ISLE NATIONAL GUARD UNIT ACTIVATED

(Honolulu Star Bulletin/ April 11)

On April 11th, 1968 the people of Hawaii opened their evening newspapers and were met with the above headline.

The Hawaii National Guard had been called to active duty the first time since World War II.

The 29th Infantry Brigade under the command of Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer III reported to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii on May 13th with 187 officers, 21 warrant officers, and 2,760 enlisted men to begin their Federal active service.

Units affected by the call-up included: Headquarters and Head quarters Company, 29th Infantry Brigade; 29th General Support Aviation Platoon; 227th Engineer Company; 1st Battalion , 487th Artillery; 1st Battalion, 299th Infantry ; 2d Battalion, 299th Infantry; and the 29th Support Battalion.

The May 13th call-up of the 29th Infantry Brigade also involved some 20,000 other Army, Navy, and Air Force Reservists on the mainland. Although there was some early criticism expressed over Hawaii’s share of the call-up being larger than the national average, this eventually subsided as the 29th worked day and nigh to prepare themselves for Federal service.

The activation of the 29th Infantry Brigade affected not only the Guardsman and his immediate family but also the community as well. Doctors, lawyers, policemen, postmen all reported for duty with the 29th.

– 1968 Annual Report pp.9

MAKING HISTORY

The activation of our 29th Infantry Brigade has been the major event in the recent history of the Hawaii National Guard. As I have indicated by other means, the general reaction to this order to active duty was a matter of pleasure and pride to me personally and to all of us of the Hawaii National Guard. It clearly demonstrated a strong sense of duty and an acceptance of our inherent obligations as citizen soldiers which has always been one of the strengths of our country. This came at a time when a few of our citizens seem to feel no such sense of duty or obligation so it was particularly heartwarming. I respect every man’s honest convictions and conscience even though I may think his judgment in error. We all desire peace in this turbulent world of ours, no less than those who are protesting the draft or the Vietnam war. I, however, can have no great sympathy for the individual who voluntarily joins a Reserve force, draws pay for his service and upon order to active duty decides that he has reasons, other than valid physical or hardship ones, for not responding.

One of my very difficult tasks during the period prior to activation was that of granting or denying requested delays or exemptions from the order to active duty for hardship reasons. l and my board of officers have attempted to be compassionate but at the same time have been required to obtain full proof that extreme hardship condition as defined in regulations actually listed or would be caused if the member were ordered to active duty. Many members have suffered family and financial hardship to some degree and this I regret, but I regret most strongly the action we felt we had to take with regard to those whose hardship conditions came quite close, but not close enough, in meeting the requirements. I will hope that our communities, individual friends and all of us will do what we can to help ease the
serious hardship situations. I will further hope that the satisfaction to the individual in knowing he is serving his country will least to some degree counterbalance the difficulties he must face.

All members of the 29th Infantry Brigade have my best wishes during their active duty tour. I know that they will be a credit the Hawaii National Guard and to all citizens of the State of Hawaii.

– 1968 Summer The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 2

THEY AREN’T IRREPLACEABLE, BUT . . . THE CALLUP From A Reporter’s Viewpoint

by Wallace C. Mitchell

Man by man, Guardsmen reported for active duty on May 13. They walked off planes and trucks out of civilian life and into military life.

The 29th Infantry Brigade and the 100th Battalion had been summoned to do what they were organized and trained to do. Once the impact of the President’s callup a month earlier had passed, there was little real surprise among the troops that they had been tapped. The Brigade was a Special Reserve Force, honed in extra drill for just such a fire call. The Battalion long had prided itself on its showings in such field tests as Coral Sands on Molokai.

Initially there had been some grumbling that Hawaii had been called on to produce more troops than its small population warranted, in contrast to more heavily populated states, but that failed to catch fire in editorial comment, or to foment public indignation meetings. Actually, there was considerable evidence of community pride in the contribution it was making to the country.

There is no question but what the call-up had and will continue to have sharp impact on the state. You cannot take 3,600 men from a community the size of the state of Hawaii without it being felt. There were some executives called, of course, but most of the soldiers were the foot soldiers of the business community. Most are young and were training to move up and take positions of responsibilities and leadership. They are the men whose jobs are the working gears of a retail store, a sugar mill, a plantation, a used car lot, a supermarket. They aren’t irreplaceable but they are hard to replace.

Just as important as the economic impact is the social impact of taking 3,600 men temporarily away from the community.

Churches lost Sunday School teachers. Little League teams lost coaches. There were gaps left in bowling and golf clubs, in fishing partnerships, in Boy Scout and Cub Scout leadership ranks. Most Guardsmen participate in various community endeavors. They belong to the Jaycees and work on committees and they belong to religious and fraternal groups and contribute. Those contributions will now be missing for two years and they won’t be easy to replace. They just might not be replaced, either.

There also is the impact on the community of the loss of their contribution to the economic wellbeing of their individual comm unities Honokaa, Kohala, Pahoa, Kaunakakai. The families they left behind, to be sure, will continue to buy groceries and gasoline for the car and make the mortgage payments. Ask the man who runs a bowling alley if he’s felt a difference in his monthly receipts since the 29th was called up. Ask the guy who has a lease on a gas station or the one that has a small tavern. The family car doesn’t use as much gas, these days. The tavern-keeper dowsn’t pull as much beer as he did, say, In March. The bowling alley operator has had to help teams patch out their lineups to keep leagues going With the man of the family away and in many cases, the family income shrunk, there’s a difference in shopping practices, too. Ask any supermarket manager. He is noticing a difference.

But probably the big impact is on the people left back home. neighbor has something go wrong with his car, and mutters, “Che-ee, Kekoa could fix ’em.” A church or a temple has an annual pancake breakfast. “David K – always handled that – I don’t know.” A PTA president discovers that attendance at meetings has drop off, wonders why, then remembers Charles isn’t around to make those telephone calls or drop a reminders during his rounds on the bakery truck for people to get to the school for the meeting.

These are the spots where the impact is felt. Three-thousand, six hundred men whose contributions
were little or lots, noticed and unnoticed, important or routine, now are not around to do the things they were doing.

When you walked off that plane or hopped down from that truck there may have been a temptation mutter, “Well, here I am.” And not think about the holes in the community fabric that have been left.

Tʻ aint so. They’re there until you return.

Wallace C. Mitchell is military writer for the Honolulu Advertiser. He has been. writing about people all of his newspaper career. He had a brief apprenticeship with United Press before entering the Navy and spending nearly four years on carriers in the South pacific. He then spent 17 years with the Cowles publications, principally the Minneapolis Star, as a political writer. This included assignments to Hawaii with which he developed a love affair and took the next plane when asked to be the Advertiser’s political writer in 1962. He was given a commutation of sentence from that, prowled about in oceanography and special features until taking on the military beat. His son is a Vietnam veteran, now at the University of Hawaii on Operation Bootstrap; a daughter is at the University of Buffalo and another daughter is in a theatre workshop in upstate New York. His wife is a curriculum specialist for the Honolulu district, Department of Education.

– 1968 Summer The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 2-5

The 29th Reports For Active Duty

by Captain Bob Bean

For the first time in 28 years, the Hawaii Army National Guard has been called to active duty. The 29th Infantry Brigade was selected for this honor because it is the best in the nation.

Early in the morning on April 11 word was received from Washington by Major General Benjamin J. Webster, the Adjutant General, that the 29th had been ordered to active duty effective May 13 for a period not to exceed 24 months.

The Brigade has since been designated as the Pacific’s Strategic Reserve Force. This means the brigade may be deployed anywhere in the Pacific or may remain at Schofield.

The 29th Brigade was part of more than 24,000 Army and Air Guardsmen mobilized because of the Viet Nam conflict.

The National Guard will have contributed about 62% of the 39,387 personnel in the two mobilizations so far in 1968 to meet the challenges of the Viet Nam conflict. An additional call-up may occur before July 1.

The President had announced on March 31 a selective recall of reserve components, and the next day, April 1, the Pentagon announced plans for a call-up of 60,000 members of the reserve forces, of whom less than 20,000 would be sent to Viet Nam, the rest reconstituting the Strategic Reserve. The call was to come in two increments, the first of which would mobilize some 14,000 to 16,000 men within a short time period.

Shortly afterwards, the Nation was rocked by the rioting in 125 cities which followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. The first increment call-up was delayed until April 11, when the 29th was ordered to active duty.

The April mobilization involved 12,867 Army Guardsmen in 81 units from 17 States, including two separate infantry brigades, Hawaii’s and Kansas’ 69th. All of the Army Guard units were SRF.

The 29th Infantry Brigade, also part of the Army’s Selected Reserve Force (SRF), a force formed in November 1965 of certain selected units in the National Guard, was brought to peak strength and readiness before being called to active duty. The unit also received additional training and equipment to make them combat ready.

All units of the Brigade that were called-up are located in Hawaii. Three units attached to the Brigade are located in California. These units however, were not called up with the Brigade.

In addition to the 29th Brigade being called-up the United States Army Reserve’s 100th Battalion of the 442nd Infantry was ordered to active duty. The 100th became the third battalion of the 29th but will retain its designation as the 100th Battalion.

The call to active duty touched off a chain reaction of events.

All Brigade personnel had to be officially notified, personnel records had to be closed out, ID card had to be issued, not only to Brigade members, but also their dependents, photographs had to be taken and medical examinations had to be conducted on all those people who had not had one for 12 months or more. In addition, orders had to be published, equipment packed, field gear and personal equipment inspected and packed into duffle bags, and forms had to be signed. Endless miles and miles of forms.

It seems that nothing can be done in the Army without a form. If you want to go home at night, sign a pass and when you come back in the morning, sign yet another form.

All of these forms and other paper work must be done by someone so the midnight oil burned in every armory window getting things ready for M Day, May 13.

While all the forms were being filled out and the equipment was being packed, three teams of Army Guard officers conducted personal affairs briefings for all members of the 29th Brigade and their dependents throughout the state. The briefings were conducted for over two weeks to insure all the people involved had a chance to attend.

The briefings for the Guardsmen called to active duty and their families covered such things as pay and allowances, insurance, power of attorney, wills, reemployment rights, soldiers and sailors civil Relief Act, and property and automobile ownership.

And so M Day arrived and it was time to bid Aloha to the National guard and become part of the United States Army. On Monday, May 13, several thousand friends and relatives attended farewell ceremonies for the Hawaii Army National Guardsmen and Army reservist at Fort DeRussy, Honolulu.

Top military and civilian leaders were on hand for the 0830 ceremony at Fort DeRussy’s Kuroda Field.

Heading the list of dignitaries Hawaii’s Governor John A. Burns; Honolulu Mayor Neal Blaisdell; Lieutenant General Edgar C. Doleman, deputy commander, U.S. army, Pacific; Major General Benjamin J. Webster, Adjutant General, Hawaii; Major General Roy Lassetter, Jr., Commanding General, U.S. Army, Hawaii; and Senator Daniel Inouye, to name just a few.

Commanding the troops was the newly appointed Commanding General of the 29th Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer III. General Schaefer took command of the Brigade when current regulations forced an early retirement for Brigadier General Francis S. Takemoto. General Takemoto had commanded the Brigade since 1965.

The Aloha ceremony included a fly-by of a flight of Hawaii Air National Guard F-102’s and an orchid flower drop by helicopters from the Hawaii Army National Guard’s Aviation Platoon.

Although the 29th Infantry Brigade is now a part of the regular Army it will always be remembered as the Hawaii Guard unit, the unit that has always been known as the best.

Photos by SPS Harold Higashi and SP4 Paul Chun

– 1968 Summer The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 7-10

“M” DAY IN HAWAII

by Major General F. W. Makinney (Ret) Former Adjutant General, State of Hawaii 1946-1962

The Hawaii Army National guard and the Army Reserve had its first Mobilization Day since World War II, on May 13, 1968 with the call-up to active duty of the 29th Infantry Brigade and the 100th Battalion of the 442nd Army Reserve. The call-up announced by the Secretary of Defense in April, comprised approximately 24,500 reservist. The National Guard was called upon to furnish the bulk of the combat forces which included the 29th Infantry Brigade, and the 69th Infantry Brigade of the Kansas National Guard.

