the Army Guard and active-component Army are not interchangeable and claimed the Guard trains only 39 days a year compared to a full year of training by the active force.
Hunter, a former Marine still serving in the Marine Corps Reserve, and Walz, who retired as a command sergeant major after 24 years in the Army Guard, sent a letter Thursday to Odierno and Gen. Frank J. Grass, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, who spoke at the press club two days after Odierno.
They called Odierno’s remarks about training days “disingenuous,” adding, “From our own personal experience, we know for a fact that while 39 days may be the minimum that individuals will train, there are significant other training activities that take place that put the total number of training days upwards of 90 to 100 days in some cases.”
Plus, they wrote, active-component troops train about 200 days annually, not year-round, as Odierno said. The entire letter can be read here: http://www.ngaus.org/sites/default/files/Hunter_Walz_Odierno_Grass_Final.pdf.
They also noted the cost savings in an Army Guard infantry brigade. The annual cost to maintain and deploy a Guard brigade is $163 million, compared to $285 million for an active-component unit, they wrote.
Hunter and Walz reminded the two generals that the final decision on these issues rests in Congress.
Even with Medicare and Medigap coverage, most people will run up hefty out-of-pocket bills. Read more http://ow.ly/sMgm4
Jeffrey Tsuyoshi “Sumo” Namihira, 54, of Aiea, a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines, and a Hawaii Air National Guard retiree, passed away on January 15, 2015 at Pali Momi Medical Center. He was born in Hilo.
He is survived by wife Robyn K., sons Lance T. Namihira and Braeden Nakamoto, daughter Carly A., mother Shige and brothers Danny and Bruce.
Visitation: 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary. Services: 6 p.m. Aloha attire. No flowers.
Read the January issue of National Guard, the official publication of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) at http://ow.ly/sOYJw
Features: Something in Washington That Works Think nothing is getting done in the nation’s capital? Think again. NGAUS had a productive 2013 and is set to do the same thing this year. By Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett (Ret.) Virtual Payoff Increasingly realistic simulators are saving training time and dollars, both of which are now at a premium. By William Matthew A Source of Pride GUARD ROOTS: Harry S. Truman said he was as proud of his National Guard service as he was of being president. By Darrin HaasAttention civil service annuitants. You may have heard or read about a Reduction in Force (RIP) at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM sent out the following email yesterday concerning how the RIP would affect your OPM’s retirement services.
From: “Gardner, Philip K” <Philip.Gardner@OPM.GOV> Subject: Retirement Processing Unaffected by OPM HR Solutions RIF Date: January 23, 2014 at 10:06:28 HST To: BENEFITSINFO@LISTSERV.OPM.GOV Reply-To: “Gardner, Philip K” <Philip.Gardner@OPM.GOV>Good afternoon – I’m sure many of you have read the story in the Government Executive about layoffs in OPM’s HR Solutions and a number of you have contacted us about the impact on retirement services and processing. HR Solutions is one of OPM service centers, Retirement Services is a different center. The RIF that is occurring in HR Solutions will not have an adverse effect on or otherwise impact Retirement Service’s processing of claims or other retirement services that we provide.
Sincerely,
Phil Gardner, Acting Manager Benefits Officers Liaison and Development Benefits Officers Training and Development Retirement Services Office: (202) 606-8083 Mobile: (202) 658-9293 Fax: (202) 606-1108
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Brigadier General Bryan Suntheimer received his stars in a pinning ceremony in the Governor’s Ceremonial Room on Friday, January 17, 2014. Doing the honors were Governor Neil Abercrombie and his wife, Marisa Burgess-Suntheimer. The general’s family members, Ashlee, Emily, Tyler and Caitlyn were present for the ceremony. (the child was not identified)
click on photograph to enlarge
Congratulations to Brig Gen Michael Compton on his new assignment at Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) as the Air National Guard Assistant to Commander, Pacific Air Forces.
General Compton currently services as the Strategic Planning and Policy Mobilization Assistant, United States Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Hawaii.
Compton is a distinguished military graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia where he received a regular Air Force commission. He is a graduate of Euro-Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, Air Command and Staff College, Air War College and Advanced Joint Professional Military Education. General Compton holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering from the University of South Carolina.
He was the Chief of the conversion office to create the first classic associate unit in the Air National Guard and was also the first Hawaii Air National Guard environmental officer, electronic combat pilot and Air Force civil engineer. General Compton is a Captain for Hawaiian Airlines.
Retiree News will post information about General Compton’s major general pinning ceremony when it becomes available.
One year ago today, Retiree News Hawai‘i as a website began with it’s first posting. A year later, the website approaches 575 postings with over 40,000 views.
While the majority of readers are from the United States, the statistics provided by WordPress indicate that readers from 45 other countries have logged on and viewed postings. Many are former Hawai‘i National Guard members who are serving away from Hawai‘i or who relocated after retiring or leaving the Hawai‘i Guard.
Special thanks goes to those readers like Bob Inouye, Billy Chang, Steve Lum and many others, who send information and photographs for postings.
Anyone can send in event information for posting. Retiree News is especially looking for information about retirement luncheons and other organizational events.
Retiree News is soliciting two other things – old photos (with names) to post and updates from retirees and former members about their current situation. Everyone enjoys these articles. Send to Retireenews@gmail.com.
As we begin our second year, there will be continued improvement to better serve our Retiree News readers. And please email feedback to help us improve.
Humbled to serve as your webmaster.