The 29th was organized in January of 1959, from units of the 299th Regimental Combat Team and the 298th Artillery Group. All of these units were outstanding with excellent training records and so the 29th. had a good start. Later, it was classified as one of the ready reserve force, which gave them additional armory training periods and receipt of the latest equipment. At the mobilization ceremony one couId not help but have a great feeling of admiration for the guardsmen and reservist who responded to the call-up. There is no doubt that there are many members who must undergo hardship in pay and maintaining their families while in active service. There is no question as to their dedication, knowing that the call•up was necessary and their units were needed to bolster the military readiness of our country.

I was impressed with the enthusiasm displayed by the individual guardsman and reservist. I could sense a strong feeling of patriotism, a feeling which seemed to be lacking in Hawaii the past year due to the demonstrations and dissenters of the Vietnam War.

activities of the protestors and

I extend my best wishes to Brigadier General Francis S. Takemoto, former Commander of the 29th, for a long and happy retirement period and congratulations to Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer, III for his assignment as Commanding General, 29th Infantry Brigade. To the officers and men, my best wishes for continued success, during your active duty period. Whatever your assignment will be following this period, I know it will be carried out with professionalism and from the best tradition of the Hawaii National Guard.

– 1968 Summer The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 11

IT’S HISTORY NOW

by PFC Ed Smith, 29th Brigade

The activation of the 29th Infantry Brigade and attached units on May 13 has been amply recorded in History.

The tears, the determination and duty which accompanied the callup are now, however, part of the past. The 29th Brigade, Hawaii National Guard is now the 29th Brigade, United States Army. No longer can the men of the 29th be dubbed ” weekend warriors” they’re full time soldiers doing a full time job . .. and doing it well.

The months since May 13 have served as a period of adjustment for the men of the brigade. On both personal and unit levels the Brigade has matured. The change from civilian to military life is a difficult one at best. For the 29th is adaptation couldn’t be slow and gradual. The 29th came on active duty at a full run … going immediately into an intensive 120 day training period.

One day a man was enjoying civilian leisure, the next he was climbing a mountain in the Koolaus sweating under rifle and full pack. The going for the past few months has been rough. Each man and each unit was faced with a challenge. Now the challenges have been met and the brigade is ready for what the future may bring.

A great deal had to be done. Each man was faced with the personal task of adjusting to his new way of life. This he did . . . with an ingenuity common only to man.

When first called to active duty the men of the 29th often inadvertently referred to their duty as “summer camp”. This phrase is seldom heard now. Most men have come to realize by now that this ain’t “summer camp. “

One PFC in the 1st Battalion commented that he had caught himself using the phrase. “I told myself this wasn’t summer camp but I really couldn’t believe it until I had KP about the third time. Then I believed it.”

A basic problem the men faced was adjusting to military hours. Especially the very early reville during the training period. SP4 Allan Araki of Company A, 29th Support Battalion had little confidence at first in his ability to climb out of the sack at 0430 in the morning. “I had to use two alarm clocks just to be sure I’d wake up in time,” he yawned, “now I only use one.”

Men living in the barracks have had this problem solved for them. A PFC in the 100th Battalion noted that he’s had no problem at all. “When the time comes, the lights go on and things start happening. Someone hollers, ‘Hey, get up,’ You just can’t sleep through all that.”

Sergeant Willaim Atiz, squad leader in Company B, 2nd Battalion has got the best deal of all. “My wife gets up early and wakes me up,” he said proudly.

Another problem which has faced the men of the 29th Brigade is the pay cut they took when they stepped into army greens on a full time basis. Many drawing top wages in civilian life, and were living accordingly . . . on the time payment -plan, naturally.

However, some of the men took the drop in pay in their stride. “I lost some money but gained some benefits,” explained lSG Dick Spargo from California now serving the 40th Aviation Company.

Other men found that their wives were willing to help out with the family financing. “I wanted to work. It helps in two ways. First we can use the money and second, it keeps me busy while my husband’s away,” one new Army wife explained.

PFC Lewis Swain, now serving in Company B, 2nd Battalion commented on his situation. ” I dropped considerable salary but since my wife went to work we’ll make out okay.”

For some of the men financial struggles are nothing new. “Heck, I was struggling before I came in.
This is nothing new for me,” noted SP4 Bob Bailey from Hilo, Hawaii.

Another soldier echoed the sentiments of many of his fellows. “Right now I just about break even financially. The thing I realy look forward to is getting the GI Bill when I get out. That will help a lot.”

Army chow for any group requires a bit of getting used to. Over 700 “filler” personnel from the mainland joined the brigade beginning in late June. These men, individually called-up reservists from all over the United States, were almost universally accustomed to potatoes. On the other hand, the native Hawaiian troops prefer rice. Naturally rice is seen quite often in the mess halls.

When the cooks serve rice the “fillers” moan and when potatoes are on the menu the “islanders” moan. However, the problem has not gotten out of hand.

One “filler” from the mainland immediately after moaning over his serving of rice said, “I don’t know why I complain. I like rice . . . eat it at home all the time.”

The infamous C-rations have resulted in some comment from the men. A typical comment came from a SP4 in the 1st Battalion. “I haven’t lost any weight and I can’t understand it. When I’m in the field I’m on a C-ration diet. They must be right about them, but I don’t see how.”

Trading the relative freedom of civilian life for the regimentation of military life has created some minor individual problems. Most of the men of the 29th are near their homes and passes are awarded freely when the men are in from the field.

Other aspects of Army regimentation are the inevitable lines, the shining of brass and polishing boots.

However, for some of the men this is old stuff. “I didn’t have to adjust to this sort of thing. I’ve been doing it for 22 years now,” one Sergeant said.

SP4 Bob Bailey mentioned that he didn’t mind these extra military duties. “Actually you have a lot time on your hands for this sort stuff. As long as I have something to do I won’t go out and spending money. Shining boots is something to do and besides, we all get together and talk about home.”

One more aspect of the change from civilian to military life is the usual break in social relations at home. For many of the islanders this is no problem at all and many of the mainland troops find this little difficulty.

A sergeant who recently arrived from the mainland commented he had no problem in this respect for most of his close friends had been in the Guard with him and were now in Hawaii.

“Most of my friends are right here,” explained PFC Lewis Swain, a Hawaiian. His situation is typical within the brigade.

SP4 Clyde Matsunage of HHC 2nd Battalion commented that he liked the social situation. “It’s pretty good. We are really in an unusual situation. All the island boys are here together.”

The influx of “filler” personnel brought a single unique problem Unfortunately mainland ears are not normally attuned to local pidgin spoken by many of island troops. A few problems developed but they were soon overcome.

A Hawaiian soldier from Hilo explained as he chewed a bit of tentacle that he couldn’t make the mainland boys understand what was saying at first.

“Now I try to use my best English when I talk to the mainland boys . . . if I throw in pidgin they’ll be lost.” he grinned

Another Hawaiian soldier speaking with a strong Harvard accent said, “I can turn off-mee-pidgeen-eny-teem.”

The “fillers” are gradually becoming more able to pick the various words out of the island brogue. However, they haven’t been totally successful and can appreciate the islanders efforts to make themselves understood.

One “filler” serving in the 29th support Battalion mentioned that he noticed when he enters a conversation with several island boys they courteously convert to their islandd “Harvard” so he could understand.

over the past few months a great many changes have taken place in the 29th Infantry Brigade. The brigade has undergone a period of adjustment”. The men are growing as men and learning as soldiers. They have made the best of a tough situation and some have even enjoyed it

– 1968 Fall The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 3-5

Massad Visits 298th Group, 29th Brigade And 169th ACW Squadron

Defense Department and National Guard officials praised the training and morale of the 29th Infantry Brigade during a visit here.

Ernest L. Massad, deputy assistant secretary of defense (Reserve Affairs), stated that the brigade is “doing a wonderful job.”

Stating that the brigade “has a real mission to perform,” Mr. Massad said, “I am proud of them.”

He was accompanied to Schofield Barracks by Major General Francis S. Greenlief, deputy chief of the National Guard Bureau.

Together they visited troops on post and in the field to learn first hand what the men themselves felt about their callup to active duty.

After visiting one day with the 29th, Mr. Massad then spent the next with the 298th Artillery Group and the 169th ACW Squadron.

– 1968 Fall The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 11

THEY DON’T LOOK LIKE CIVILIANS ANYMORE

by SGT Ronald Fellows

“The men don’t look like civilians anymore.”

This comment was made recently by Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) during one of his visits to the 29th Inf Bde at Schofield Barracks.

Senator Inouye, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is one of several high-ranking visitors to observe the brigade in training.

What he has observed are former “weekend warriors” who have now been transformed into combat trained soldiers, ready to accept whatever assignment may be given them or the brigade.

The transformation has not been easy.

Training has been long and rigorous. It has not been uncommon to see the nights at Schofield lit up by sputtering flares drifting earthward from the sky, while in the background machine guns chattered and mortars and artillery played their “whump – whump” beat.

It has not been uncommon for troops to be up before dawn to tackle a field problem which lasted until midnight. And many times they would be in the field for days on end, getting grimy with dirt and dust, or soaked with rain – and bone tired.

For some men, the strain was even harder. From several hundred individual reservists called up from mobilization pools, a great number had not experienced even weekend training or “summer camp” in some time.

The 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, formerly of the Army Reserve, operated under this handicap. Unlike the rest of the brigade battalions, it had not been part of the Selected Reserve Force and had not received the more intensified training of the National Guard. The 100th reported with less than half its authorized combat strength and had to build from many individual reserves called from the mobilization pools.

Also included in the filler group were soldiers transfered from the 4th Brigade, 6th Infantry Division, which was inactivated after the National Guard and Reserve call up.

As the fillers arrived from throughout the country – from Puerto Rico to Alaska – the brigade began to fill out. Training became more intense, and the ragegdness of “civilian-soldiers” began to wear off. The men were becoming professionals.

Training began with the individual soldier – weapons qualifications and use of individual equipment, such as the gas mask. From there, they moved into unit training, beginning with squad tactics and moving into platoon, company, and battalion exercises.

New equipment was received from the beginning, including some which had not been deployed outside North America. Among them were the M551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance/ Airborne Assault Vehicle, used by Troop E, 19th Cavalry, which fires either conventional shells or heat-seeking guided missiles; the awesome Combat Engineer Vehicle of the 227th Engineer Company, which is a combination bulldozer, crane, and mechanized artillery piece of fashioned around the chassis of an M60 tank; or the M728 Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge, also of the 227th Engineers, a folding bridge mounted on the chassis of an M60 tank which can scissor out 60 feet to span rivers and gullies. The chassis can detach itself from the bridge, cross over the span, and pick it up again.

Battalion Army Training Tests were administered in August and early September. Following this, the units then moved into jungle environmental activities. Emphasis was placed on jungle warfare and
guerrilla/counter guerrilla operations.

some units moved off Oahu for training and exercises at Pohakuloa Training Area on the island of Hawaii, where the mountain weather hits freezing at night and the sun blazes hot in the day.

Troop E, 19th Cavalry and 1st Battalion, 487th Artillery, saw much of this dusty, lava terrain on the slopes of Mauna Kea. Infantrymen too, got their taste of Pohakuloa. For men of 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry, it was familiar ground, because it was home ground to the former Big Island battalion. For others, it looked like the end of the world.

The Koolau mountains near Kahuku, Oahu, became as familiar to most of the infantrymen as their own back yard.

The combat-type preparations also pulled men and units closer together often for the first time.

First Battalion, 299th Infantry, whose National Guard units were scattered on three islands – Maui, Oahu, and Kauai – became a unified command.

The 40th Aviation Company, mobilized May 13 from California, was first attached to Headquarters. U.S. Army Hawaii. By mid-August, it was reassigned to the brigade, with the brigade’s General Support Platoon, 29th Aviation Company joining up with the 40th.

Another mainland unit, the 277th Military Intelligence Detachment from Phoenix, Arizona, was assigned to the brigade from the beginning and worked hand in hand with the local units.

Brigade headquarters and the 29th Support Battalion were able to unify their efforts in a way almost impossible during drill status. The Support Battalion had an almost herculean task in feeding, clothing, supplying and administering to the needs of the brigade. Its responsibilities included administration and records, finance, medical, legal, chaplains, supply and transportation, troop replacement, and maintenance.

The four months of training and hard work have changed the men who stood in ranks that May 13 at Fort DeRussy, when the brigade had its aloha send-off.

Whatever they may have looked like at first, “they don’t look like civilians anymore.”

– 1968 Fall The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 22-23

THREE THOUGHTS

My next subject has to do with the withdrawals of individuals from our 29th Infantry Brigade for assignment to Vietnam. As I write this article there have been a significant number alerted, although dates of reporting are staggered up to next June. I am certain that by the time this magazine is printed there will have been more. This has been expected but it will create some worry and varying degrees of hardship to the families involved. Our best wishes go with our Guardsmen who have been and will be called to serve in Vietnam, and to their families. We hope the honorable peace we seek will come soon but, whether it does or does not, we are certain that our Hawaii Guardsmen will serve proudly and well.

– 1968 Winter The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 2

EDITORIAL

On 4 August 1946, following the end of World War II, the Hawaii Army National Guard was reorganized under the direction of then, Brigadier General F. W. Makinney.

For 22 years the Hawaii National Guard, Army and Air grew. Grew in size, maturity, and reputation. The guard struggled through many rear. Organizations, from one type of aircraft to another; from an infantry regiment to a brigade; from infantry to anti-aircraft guns to Nike Hercules missiles. Through it all, the Hawaii Guard units continued to be number one. The first National Guard unit in the nation to become on site operational with the Nike Hercules Missile scoring the highest scores ever recorded at McGregor Range, New Nexico; scoring again with the longest range kill ever recorded by a Nike Hercules unit; the first and only Guard unit in the nation given the responsibility for air defense of the entire state, the Air Guard with the F102A Delta Dagger Fighter Interceptors and the Army Guard with the Nike Hercules missile; the Hawaii Air National Guard conceiving the idea of “Palace Alert,” a program where every three months 2 volunteer Fl02 pilots from Hawaii’s 199th Fighter Interceptor Squadron fly air defense mission in Vietnam.

But that’s not all, the 29th Infantry Brigade was designated a Selected Reserve Force in November of 1965. The brigade accepted this challenge and grew to be one of the best units nationally. Inspection reports and training evaluations showed this time and time again.

Then, in May of this year the Brigade was called to active duty. The transition from inactive to active duty was not easy for many – jobs, schooling and families were disrupted to varying degrees and the members of the Brigade entered into a new way of life, undergoing hard and demanding training. All reports indicate that training results have been excellent with greatly increased unit and individual capabilities.

Feelings about the order to active duty and subsequent events are varied and this is only natural. We have views such as those expressed by Miss Denby Fawcett in her article, which follows this editorial, which throw criticism at Army officials for failing in her opinion to give satisfying reasons for the call-up and for the subsequent deployment of individual members to Vietnam. We also have the views expressed in the petition which was circulated within the Brigade sometime ago.

We have at the other end of the scale the view which says that a decision was made in Washington that some reserve forces should be ordered to active duty and that, because of location and readiness and for other reasons, the 29th Brigade was a logical unit to be selected. This view goes on to point out that every member of the Brigade was a voluntary member and that he knew that he might be ordered to active duty if needed. And, finally, this view holds that in spite of “unit integrity” desirability in many cases, decisions on future assignments of individual members must be based on what is considered their best use in the interest of the Army as a whole as it pursues its role in the difficult war in Vietnam.

Regardless of what opinion the individual reader has of varying views, the 29th Infantry Brigade has proven it is an excellent unit with tremendous mission capabilities. Guardsmen who leave the Brigade and go to Vietnam or elsewhere will, we are certain, once again prove the great capabilities of the men of Hawaii.

The Hawaii National Guard Association is proud of the accomplishments of the activated 29th Infantry Brigade.

– 1968 Winter The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 4

HAPPY ARMY WORD GAMES

by Denby Fawcett

The Rank Gap

“Happy Army Word Games” or “The Rank Gap” are new phrases that might be used to explain the Army’s inability to play it straight with the men of Hawaii’s 29th Brigade and the people of Hawaii.

Now that we are aware that practically all of the 29th will be shipped off to Vietnam piecemeal next year, the Army’s old promise that “unit integrity of the 29th will be maintained” seems ridiculous to the average Island citizen.

The brigade, made up of Hawaii National Guardsmen and Army Reservists, was called to active duty May 13 as “a strategic reserve force for the Army in the Pacific.”

A scant six months later, it was evident that the real reason for their call up was to provide a replacement pool for the Vietnam war.

It is difficult to cry “foul” at the Army, because in a roundabout way it did keep its word. Of course, the unit integrity of the 29th will be maintained.

The flag of the Hawaii unit will continue to wave over Schofield even though most of the men who trained together to form the brigade will be in Vietnam as individuals filling critical vacancies in combat.

Army spokesmen say this is what they meant by “unit integrity” from the beginning and they blame a communications gap for the misunderstanding among some Hawaii citizens.

However, the Army made no effort to clear up the misunderstanding early in the game and many were falsely reassured that the majority of the men would remain in Hawaii.

Blame for the mixup, too, could be laid on the 29th soldiers and their families and friends. Perhaps, they only heard what they wanted to hear.

It is also difficult to say the Army lied about the eventuality of the 29th being sent to the war zone even though officials consistently hedged to news reporters and soldiers about the ultimate fate of the unit.

When the brigade was activated last May, the Army announced that after 90 days as many as 15 percent of the men could expect to be called to Vietnam each month.

It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to realize that 15 per cent each month meant it would take only seven months to transfer the entire brigade.

Brigade soldiers were always aware of this but they kept up their hopes as Army officials continued to balk when they were asked directly if this meant the entire brigade would eventually be Vietnambound.

Hope was boosted when the first Vietnam orders arrived at Schofield in August and only eight men were called.

Spokesmen said then that only individuals with critical specialties would be called.

Then on Oct. 24, it was announced that all officers in brigade were programmed for war duty. And a few weeks later the word was out that practically every enlisted man in the brigade could expect to see the rice paddies of Vietnam before his two years of active duty were up.

It was evident in early November that even the average foot-slogger was considered a critical replacement.

The salient Question, then, is why was the 29th Brigade called to war this way.

Some people believe that the deactivation petition circulated among the brigade (an estimated 1,500 men have signed it at the time of this writing) might never have been conceived if the Army had cut out the word games and if the 29th was sent to Vietnam as a complete unit instead of as individual replacements.

And even, if the petition had been circulated anyway, perhaps, troop morale might have been higher and not as many men would have signed it.

A spokesman for U.S. Army Hawaii denies than anyone hedged to the men of the 29th about their future.

He said the Army was fair in announcing from the beginning that as many as 15 per cent of them could expect to be sent to war each month.

“When the 29th was called to active duty, it became a regular army unit and all regular Army units are subject to troop levies,” he said. “Why should the 29th have special privileges?”

Brig. Gen. Frederick A. Shaefer II, 29th commander, explained the rationale of the levy system in a letter that was read to units at Schofield Nov. 23, commenting on the deactivation petition.

“I feel the levy system will save lives and make for more efficient units in Vietnam,” he said.

“Consider how much better off a replacement in VN is, having had the additional training we have gone through as compared to one having only his basic training.”

A typical Schofield G.I.’s answer might be that nobody can look into a crystal ball now and say how many 29th lives will be saved in the future by this method of deployment – and no American soldier is sent to Vietman with “only basic training.”

Schaefer said in his letter that there are many reasons why it would be impractical to send the brigade as a unit. “For us to go as a unit would increase the U.S.A. troop strength in VN beyond limits set by Congress,” he said.

Some men of the 29th might remember that in September, Defense Secretary Clark Clifford set the American troop limit in Vietnam at 549,500. The Pacific commander’s office reports that there are 534,500 American soldiers in Vietnam now. This leaves a difference of 15,000 and there are only 4,600 men in the 29th Brigade now.

Another reason for not sending the brigade as a complete unit Schaefer mentioned in his letter sounds compassionate “there is the age old problem of the possibility of a single unit from one of our communities having an inordinate number of casualties, thereby creating an unduly grievous burden for the community.”

A blunt answer is if the 29th were sent as a unit it would only mean that more of the men would be killed more rapidly. Headlines would be made and people would protest.

There is no telling how many of the men will be killed as individual replacements in Vietnam. The simple difference is that reports of their deaths will be stretched out over a longer period of time. Fewer people will notice and maybe nobody will gripe.

I have no doubt that these answers to Schaefer’s letter can be rebutted by the general himself and by other Army officials.

My point is simply that every reason given so far for the 29th Brigade’s call to active duty and the subsequent deployment of the men to Vietnam has been less than satisfying.

As time goes on, the “Rank Gap” Prows wider and “Happy Army Word Games” continue, giving the men of the unit more basis to argue that they are victims of “political expediency.”

Army officials are not under legal obligation to explain their actions, but in this case it might have made better sense.

– 1968 Winter The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 5-7

On 13 May 1968, “Hawaii’s Own” 29th Infantry Brigade stood at attention on Kuroda Field at Fort DeRussy and was activated into the regular Army.

Now the Brigade is two-thirds of its way through its federal service. Called originally for 24 months, the Guardsmen’s and Reservists’ active duty time was later reduced to 18 months and a demobilization day of 15 December 1969 was announced.

Much has happened over the past year. The story of the 29th has been one of change. Former civilian soldiers have become professionals, hundreds of original 29ers have gone to help fight the war in Vietnam and in their place new men from all over the United States have come to fill the ranks. Twelve former 29th Brigade members have fallen in the service of their country.

Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer, III, his staff and the battalion commanders faced an awesome task. Training started on the run. M-14 rifles replaced the old M-l’s, new equipment was issued, and special sophisticated weaponry was on the way.

Troop E, 19th Cavalry, received the M-551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance Airborne Assault Vehicle and the 227th Engineer Company was scheduled to receive the Armored Vehicle Launch Bridge and the Combat Engineer Vehicle.

All troops underwent weapons qualification during the first few weeks. Quarters, largely disused since the departure of the 25th Infantry Division, had to be made livable.

In late May, 15 Reservists of the 277th Military Intelligence Detachment, Arizona, and 135 men of the 40th Aviation Company, California, arrived and were initially assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army, Hawaii, and later transferred to the 29th Brigade.

A ninety day period of intensive training began, starting with individual training and progressing through squad, platoon, company and battalion exercises to include jungle training. During this period the Brigade developed into a fully combat ready organization.

Troop E, 19th Cavalry, moved to the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii in mid-July to become the first Brigade unit to utilize the rugged terrain of this training area. They were soon followed by every unit within the Brigade.

In late August, the Brigade received its first levy for reassignment of approximately 20 individuals to Vietnam.

November brought the beginning of the 29th’s final examination. The originally scheduled 90 days of intensive training was stretched to 180 days. After six months of hard charging, the 29th was ready to show what it had accomplished. A full scale operation was started. Pretending that the Brigade was part of a division slated to attack a beachhead in Korea, the logistical stages of the Brigade’s field training exercise were begun. Located in the “Mongoose Hilton”, a bunker buried beneath the pineapple fields of central Oahu, the brigade and battalion staffs planned every detail of an actual operation. On the first of December, with the planning completed, the troops executed the plan by launching an all out attack in the Koolaus, simulated to be a beachhead in Korea.

Immediately after the field training exercise, Brigadier General Schaefer announced that he had received orders for duty in Vietnam with a departure date of 9 January 1969.

After Christmas it was announced that Brigadier General James K. Terry was to become the new commander of the 29th. He arrived on 21 February and formally took command on 24 February from Colonel Clyde W. Woods, Jr., who had acted as Brigade Commander since the departure of General Schaefer.

The reenlistment rate in the 29th had always been high. This fact was highlighted in mid-February when Major General Roy Lassetter, Jr., Commanding General of U.S. Army, Hawaii, swore in a large group of 29th Brigade personnel and presented the Brigade with all three U.S. Army, Hawaii’s reenlistment trophies.

Also about this time the Brigade received somber news. Its first former member had been killed in Vietnam. The man killed had been a “filler” from the mainland and had only been with the Brigade for several months, but it still hurt.

Fiscal year 1969 closed with the Brigade colors continuing to fly at Schofield Barracks, but with approximately 50% of those originally ordered to active duty with the Brigade now serving in Vietnam.

– 1969 Annual Report pp. 12

IN MEMORIAM

It is with deep regret that the deaths of the following personnel of the 29th Infantry Brigade, Hawaii Army National Guard, mobilized on 13 May 1968, are announced. The Hawaii National Guard mourns the loss(sic) of these loyal members who served their country with distinction and honor.

Combat Deaths

• PFC Earl C. M. Au Hoy – Co A 1st Bn 299th Inf
• SP4 John 5. Otake Co A 1st Bn 299th Inf
• PFC Glenn T. Shibata-Gnd Survl & Hv Mort Plat HHC 2d Bn 299th Inf
• SFC Edward L. Loo, Jr. – Co C 2d Bn 299th Inf
• PFC Michael S. Nakashima – HHC 29th In(Bde

Non-Combat Deaths

• lSG Anthony C. S. Tam Sing – HHC 29th Inf Bde
• SP4 Norman K. Hayashi – Co D 29th Spt Bn
• SP4 Rudy Aquino – Co B (-) 1st Bn 299th Inf
• PFC Robert H. Kawamoto – Btry A 1st Bn 487th Arty
• lSG Joseph Harvest – Co A 29th Spt Bn
• PFC Dennis R. Penis Co A ( -) 2d Bn 299th Inf
• SSG Allen K. Matsumoto — HHC 29th Inf Bde

– 1969 Annual Report pp.4

BRIGADE PASSES EXAMS WITH A+ AVERAGE

The 29th Infantry Brigade took its final exam during November and December coming out with an “A” for the course.

The exam was a three phase Army Training Exercise code named “Lepper Lapin I.” The course was the six months intensive training the 29th had undergone from May 13 through November.

“Lepper Lapin I” was a combined exercise. It was the final big push for brigade and unit commanders at all levels and incorporated Army Training Tests for the 29th Support Battalion and the 40th Aviation Company, now attached to the brigade.

The action in “Lepper Lapin I” depicted the 29th as being attached to the 24th Infantry Division on its way to Korea as a result of an outbreak of hostilities. The 24th Division, as the story goes, made an amphibious landing on the Korean coast and fought inland to their objective. For purposes of realism the map of Oahu was superimposed over the map of the Kim Po Penninsula in Korea. This resulted in having Honolulu and Seoul landing on top of one another, something that can only happen in the Army.

The three phases of the exercise covered the actions necessary for the successful completion of the brigade’s mission had this not been an exercise. The first phase was called MAP for “Map Manuever.” It was a planning exercise. At this time the brigade, as part of the 24th Division, received its orders from the division commander and began fulfilling its role as one of the three brigades assigned to the 24th.

Brigndier General Frederick A. Schaefer III and his staff formulated plans which the brigade Would follow in the later phases. During this phase the brigade staff spent three days in a bunker under the pineapple fields of central Oahu.

The bunker, three stories tall. was jokingly termed the “U.S.S. Aloha” and simulated a ship transporting the brigade to Korea. Details of every type were sorted and arranged during this phase. Even the number of casualties from sea sickness aboard the “Aloha” was tabulated.

Life aboard the “Aloha” wasn’t all sweet. The bilge pumps aboard the simulated Army transport supposedly became overtaxed making it hazardous to enter the latrine.

A command post exercise was the second phase of the operation. This phase started with the brigade ashore on the division beachhead. Involved in this operation were the brigade and battalion staffs and separate company level commands. Command posts. or unit headquarters, were established in the Dillingham Haleiwa areas and in the Koolau mountains. Only the unit staffs and sufficient personnel to support them were involved in this three day phase.

Communications was the key here. Could the brigade maintain adequate radio and telephone communications at all command levels? Also of interest during this phase was that it was here where the brigade commander issued his operation orders to the battalions.

A map manuever was conducted bringing the brigade, on the map only, from the beaches to their jumping off positions.

Finally, the planning done, the entire brigade was put into the field for the FTX or Field Training Exercise.

Rainy weather postponed this phase a couple of days but finally the men, briefed on the big picture and their part in the operation, got into the action.

With the 1st Battalion, 299th Infantry serving as an aggressor force the remaining brigade units moved out enmasse to Kahuku and the beaches at Haleiwa to positions they had occupied on the maps when the map maneuver ended.

The infantry units, supported by Marine Jet Fighters from the Marine Corp Air Station, Kaneohe, fanned out over the Koolaus attacking southward over the mountains. Enemy opposition was heavy but brigade casualties were “light.”

After three days the units had successfully achieved their objectives. U.S. Army, Hawaii umpires had closely followed the action and later evaluated the brigade’s operations. Their reports were very favorable.

POHAKULOA TRAINING

The successful completion of the FTX wasn’t the end of training for the 29th Brigade. As individual levies drew men out of the brigade and new replacements began arriving in larger numbers the training cycle was reentered.

Just prior to the departure of General Schaefer for Vietnam on January 9 the 1st Battalion, 299th Infantry with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 487th Artillery and elements of the 227th Engineer Company, 277th Military Intelligence Detachment and the 29th Support Battalion moved to the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island in a combined Air-Sea movement.

On the Big Island the troops participated in a training operation code named “Leprechaun Laughter.” They underwent small unit, platoon and company level, training. Included in the operations at PTA were live fire exercises, long range patrolling, a search and destroy mission with infantry, artillery and engineers working together as a task force and the big show, “Commando Elite.”

“Commando Elite” is staged by the Air National Guard as a training mission with Iive ordnance. Part of their operation is a demonstration of air support which ground troops could expect from the “blue yonder” boys.

Without exception the infantrymen, after watching the effects of napalm and high explosive strafing and bombing, were impressed. “It really got me excited,” commented an infantryman after watching the jet fighters from the 102nd Tactical Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard blast simulated enemy positions on the lava flats at PTA.

On February 12, the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry moved out to Pohakuloa relieving the 1st Bat.
talion, 299th. As the others had done the 100th went through an intensive field training period Which I ended in mid-March.

Back at Schofield Barracks the brigade welcomed a new commander, Brigadier General James K. Terry. The general arrived February 21 from his- assignment as acting commander of the 7th Infantry Division in Korea.

He formally assumed command of the 29th from Colonel Clyde W. Woods Jr. on February 24 in a change of command ceremony and review held on Schofield Barracks’ Lightening Field

29TH BRIGADE ADJUSTS TO GARRISON LIFE

By SGT Ed Smith

Having completed its Field Training Exercise and welcomed its new commanding general, the 29th Infantry Brigade settled into what could be described as a “semi-garrison” situation.

Following the FTX, brigade training slacked off only slightly and the routine housekeeping chores usually associated with garrison life became even more pressI ing.

The Adjutant General’s section stayed busy with hundreds of comings and goings as troops levied to Vietnam were replaced by Vietnam veterans and young soldiers fresh out of advanced training.

Approximately 2,000 officers and men from the brigade have been alerted for controlled assignment to Vietnam. Of these, over 1,500 already departed with the remaining 500 soon to depart at the finish of processing. With 2,000 men reassigned from the 29th the unit is expected to have about 1,500 original and reserve filler members available for proposed demobilization on December 15.

Brigade strength has not dipped much below its original numbers due to the constant arrival of new men from the mainland and veterans returning from Vietnam.

Almost all of the 29th’s original officers have received the nod for Vietnam duty. teading the list was Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer III. who left in January. Lieutenant Colonel John Aiona of the 29th Support Battalion will be the last battalion commander to go. He was reassigned in May. Colonel Clyde W. Woods Jr., the deputy brigade commander; Colonel Francis A. I. Bowers, formerly the acting deputy brigade commander; Lieutenant Colonel Fred Koehnen, the former S-3 of the 29th, Lieutenant Colonel John R. D’Araujo, former S-4 and Major Charles M. Wills Jr., former Information Officer, all arrived in Vietnam in May.

In the case of Lieutenant Colonel D’ Araujo, he’ll be greeted in Vietnam by his son, another former member of the 29th, Captain John R. D’Araujo Jr., who was ordered to Vietnam a month earlier than his father.

Lieutenant Colonel Marvin Ferreria, the former S-2 of the 29th, stopped by Schofield Barracks on his way to Vietnam in mid-May and picked up his brand new silver oak leaves.

These officers and others join most of the 29th’s original officers in Vietnam where former 29th Brigade personnel have been serving with distinction. Some have even given their lives. At least 10 former members of the 29th have been killed in Vietnam fighting.

At Schofield Barracks, the brigade honored its first member to be killed while serving on active duty. He was First Sergeant Anthony C. S. Tam Sing, of Headquarters Company, Brigade. The First Sergeant was killed November 4 in an accident at Quad F while working on a pool and fountain in his company area. On May 5 a ceremony was held to dedicate the same pool and fountain to the first sergeant. Also, Mrs. Tam Sing was presented with the Army Commendation Medal, the isle soldier had earned for his untiring work during the months immediately after the brigade’s activation.

Funeral services were also held February 8 for Fi,rst Sergeant Joseph Harvest of Company A, 29th Support Battalion, who died in late January.

Training for the brigade has continued at a steady pace throughout the early part of 1969 and into the summer. The 1st Battalion, 299th Infantry and the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry spent a month each at the Army’s Pohakuloa Training Area followed by the 1st Battalion, 487th Artillery which completed its Army Training Tests there in mid April.

The brigade and battalion staffs conducted a Command Post Exercise in March and scheduled another for mid-May. In the planning stage, but not confirmed, is a full size brigade Field Training Exercise tentatively scheduled for June 15. This would entail transporting most of the brigade to Pohakuloa, on the Big Island, for live fire and large unit training.

Recondo and Leadership training have been emphasized throughout the brigade. Some 54 brigade members have graduated from the U.S. Army, Hawaii NCO Academy’s Leadership School and 25 brigade members have gone through the Recondo class. The fourth class in which brigade members have participated will graduate May 26 adding another 30 men to the graduate rolls.

The 602nd Army Security Agency Detachment, activated and attached to the 29th on February 1, and the 40th Aviation Company completed Field Training Exercises in April. They operated in the Haleiwa area.

Routinely, the infantrymen of the 29th spend three days of the week in the field on training assignments and the other two and a half days in garrison working on equipment and garrison duties. Service troops train daily on their jobs or detached to higher headquarters.

Community service has continued to be a fair part of the brigade’s activities. When the results of the 1969 Honolulu Area Combined Federal Campaign fund drive were released, the 29th stood at the top in contributors and in total gift. ‘The 29th collected $35,864.65.

In March, the Molokai Bandits, men from the 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry’s recon platoon, returned to their home island to participate in the Prince Kuhio Day celebration.

C o m i n g to the aid of the Kauikeolani Children’s Hospital for the second time, 25 brigade members served as waiters and all round handymen May 5 at a fund raising buffet dinner at the Henry Damon Estate. Earlier the brigade has staged a Christmas party for both the Kauikeolani children and those at the Puunene Children’s Home on Maui. The brigade also collected $2,700 to be used as cash gifts for the two establishments.

On April 18 the 40th Aviation company, on the Big Island supporting the 1st Battalion, 487th Artillery, received a distress call. It was reported that a hunter, wounded by an arrow was stranded on the slopes of Mauna Kea. Warrant Officer David R. White and Specialist Five Edward F. Uratani flew to the area. Finding the injured hunter they started their return trip to Bradshaw Field. However, the craft began to loose power, dipping close to the mountain side. Specialist Uratani jumped from the chopper about 20 feet above the lava formation; by lightening its load he enabled the aircraft to return to Bradshaw with the injured man.

Visitors of every sort have been hosted by the 29th over the past few months. February 17 the brigade joined U.S. Army, Hawaii in throwing a luau for visiting Army Chief of Chaplains (Major General) Francis L. Sampson. The luau, held at the Schofield Barracks Officers Open Mess, was attended by all Chaplain Corps officers from the 29th as well as Lieutenant General Davidson of U.S. Army, Pacific. Senior man from the 29th was Colonel Francis A. I. Bowers.

On April 7 Major General William J. Sutton, Chief of the Army Reserve, visited the 29th, especially the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry. The general visited the Brigadier General James K. Terry and then toured training facilities and heard a briefing on the reopening and renovation of the Code of Conduct Training School at Schofield Barracks.

Major General Benjamin Webster, the State of Hawaii Adjutant General, visited the brigade in mid-April. General Terry and his staff briefed the state AG on the status of personnel within the 29th. The general was accompanied by Colonel Edward M. Yoshimasu Chief of Staff of the Hawaii Army National Guard.

Members of the Defense Orient a t i o n Conference Association Visited the 29th in early April. The group represents a cross section of American industry and all are chief executives of the firms they represent.

The visitors were served C-Ration meals in the field and given equipment and firearms demonstrations. They were allowed to fire the M-16 rifle and other Army weapons.

Major General Norman Vickery, commander of the Australian Citizen’s Military Forces, visited the brigade April 28. The Australian general witnessed activated National Guardsmen in training and discussed the problems involved in the 29th activation with Brigadier General Terry.

So far, the 29th Infantry Brigade, life is a steady mixture of tough training, rewarding service and teaching others the lessons learned after its first year on active duty.

– 1969 Summer The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 9-11

WE SALUTE THEM

BENJAMIN J. WEBSTER
Adjutant General

When this issue of The Hawaii Guardsman is distributed, there will be less than four months remaining until the return of the 29th Infantry Brigade to state control and inactive status. To say that all of us who remained behind will be delighted to welcome the Brigade back is to put it mildly. Many thoughts about the Brigade and its members come to mind as I think of what has transpired since I was informed of the activation order early in the morning of April 11, 1968. Other thoughts concern the future of the Brigade. Predominant among my thoughts are the following:

• a. Many members have suffered family hardships, financial and otherwise. We are very cognizant of this problem and admire the ability of those who had these hardships to overcome them.
• b. Several members of the Brigade have lost their lives and others have been wounded, some quite seriously. Our hearts go out to them and to their families and friends. We hope and pray that
• casualties between now and December will be light.
• c. As we look to the future, we know that reconstitution of the Brigade may be difficult. We hope that most of those who return will stay with the Hawaii National Guard even though they may have the option to leave us. I want all HNG members of the 29th Infantry Brigade to know that they are wanted and needed. A strong National Guard is still needed, and continued service to the State and Nation in inactive status on the part of our former members is greatly to be desired.
• d. All of us who remained behind are truly grateful to those who did so well in maintaining and improving the stature and the image of the Hawaii National Guard. They have been a source of pride to us and they have earned the right to feel a deep sense of personal satisfaction. We salute them.

– 1969 Fall The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 6

THE 29TH RETURNS HOME

On May 13, 1968 “Hawaii’s Own” 29th Infantry Brigade stood at attention on Kuroda Field at Fort De Russy and was activated into the regular Army.

Now, one and a half years later the Brigade is on its way home. Called originally for 24 months, the Guardmen’s and Reservist’s active duty time was later shortened to 19 months and a demobilization day of December 12, 1969 was announced.

Much has happened over the past year and a half. The story of the 29th has been one of change. Former civilian soldiers have become professionals, hundreds of original 29ers have gone to help fight the war in Vietnam and in their place new men from all over the United States have come to fill the ranks. 19 former 29th Brigade members have fallen in the service of their country, 11 in combat.

The 29th’s activation was the first for a Hawaii Army National Guard Unit in 28 years. On October 15, 1940; 1,700 men of the Hawaii National Guard were activated and like the 29th reported to Schofield Barracks. They were responding to the orders of President Franklin D. Roosevelt who was anticipating involvement in World War II.

First word of the 29th’s activation came on April 11, when the Department of Defense announced that 24,500 National Guardsmen and Reservist’s would be called. On May 13, detouring past Vietnam War protestors the Brigade formed at Fort DeRussy and after an emotional farewell ceremony moved out for Schofield Barracks. Even at so solemn an occasion a bit of humor emerged because of a protestor carrying a sign reading “should Jesus go.” The men laughed for in the ranks was lLT, now Captain; Jesus Perry, the Aide to Brigadier General, Frederick A. Schaefer III, the brigade commander. Jesus went.

Other units of the 29th held ceremonies on neighbor islands. Troop E, 19th Cavalry was honored at armories in Wahiawa, Waialua and Waipio. The 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry held its “Aloha” ceremony in Hilo as did some members of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry. The famous “Go For Broke” outfit was assigned to the brigade on activation.

On Maui 300 men were given an “Aloha” by some 2,000 friends and relatives. All units met at Schofield Barracks and started molding the previously scattered organization Into one.

Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer III and his staff and the battalion commanders faced an awesome task. Training started on the run. M-14 rifles replaced the M-l’s, full equipment was supplied and special sophisticated weaponry was on the way

Troop E, 19th Cavalry was almost immediately issued the M-551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance Airborne Assault Vehicle and the 227th Engineer Company, received the Armored Vehicle Launch Bridge and the Combat Engineer Vehicle. The former is an extension bridge mounted on a tank chassis and the latter is a tank like vehicle combining the firepower of the Shelliegh Missile with usefulness of a bulldozer and crane.

All troops underwent weapons qualification during the first weeks. Quads, largely disused since the departure of the 25th Infantry Division had to be made livable. So when not training housekeeping was the order of the day. Yards were cleaned and landscaping projects popped up everywhere.

By the end of May things were settled enough to send 71 men back to the mainland for Army basic and advanced training. These men had only recently joined the brigade and had not taken their required military training before activation.

In late May, 15 reservists of the 277th Military Intelligence Detachment arrived from their home station in Arizona and 135 men of the 40th Aviation Company arrived and were assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army, Hawaii. Later they became a part of the 29th.

On May 31, a critical question for the 29th began to rise. The first rumblings on the fate of the 29th began to he heard. And for the first time the word “levy” received attention.

”They have been told that after 90 days from May 13 the personnel of the brigade could be subject to personnel levies depending on critical MOS shortages in the Army,” announced l\fajor Charles M. Wills Jr., the 29th’s information officer.

So the 90 days of intensive training began. Individual training, then squad, platoon, company and battalion level exercises. Jungle warfare training staged at East Range on Schofield Barracks was begun and the brigade began to develop into a combat ready organization.

By mid-June the brigade had adopted a new shoulder patch, the well known red, white and blue “Crossroad of the Pacific” insignia. Brigade units began participating in off-duty activities. The Post Exchanges were doing volume business, the brigade was involved in post softbalI leagues and with the inactivation of the 4th Brigade, 6th Infantry Division, the 29th became the dominant unit at Schofield Barracks.

June 16 was Father’s Day. and the 29th Brigade took their families and friends to Schofield for a look. Dads showed their kids Army equipment and junior ate lunch in an Army mess hall.

July, 1968 was an active month for the 29th. The first “filler,” Specialist Four Joel Lucia, arrived and was assigned to the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry as a medic. Following Lucia, 419 men from Ohio flew in on a Braniff charter flight from Fort Knox, Kentucky, most were assigned to the 100th Battalion. Next 71 men from the inactivated 4th Brigade joined the 29th.

“A steady stream of the men will he joining the brigade from this point on,” Brigadier General Schaefer said. The new men were mostly Individual Ready Reservists assigned to Army Control Groups. They represented almost every state. Some came from as far away as Puerto Rico.

In early July three graduates of the Hawaii National Guard Officer Candidate School were commissioned. Howard M. Oshiro, Allen T. Masuda, and Nelson J. Kahue, all of the 100th Battalion, had rushed and squeezed to complete their OCS training pro- gram prior to activation.

By mid-July Troop E, 19th Calvary was ready to move out for the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island for live fire training with their Sheridans. The first unit of the brigade to utilize the lava flats for live fire exercises, the cavalrymen were to be followed by all or part of every unit in the brigade.

By the end of July training was being conducted at the battalion level. Units of 800 men or more were practicing teamwork and tactics in the Koolaus.

The coming of August was heralded by a visit of General William C. Westmoreland, Army Chief of Staff. He watched 29ers during field training exercises. Shortly after his visit his boss, Secretary of the Army Stanley Resor, visited the brigade.

In early August the 1st Battalion, 487th Artillery, then commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Francis A. I. Bowers, moved to Pohakuloa as the men of the 29th Support Battalion and the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry moved out to fight a stubborn brush fire near the Pupukea Boy Scout Camp on northern Oahu.

Late August brought the first levies of reassignment with about twenty 29ers receiving order for Vietnam duty. On August 19 the 40th Aviation Company was attached to the brigade from Headquarters, U.S. t Army, Hawaii, and at the end of August the news breaks that a two and a half ton truck has crashed on Saddle Road at Pohakuloa and 23 men are injured.

The 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry, originally from the Big Island, returned there for training in September. The unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Fred Koehnen saw firepower demonstrations staged by, the Air Force and concentrated on long range patrolling and battalion tactics.

Back at Schofield Barracks the brigade stepped up jungle training and it was announced that most of the 29th’s officers would be sent to the war zone within six months. In mid October the 227th Engineers moved out for Pohakuloa. They repaired roads, installed pipelines, painted huts and rebuilt and repaired quarters, at the Big Island installation.

November brought the beginning of the 29th’s final examination. Originally scheduled for only 90 days intensive training, the brigade received 180 days. After six months of hard charging the 29th was ready to show what it had accomplished. A full scale operation was started. Pretending the brigade was part of a division slated to attack a beachhead in Korea, the logistical stages of the brigade’s Field Training Exercise was begun.

Holed up in the “Mongoose Hilton,” a bunker buried below the pineapple fields of central Oahu, the brigade and battalion staffs planned their steps on maps. Called “Map Maneuver,” every detail of an actual operation was considered. Finally by the first of December, with the planning done the troops played out the remainder of the attack problem in the Koolaus. During the exercise the word was received that the National Guardsmen’s period of 24 months active duty had bee reduced to 19 months and they would be released by December 15, 1969.

Immediately after the FTX, Brigadier General Schaefer announced that he had received orders for duty in Vietnam. His date of departure was January 9.

Christmas time came and hundreds of mainland soldiers were granted leaves for home. Locally the units held Christmas parties and the traditional Christmas dinner was served in the mess halls. Prior to Christmas the 29th collected $2,700 to provide Christmas parties, and cash gifts for the Puunene Children’s Home on Maui and the Kauikeolani Children’s Hospital in Honolulu. Brigade volunteers donned Santa costumes and others served as helpers in staging Christmas festivities for the youngsters.

After Christmas it was announced that Brigadier General James K. Terry was to become the new commander of the 29th. He arrived February 21 and formally took command February 24 from Colonel Clyde W. Woods Jr., who had acted as brigade commander since the departure of General Schaefer.

The 1st Battalion, 299th Infantry was sent to Pohakuloa in mid-January for their training stint on the lava flats. At the end of January, Lieutenant Colonel Francis A. I. Bowers was promoted to full colonel and assigned at bridge headquarters. Meanwhile more and more levies kept arriving for the 29th and large num hers of men were on their way to Vietnam monthly.

The reenlistment rate in the 29th had always been high. This fact was highlighted in mid-February when Major General Roy Lassetter Jr., commanding general of U.S. Army, Hawaii swore in a large group of 29th Brigade personnel and presented the brigade with all three of U.S. Army, Hawaii’s reenlishnent trophies.

Also about this time the brigade received somber news. Its first former member had been killed in Vietnam. The man killed had been a “filler” from the mainland and had only been with the brigade for several months, but it still hurt.

February, “Zeros” appeared into the skies over Schofield Barracks turning back the clock more than 27 years. The filming of “Tora, Tora, Tora” afforded brigade troops a chance to become movie stars or at least . . . extras.

And in later February the U.S. Army, Hawaii volleyball team with 11 of its 12 players from the 29th Brigade traveled to Korea and won the U.S. Army Pacific championships.

Amid “Aloha” and greeting luncheons and dinners for the 29th’s new commander, the brigade scheduled a Command Post Exercise March 25. In this three day exercise brigade and battalion staffs set up in the field at East Range to test field command procedures and communications.

The results of the 1969 Honolulu Area Combined Federal Campaign, a sort of federal United Fund, were announced about this time. The 29th Brigade was shown to be the largest single contributor. Its total was $35,864.65 for an average gift of $9.59 per man.

March 29, Colonel Clyde Woods, then deputy commander of the 29th, and about 40 men from the recon platoon of the 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry traveled to Molokai to march in the Prince Kuhio Day celebration parade. These men largely were from Molokai as was their troop commander, Major Benjamin Manuel.

For Easter many units in the 29th staged Easter egg hunts for their families and picnics on Schofied Barracks. Some units held open houses and field days for their families and guests.

Meanwhile more men from the brigade were headed for Vietnam and by the beginning of May most original officers of the 29th had been ordered to Vietnam as General Schaefer had predicted some six months earlier.

Toward the end of April, Major General Benjamin Webster, Adjutant General of the State of Hawaii and overall commander of the 29th before and after activation into federal service visited Schofield Barracks to check on the personal status of the brigade.

With its first anniversary on active duty just around the corner the brigade kept rolling without a halt. Again helping the Kauikeolani Children’s Hospital the brigade provided 2.5 volunteers to help with the decorations and heavy work involved in the benefit supper held at the Henry Damon Estate. That same day Brigadier General Terry presented Mrs. Anthony C. S. Tam Sing with her husband’s posthumous Army Commendation Medal. First Sergeant Tam Sing of Headquarters Company, 29th Brigade was killed November 4 while working on a landscaping project in his company area. He was the first member of the 29th to be killed while on active duty.

In late June the brigade found itself the principal participant in a fullscale joint Army-Air Force training maneuver called “Lepper Lapin II.” For two weeks, from the 15th to the 30th of June, the brigade cut its way through the dense undergrowth in the Waiakea Forest Area and trudged the lava flats and “puu” at the Army’s Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. The result was a successfully completed training exercise leaving each of its 2,800 participants better able to handle themselves and their jobs in a combat situation.

As the 29th Brigade returned from its exercise on the Big Island almost immediately it was given another substantial mission. According to General Terry, the mission of the 29th for the months of July and August was to support the arrival and settling in of the 9th Infantry Division.

Toward this end, each unit of the 29th was assigned one or more corresponding units of the 9th for “sponsorship” purposes, Sponsoring is a broad term meaning, “Do everything you can to help” and that’s what the 29th did.

During the month of July General Ralph E. Haines, Commander in Chief, U.S. Army, Pacific announced the reassignment of three general officers.

Major General Benjamin Stenberg, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3 at USARPAC bcame Commanding General U.S. Army, Haw.iii, replacing Major General Roy Lassetter Jr. who tired.

Brigadier General James K. Terry, Commanding General of the 29th Brigade replaced General Stenberg at the Fort Shafter Headquarters.

At this time it was also announced that Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer III former commander of the 29th, when it was mobilized in 1968, would return from Vietnam where he was an assistant division commander with the 4th Division, to be assistant division commander of the 9th Division at Schofield Barracks. However, before General Schaefer returned from Vietnam the 9th Division was deactivated, he was then reassigned as the Commander of the 29th Brigade replacing COL Harold H. Lee who had been named Commander of the 29th after Brigadier General Terry’s reassignment.

The month of October found the 29th Brigade participating in a variety of field training exercises. The 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry was air lifted to Hilo to conduct training exercises and on 14 October the 29th moved in its entirety to the Kahuku and Dillingham training areas for a three day FTX. This was to be the last time that 29th Brigade would conduct a training exercise as a brigade.

After it was announced that the Brigade would be deactivated on December 12th, with official deactivation ceremonies being held at Schofield Barracks on December 6th, the Brigade spent their remaining days preparing for their deactivation.

– 1969 Winter The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 4-9

The Hawaii National Guard salutes the members of the 29th Infantry Brigade who have served their Nation and their State in South East Asia and Korea.

OFFICERS

• CPT Francis A. Abreu
• CPT Louis J. Abreu
• MAJ Vmusto Acohido
• CPT Raymond Adams
• CPT Simeon Agao
• LTC John E. Aiona, Jr.
• CPT Steven R. Aluag
• MAJ George M. Aoki
• CPT Aley K. Auna
• 1LT Albert R. Ayers
• 1LT Barth A. Baron
• COL Francis A. I. Bowers, Jr.
• CPT Robert A. Broderick
• CPT Alvin S. Cabrinha
• MAJ Orlando Chapman
• CPT Wah Lee Ching
• CPT Wilbert H. K. Ching
• 2LT Patrick H. Chun
• 2LT Victor K. C. Chun
• MAJ Wah Sung Chun
• 2LT Robert L. Cole
• 2L T James Cordeiro
• MAJ Wendell R. Crockett
• CPT Melvin D. Cummings
• 2LT Theodore A. Daligdig, III
• LTC John R. D’ Araujo
• CPT John R. D’Araujo, Jr.
• CPT Sadami Deai
• CPT Fred C. DeBusca
• LTC Manuel DeMello. Jr.
• CPT Paul M. DeSilva
• CPT Donald M. Dismuke
• CPT James E. Doole Jr.
• 2LT Thomas W. Duarte
• CPT Ralph E. Faufau
• CPT Richard L. Fennei
• MAJ Marvin E. Ferrer
• 1LT Thomas J. Freitas
• MAJ Tango Fujimoto
• 2LT Burton A. Greene
• MAJ Henry S. Hara
• CPT Horace S. Hara
• 2LT Emilliano H. Hilua
• CPT Joseph J. Hines
• 1LT Ronald M. Hirahara
• 2LT Richard S. Honda
• CPT George T. Honjiyo
• CPT James Y. Iha
• CPT Masanobu Inouye
• CPT Herbert T. Ishii
• CPT Kiyoichi Itokazu
• CPT Robert H. Joerger
• MAJ lsao Joyo
• CPT Abel L. Kahoohanohano
• MAJ Roland Y. Kanemaru
• CPT Charles H. Katayama
• 2LT Irving L. Kaui
• LTC Solomon W. Kaulukukui
• 1LT David D. Kawamura
• CPT Samuel S. Kawamura
• 1LT Wallace M. Kawane
• CPT John C. Kekua
• CPT Arthur F. Kepoo
• MAJ Paul P. Kim
• CPT Carl K. Kinoshita
• LTC Fred J. Koehnen
• MAJ Gilbert M. Korenaga
• CPT Nelson M. Kunitake
• CPT Stanley M. Kunitomo
• CPT Ernest T. K. Lau
• 2LT Edward A. K. Lee
• CPT Charles R. Lindsey
• 2LT Calvyn J. Low
• MAJ Alexis T. Lum
• CPT Romaido Madarang
• 2LT Jon L. Manago
• 2LT Michael J. Mangca
• MAJ Benjamin K. Manuel
• CPT Dav.id K. Marciel
• CPT Edward C. Masuoka
• CPT Louis N. H. M. Miranda,
• 2LT Steven L. Molate
• CPT James H. Morioka
• CPT Shigeyoshi Morita
• 2L T Peter P. Muller
• CPT Ricnard T. Murakami
• CPT Shigeto Murayama
• 1LT Dennis H. Nakamura
• CPT Masac. Nakao
• CPT Earl M Nakashima
• CPT Edwin M. Nakasone
• MAJ John L Naone
• CPT Toshm Nishida
• CPT Delbert M. Nishimoto
• 2L T Lawrence R. Oliveira
• 1LT Donald D. Orton
• CPT Francis I. Oue
• CPT Franklin D. Pacarro
• CPT Presidio F. Padron
• CPT James G. A. Pai
• CPT Clarence C. W. Park
• 2LT Glen A. Perry
• CPT Jesus T. Perry
• CPT Louis W. Perry, Jr.
• 2LT Bard J Peterson
• 2LT Orion Peterson, Jr.
• CPT Jerry Protacio
• CPT Raymond Rapoza
• CPT Manu T. Rasay
• CPT James B. Respicio
• BG F. A. Schaefer, Ill
• 1LT Robert F. Schultz
• CPT Haruo Shigezawa
• CPT Walter H. Shiroma
• 2LT Peter S. Suemori
• 1LT Richard K. Tahara
• MAJ Yoshiyuki Tahara
• CPT Ward M. Taira
• CPT Morio Takahashi
• MAJ Van S. Takahashi
• CPT Frederh k T. Takamoto
• MAJ Henry S. Takeda
• MAJ Yukio Takeya
• CPT Allan M. Tashiro
• MAJ Lawrence G. Tavares
• CPT Michael S Teruya
• MAJ Donald Thompson
• 1LT Patrick K. Tobara
• CPT Douglas K. W. Tom
• CPT Alfredo Torco
• CPT Edward Y. Toriano
• 2LT Gerald R. Tulang
• 2LT Alvin M. Uchida
• CPT Tsutomu Ueno
• CPT Joseph J. Ugalde
• CPT Patrick Ulep
• CPT Lawrence S. Uyehara
• MAJ Edward Vierra
• CPT Robert M. Watanabe
• MAJ Charles Wills, Jr.
• 2LT Zenon K. Wong
• 2LT Lawrence A. Woode. Jr.
• MAJ William Y. Yamada
• COL Clyde W. Woods, Jr.
• MAJ Arthur T. Yamamoto
• CPT Robert H. Yokomizo
• CPT Thomas H. T. Young

WARRANT OFFICERS

• CW3 Henry E. Aken
• CW2 Gilbert L. Amaral
• CW4 Ralph K. Apo
• CW3 Sampson K. Bright
• CW2 Richard F. Cameron
• CW2 Kenneth Chong
• CW2 Ronald H. Feiteira
• CW3 Frank K. F. Ho
• CW2 Stanley Y. Komata
• CW3 Francis K. Lum
• CW2 Paul MacMichael
• CW2 John F. Roney
• CW3 Thomas N. C. See, Jr.
• WO1 Maurice A. Souza
• CW4 Thomas S. Spencer
• CW3 Howard L. Sypher
• CW3 Robert T. Takayama
• CW2 Herbert J. Victorine
• CW2 Takeshi Watanabe

ENLISTED MEN

• SP5 Glenn E. Abe
• SP4 Rodney A. Acia
• PFC Warren Adolpho
• SFC John Afalla
• PFC Delbert Agrigado
• PFC Adam J. Agustin
• SGT Abraham Ah Hee
• PFC Michael E . Ah Sam
• PFC Leonard M. Ah Sing
• PFC Nicholas M. Ah Yo
• SP5 Melvin T. Aiu
• SP4 Kenneth K. Aiwohi
• SP4 John M. Aki, Jr.
• PFC Alan Y. Akine
• SSG Daniel M. Akuna
• PFC Bernard Alani, Jr.
• PFC Larry Alao
• PFC Donald L. Albino
• SP4 Alexander Alcisto
• SGT Robert G. Alfonso
• SP4 Bruce J. Allen
• PFC Patrick E. Allen
• SFC Fredrico Almazan, Jr.
• PFC Dennis K. C. Aloiau
• SP4 Nane W. Aluli
• PFC Robert Amantiad
• SP4 Henry Amaral, Jr.
• SSG Arnotpho Ancheta
• SP5 Henry G. Aceret
• PFC Anthony Ancog
• SGT Richard Andaya
• CPL Eldon G. Anderson
• SP4 Wilfredo B. Andrada
• SP5 Lvle V. Andrade
• PFC Patrick J. Andrade
• SP4 Christphen Anguay
• SP4 Richard L. Antonio
• SP5 Marsilo A. Aquinde
• PFC Gilbert Arafiles
• PFC Dennis H. Arakaki
• SP4 Ronald Y. Arakaki
• PFC Dave Y. Arakawa
• SP4 Donn T. Arakawa
• SP4 Alan S. Araki
• SP4 Allan M. Araki
• SP4 Ted S. Araki
• PFC Daniel Arashiro
• PFC Michael M. Arellano
• SP5 Kenneth S. Asato
• SP4 Wallace E. A:.atu
• SSG William B. Atiz
• SGT Norris N. Atsuumi
• SP4 Kenneth K. H. Au
• SGT Samuel K. Au Hoon
• SP4 Roger K. Auna
• SP4 Clifford T. Aurio
• PFC Henry A. Aurio, Jr.
• SFC Edward Auwae
• PFC Arthur A. Aveiro
• SP4 Gilbert T. Awaya
• SP4 Wayne M. Ayudan
• SSG Christian Bal
• PFC Michael J. Balderas
• SGT Randolph A. Baltero
• SP4 Franklin Baptiste
• PFC Jerry L. Barnes
• PFC James P. Barr
• SGT Casimiro A. Barruga, Jr.
• SFC Wallace K. Beck
• SP4 Joseph P. Benevides, Jr.
• PFC Dennis Barrett
• PFC Robert S. Barretto
• SSG Leonard Bidad
• SP4 Allen E. Bigtas
• SP4 Scott G. Birnie
• SP4 Gary J. Bise
• PFC James D. Bitner
• PFC Robert L. Blas
• SSG Curtis A. Boland
• PFC Lloyd H. Bond. Jr.
• SP4 James R. Bradley
• SGT Anthony J. Branco
• PFC Michael I. Brede
• SP4 Marshall E. Brown, III
• PFC Sanford J. Brown
• PFC Sheldon K. Brown
• SP4 Phillip Bugado
• CPL Manley P. Bush
• 1SG Anthony Cabral
• SP4 Randolph R. Cabanilla
• SP6 Roy L. Cachola
• SGT Martin C. Cainglit, Jr.
• PFC Joseph F. Caires, Jr.
• SP4 Wayne M. Caldeira
• PFC Mario E. Cantoma
• SSG Richard D. Caravalho
• PFC Michael Caringer
• SSG Alexander E. Carvalho
• SP4 Claude K. Carvalho
• MSG Frank R. Carvalho
• SP4 Jerry W. Carvalho
• SSG Lawrence Carvalho
• SP4 Glenn H. Castro
• SSG Robert L. Castro
• PSG Bartulome Catugal
• SP5 Herman Cauton
• SP4 Alfred J. Cazinha
• SP4 Howard Chai. Jr.
• SP4 William W. Chamberlain
• SP4 Daniel C. M. Chang
• CPL Dudley W. A. Chang
• SGT Elton K. C. Chang
• SP4 Melton Chang
• SP5 Philip Chang
• SP4 Renny W. Y. Chang
• PFC Wayne W. Y. Chang
• PFC Henry A. Chee, Jr.
• SP5 Raymond Chee
• SP4 Denms H. W. Ching
• PFC Garrick Chmg
• SP4 Jeffrey Ching
• SP4 Keith R. Ching
• PFC Lynn W. Ching
• SGT Glenn K. Chock
• SP5 Alfred C. B. Chong
• SP4 Michael J. Chong, Jr.
• SP4 Byron C. S. Choy
• PFC Cedric Y. D. Choy
• SSG Henry F. Christiansen
• SP4 Stephen N. G. Chu
• SGT Fedor Chuberko
• PFC Andrew J. Chun
• PFC Kenneth A. Chun
• SP4 Paul Y. T. Chun
• SP5 Stuart S. L. Chun
• SP4 Thomas B. S. Chun
• PFC Melvin 0. S. Chung
• SP5 Edgar P. Clark, Jr.
• SP4 Clay Cockett
• SP4 Melvin Coelho
• SP4 Doroteo M. Collado, Jr.
• PFC Greg R. Condit
• PFC Paul Condry
• SP4 Stephen M. Cooke, Jr.
• PFC Norbert Cordeiro
• SP5 Allan T. Cortez
• SP4 Grant Cosco
• PFC Joseph J. Costa
• SFC Roland Crisafi
• SP4 Glenn S. Crivello
• PFC William L. Crow
• SP4 Edwin K. Cruz
• PFC Albert Cummings
• PFC Thomas Cummings
• SP4 Harry D. Curry
• PFC Robert G. Custino
• SGT Alfredo Dalere
• PFC Brian R. Date
• PFC Benjamin Dayanan
• SSG Patrick C. DeBusca
• CPL Thomas D. Decano, Jr.
• SP4 Patrick W. De Coito
• SGT Gaylord Defries
• SP4 Joseph A. DeMorales
• SP4 Dennis W. DeMotta
• SSG Antone DeSa
• PFC Renato S. Devera
• SP4 Frederick A. Devereux
• PFC Gordon R. Dias
• SP4 Wilbur G. Dickson
• PFC Larry S. Dodo
• SP5 Roger M. K. Dong
• SP4 Arthur S. Dorado
• SP4 Manuel A. Duarte
• SP4 Richard S. Dukes
• SGT David L. Duyao
• SP4 Robert L. Duyao
• SSG Kenneth T. Ebisu
• SP4 Henry Eleneki
• SGT David K. Elia
• PFC Royden N. Emoto
• SP4 Allen I. Emura
• SSG Richard English
• SP4 Wayne M. Enokawa
• SP4 Charles L. T. Enomoto
• PFC Alexander J. Enos
• PFC Gerald V. Enos
• PFC Ipulasi Eselu
• SP4 Gilbert V. Fallau
• PFC George Farias
• PFC Alan G. Feiteira
• PFC Calvin Fernandez
• SP4 Ivan R. Fernandez
• SP5 Kenneth R. Forbes

• PFC Robert Foster
• PFC Dennis P. Franks
• PFC Leonard Freeman
• SP4 Douglas A. Freitas
• PFC David M. Frenz
• SSG Daniel R. Frias
• SGT Michael I. Fujii
• SP4 William Y. Fujikawa
• SP4 Wayne T. Fujimoto
• SP4 Kenneth S. Fujinaka
• SP4 Michael Fujinaga
• PFC Earl A. Fuj1shige
• SP4 Dennis Fukuchi
• PFC Craig M. Fukuda
• PFC Watter A. Fukuda
• SFC Ronald C. Fukuhara
• PFC Dean Y. Fukumoto
• PFC Harold H. Fukushima
• PFC Henry S . . Fukushima
• PFC Larry W. Fuller, Jr.
• SP4 James S. Funai
• PFC Joseph E. Fune
• PFC Marc Furukawa
• SP4 Lloyd Y. Furumori
• SP5 Michael N. Furutani
• PFC Gary Galacgac
• SP4 Roland Gambol
• SP4 Alfred Gamiao
• SP4 Alfred Ganigan, Jr.
• SP4 Roland J . Ganon
• SP4 Emilio A. Gantiano
• SGT Alfonso A. Garcia
• SP4 Frank W. Gardanier, Jr.
• SP4 Russell 0. Gibson
• SP4 William H. Giddens
• SP6 Richard S. Gima
• SP5 Alan K. Ginoza
• PFC Henry S. Ginoza
• SP4 Stephen C. Girald
• SP4 John I. Glushenko
• PFC Eugene D. Gold
• SP5 Harry M. Gomes
• SP4 Joseph M. Gomes
• SP4 Harrison Gomez
• PFC Gerald Gonsalves
• PFC Sonny Gonzaga
• PFC Casiano B. Gonzales
• SGT John J. Gonzales
• PFC Robert W. Good, Jr.
• SGT Wayne P. Goodwin
• SP4 Robert L. Gordon
• PFC Alan H. Goto
• SP4 Alan T. Goto
• SP4 Thomas I. Goto
• PFC Glen K. Goya
• PFC Howard T. Goya
• PFC Samuel Grace, Jr.
• PFC Woodrow W. Greenhouse
• SP4 Ryan K. Gushiken
• SP4 Steven T. Gushikuma
• SP4 Richard Guzman
• SP4 David Y. Haitsuka
• SSG Robert Halemano
• PFC Mitchell M. Hamabata
• PFC Gary E. Hamada
• SP5 Michael L. Hamada
• SP5 Milton T. Hamada
• SP4 Ernest 0. Hamai
• SFC Wataru Hamamoto
• SP4 Herman M. Hamasaki
• SP4 Joe R. Hampton
• SGT John K. Hao
• SP5 Rodney M. Harada
• SP4 Clyde H. Haraguchi
• PFC Daniel T. Hashimoto
• SFC Alvin M. Hatori
• SP4 Michael Y. Hayashida
• SP5 Anacleto Heloca
• SSG Jona,1 I. Hema
• SGT Matthew Heneralau, Jr.
• SP4 Lloyd K. Henry
• PFC Daniel Hernandez
• PSG Ricardo C. Herodies
• PFC Dennis P. Hersh
• SP4 Randall P. Hersh
• SP4 Bruce H. Hidano
• PFC David H. Higa
• SP4 David M. Higa
• SP4 Edward T. Higa
• SP5 Harold N. Higa
• PFC Sydney T. Higa
• SP4 Warren M. Higashi
• PFC Eric Hinokawa
• PFC James K. Hiraki
• SP4 Irving N. Hirata
• SGT Clifford H. Hirayasu
• SP4 Robert S. Hironaka
• SP4 Jeremiah L. K. Ho
• P FC Lyle I. Ho
• SGT Robert R. Hoffman Jr.
• SSG J 1Jhn H. Hokoana
• SP4 Wayne M. Hoh
• PFC J’ilmes D. Homan
• PFC Wayne K. W. Hong
• SP4 Melvin S Horimoto
• SP4 Thomas T. Horio
• SSG Edwin Hoshida
• SP4 Albert Hue, Jr.
• SSG Homer Hungerford
• PFC Robert K. Hussey
• SP4 Kenny K. Iboshi
• SP4 Michael Ichikawa
• PFC Wayne K. Ichikawa
• SP4 Gerald R. lfuku
• PFC Barney M. Ige
• SP4 Rudy Ignacio
• PFC Calvin Y. Ibara
• SP4 Warren S. Ihara
• SP4 Ardaven N. Ikeda
• SP4 Keith Ikeda
• PFC Rodney Ikegami
• PFC Michael Imai
• MSG Sheldon K. Imai
• SGT Kenneth Imamura
• SP4 Sterling D. Ing
• SP4 Robert A. Inouye
• SP4 Alan Y. Ishiara
• SGT Howard Ishii
• SGT Kenneth Ishizaki
• PFC Lance A. Ito
• SP4 Rodney R. Ito
• SP4 Dennis S. Itomura
• PFC Ronald Iwata
• PFC Raymond T. Izuno
• PFC Nelson R. Jacintha
• PFC Leon Javillonar, Jr.
• PFC Lawrence Jeminez
• SP4 William D. Jenkins
• SP4 Julius K. Jensen, Jr.
• SP4 Edward C. Jim
• PFC James J innohara
• PFC Michael L. Jobes
• PFC Kurt A. Johnson
• SP4 Walter C. Joines
• SSG Nelson E. Jones
• PFC Norman Juan
• SP4 Glenn I. Jyo
• SP4 Glenn N. Kadota
• SP4 David L. Kaea
• SP4 Dennis K. Kagami
• SP5 Glenn M. Kagihara
• SP4 Abraham Kahalekomo
• PFC Collin J. Kaholo
• SGT. Dennis Kahula
• SGT Paul N. Kahunahana
• SP5 Alan K. Kaido
• SP4 Solomon H. Kailihiwa, Jr.
• SP4 Herbert I. Kaina
• 1SG Dallas K. Kalepa
• SP4 Herring K. Kalua
• SP4 Colyne E. Kam
• SP6 Ronald N. K. Kam
• SPS Wendall Kam
• SP5 Edwin M. Kamisugi
• SGT Danny Kanahele
• SP4 Alison M. Kanda
• PFC Roy K. Kanemura
• SP4 Gary Kaneshiro
• SP4 Ronald Y. Kaneta
• SP5 Marvin C. S. Kang
• SP4 Harry S. Kano
• SFC Richard T. Kano
• PFC Edward Kansana
• SP5 Gideon K. Kaonohi, Jr.
• SP4 Godfrey R. Kaonohi
• SP4 Earl F. Kaopuiki
• SP4 George W. Kapahua
• SP5 Clifford S. Karimoto
• SSG Richard M. Kashiwabara
• PFC Ronald Kataoka
• 1SG Shunzi Kato
• SGT Leon K. Kau
• PFC Randall K. Kaupu
• PFC Howard S. Kawabata
• SP4 Glenn Kawamoto
• PFC Richard H. Kawamoto
• PFC Alvin Y. Kawamura
• Sp4 Bert Kawasaki
• PFC Danny K. Kayano
• PFC Glenn H. Kayano
• SFC Earle K. Kealoha
• SP5 Steven J . Keawe
• SSG Joseph Kekiwi
• SP4 George L. Kela
• SP4 Keenan Kelekolio
• PFC Sam Y. Keliinoi, Jr.
• SP4 Richard E. Ketchum
• SP4 Lawrence K. Kido
• SSG Alan B. Kidwell
• SP4 Eyvinn M. Kihara
• SP4 Richard H. Kihara
• SP4 Herbert E. Kihoi, Jr.
• PFC William Kikuta
• SP5 Anthony Y. K. Kim
• SP4 Dennis M. K. Kim
• PFC Eric J . Kim
• PFC Lester Kimura
• PFC Rudolph G. King
• 1SG Shoso Kitaoka
• SP4 Wayne T. Kiwaha
• PFC Ronald Y. Kiyota
• SP4 Edward G. Knott, Jr.
• SSG Thomas W. Koani
• SP5 Fred A. Kobashikawa
• PFC Clifford M. Kobata
• PFC William H. Kobayashi
• SPS Gregory Kochi
• PFC Edward K. Kodani
• PFC Harold H. Koga
• SP4 Raymond M. Koga
• SP4 Stanley Y. Koga
• SP4 Steven S. Koike
• PFC William P. Konanui
• SP4 Robert F . Kong
• PFC Emerick T. Konno
• SP4 Calvin T. Kono
• PFC Calvin R. Kouchi
• SP4 Michael K. Koyanagi
• SP4 James H. Kuamoo
• PFC Melvin K. Kunimoto
• SP4 Raymond N. Kunishi
• PFC Jerry S. Kunishima
• PFC Robert H. Kuroda
• PFC Gary Y. Kurosu
• SP5 Gary N. Kusuhara
• PFC George R. Kwan
• SSG Roland Laboguen
• PFC Robert L. Labrie
• PFC Cornell K. Y. Lam
• PFC Wilfred K. C. Lam
• SP4 Michael I;ani
• PFC Dennis Laoron
• PFC Norman K. K. Lau
• PFC Patrick Lau
• SP4 Ronald K. Lau
• SP4 Alric K. U. Lee
• PFC Francis K. L. Lee
• PFC Kenneth A. Lee
• PFC Timothy C. Lee
• SP4 Michael A. Leite
• SP4 Lowell W. Len
• SP4 Herbert Leong
• SP4 Wayne K. Leonida
• SP4 Thomas L. Leopoldlno
• PFC Dexter F. Leslie
• PFC Michael W. Leslie
• SP5 Allan A. Lewis
• SGT Wayne C. K. Lewis
• PFC Herman Libarios
• SP4 Roland Lindsey
• SPS Dennis F. G. Ling
• PFC Jack J. Loando
• PFC William C. Lopes
• PSG Thomas K. Lopez
• SP4 Stephen Lorian
• SP4 James A. Louis
• SP4 Roy E. Lovett, Jr.
• SP5 Ernest M. 0. Lum
• SP4 Richard A. Lum
• PFC William K. Lyman, Jr.
• SP4 Gordon E. MacGregor
• SP4 Mauro Madrid, Jr.
• PFC Clyde E. Maeda
• SGT Arthur M. Mahi
• SSG Charles L. Mahi
• SP4 Carl H. Makino
• SGT Malcolm Makua
• SP4 Solomon K. Malani
• SP4 Solomon Maliu
• PFC Michael T. Malloy
• SP4 Randolph C. Manaba
• PFC Randall Manasas
• SP4 Melvin Mandrigues
• SFC William K. Manoa, Jr.
• CPL Vicente S. Manzano, Jr.
• SP4 Leland Marciel
• SP4 Franklin Maria
• SP4 Ronald J. Maria
• SP4 Randall N. Mark
• PFC Abel K. Marquez
• SSG Joseph H. S. Martin, Jr.
• PFC Larry Martinez
• SP4 Alan E. Martins
• PFC David R. Martins
• PFC Edward Martins, Jr.
• PFC Danies I. Masaki
• SP5 James T. Masukawa
• SP4 Walter S. Masumoto
• PFC Clifford Masunaga
• SPS Glenn H. Masutani
• PFC Alan T. Matsuda
• SP4 Dean T. Matsuda
• SP4 David Y. Matsumoto
• SP4 Myron M. Matsumoto
• SSG Noriyasu Matsumura
• SP4 Ronald M. Matsumura
• SP4 David Matsuoka
• PFC Glenn N. Matsushita
• SP4 Joseph P. Mattos, Jr.
• SP4 David J. C. Mau
• SP4 Glenn W. K. Mau
• SP4 Randall Mau
• SP4 Robert H. Maxey
• PFC Leonard B. Maxwell
• SP4 Frank Medeiros
• PFC Glen P. Medeiros
• SP4 Harry J. Medeiros
• PSG Stanley L. Medeiros
• PFC William Medeiros
• SP4 Bernard Mendonca
• PFC Milton H. Mendoza
• SP4 Wilfred L. Midallia
• SPS Glenn L. Middleton
• SP4 Belllly Millare
• SP4 Stanton Miller
• SSG Wilmer B. Miller
• PFC Clyde M. Minamishin
• PFC Arthur Misemer
• SP4 Dale K. Mishima
• PFC James C. Mitchell
• SP4 Abe E. Mitsuda
• SP4 Norman S. Miyachi
• SP4 Kenneth M. Miyakawa
• SP4 Allan S. Miyamoto
• SP4 Garrick A. Miyamoto
• SP4 Kenneth V. Miyamoto
• PFC Dennis Miyano
• SP4 Melvin T. Miyao
• PFC Richard S. Miyasato
• SP4 Reynold M. Miyashiro
• PFC Dennis M. Miyata
• SP4 Lawrence K. Miyazono
• SP4 Robert H. Moderow
• SP4 Joseph Moja, Jr.
• SP4 Ray K. Moke
• PFC Bernardo G. Mones
• SP4 Gordon D. Moniz
• SP4 Clifford H. Moriwaki
• PFC Arnold H. Moses
• PFC Maurice Motoda
• PFC Warren E. D. Muller
• SP4 Lawrence T. Murakami
• SP4 Paul I. Murakami
• SP4 Vernon K. Muraka mi
• SPS Alan S. Murata
• SGT Belmont Murray
• SP4 Russell M. Nagamine
• SPS Richard T. Nagano
• SP4 Earl K. Naito
• SFC Joseph S. Nakagawa
• PFC Ray T. Nakagawa
• SP4 Raymond T. Nakagawa
• SP4 Sanford Nakagawa
• PSG Lester Nakaichi
• PFC Bruce Nakamura
• SP4 Edwin Y. Nakamura
• SP4 Leslie G. Nakamura
• SP4 Rey Nakamura, Jr.
• SP4 Richard T. Nakamura

• PFC Edmund N. Nakano
• PFC Glenn I. Nakasato
• PFC Clyde M. Nakashima
• SP4 Gary Nakasone
• SP4 Stacey Nakasone
• MSG Baron Nakatani
• PFC Alvin R. Nakayama
• SP4 Rauyl Nakayama
• SSG Filemon M. Nanod
• SP4 Ronald K. Narimatsu
• PFC Gordon Nascimento
• PFC Riley K. Naumu, Ill
• SP4 Ronald N. Naumu
• SP4 Wendell J. Naumu
• SGT William J. Neilson
• PFC Michael J. Nelson
• SP4 Alfred K. H. Ng
• SSG Theodore Nicolas
• PFC Glen K. Niimoto
• PFC Darwin Y. Nikaido
• PFC Ellsworth Nikaido
• SP4 John K. Nishida
• SP4 Lloyd T. Nishihara
• SP4 Eddie M. Nishimoto
• SP4 Roy M. Nishimura
• PFC Simpson H. Nitta
• PFC Charles W. Nobriga
• PFC James R. Nobriga
• SPS Stephen P. Obrey
• PFC Dennis H. Oda
• PFC Jerry K. Ogata
• SP4 Levon A. Ohai
• PFC John J . O’Hara
• SP4 Norman Ohara
• SPS Ralph G. Oide
• SP4 Wayne M. Oishi
• SPS Donald K. Ojiri
• PFC Kenneth T. Oka
• PFC Robert I. Okajima
• SP4 Arnold T. Okamura
• PFC Robert Okano
• SP4 Richard Okawa
• SP4 Harvey H. Okazaki
• SP4 Calvert T. Okimoto
• SP4 Ryan M. Okino
• PFC Wayne T. Okubo
• SP4 Alvin K. Okumura
• SP4 Kenneth T. Omine
• PFC Claude S. Onizuka
• PVT Michael T. Onomoto
• SP4 Estanislao Opiana
• SP4 Douglas I. Orimoto
• SP5 George J. Osakoda
• PFC Thurston Osedo
• PFC Carl M. Oshima
• SP5 Burton Oshiro
• SGT Henry S. Oshiro
• SP5 Raymond S. Oshiro
• PFC Wesley K. Oshiro
• SP4 Arnold T. Ota
• MSG Hiroshi Ota
• PFC Ronald M. Ota
• SP4 Harold N. Otani
• SP4 Ray N. Otani
• PSG Tadashi G. Otsuka
• SSG Mitsuo Oyama
• SFC Masaji Ozeki
• SP4 Charles Pa
• SP4 Walter G. Pacheco
• SP4 Dennis G. Pacyao
• SP4 Geminiano M. Paet
• SP5 Raymond K. Pahukoa
• SP4 Edmundo Palacol
• SP4 Everett C. H. Pang
• PFC Renfred Y. H. Pang
• SP4 Roger R. Pangan
• SP4 Frederick L. G. Pangelina, Jr.
• SP4 Joseph M. Panoncial
• SFC William K. Panui
• SSG Robert C. Paoa
• SP4 Baltazar G. Parel
• SP4 Ethan L. C. S. Park
• PFC Ivan Y. Park
• PSG Henry C. Parrilla
• SP5 Garrett L. Passos
• PFC Dennis Patigayon
• SP4 Richard D. Pauline
• SP4 Patrick Pavao
• SP4 John R. Payne
• SP4 Frederick T. Perreira
• SP4 James R. Perreira
• SP4 Richard C. Perreira
• PFC Patrick Pestana
• SP5 Thomas K. Peterson
• SP4 Robert J. Phillips
• SP4 William C. A. Pieper
• SP4 Dayle S. Pierce
• PFC Edwin R. Pimentel, Jr.
• SP6 Doroteo Pitoy
• PVT Gary Prezevich
• SP4 Howard J. Pruse
• SP4 Robert K. Puahi
• PFC Claude A. Pule
• PFC Tomas R. Pulido
• SP4 Benjamin K. Puou
• SP4 Patrick W. Purgatorio
• SP4 Robert A. Quinn
• SP4 Pedro Quiocho
• SP4 Sanford K. Y. Quon
• PFC Otilia Rabago
• PFC Pio R. Rabang, Jr.
• SP4 Freddy S. Ramos, Jr.
• PFC Vernon L. Ramos
• PFC Ronald B. Randall
• SFC William Range
• PFC Moses Rawlins
• PFC Richard K. Rees
• CPL James M. Reis
• SSG Rosalino S. Respicio
• PFC Wayne Richardson, III
• PFC Alfredo Ringor
• SP4 Abraham Rivera
• SP4 Robert Robello
• SP4 Daniel R. Rocha
• PFC Lawrence J. Rocha
• SP4 Frank Rodrigues
• PFC Malcome G. Rodrigues
• PFC Melvin Rodrigues
• PFC Waldemar F. Rogers
• SP4 Maxilindo E. C. Roi
• PFC Arthur W. Rosario
• SGT Wayne H. Ryusaki
• SP4 Joseph S. Sabal
• SGT Alan C. A. Sabate
• SSG Antonio F . Sabate
• PFC Ronald K. Saito
• SP5 Richard Sakai
• SP4 Roy Y. Sakamoto
• PFC Ernest H. Sakoda
• SP4 Rodney Y. Sakuda
• SP4 Rogelio Sanistan
• SGT Virgin J. Santos
• SP5 Alan R. Sarceda
• SP6 Ernest H. Sasaki
• SGT Richard K. Sasaki
• SP4 Bruce A. Sato
• SP4 Calvin K. Sato
• SP4 Dennis T. Sato
• PFC Stanley T. Sato
• SP4 Neill Y. Segawa
• SP4 John Sentino
• SP5 Jerry Y. Seo
• PFC Philip E. Sharp
• SP4 Ranceford K. Shea
• PFC Leslie I. Shibuya
• PFC Benedict T. Shimabuku
• SP4 Dennis M. Shimababuku
• SPS Edwin T. Shimada
• SP4 Thomas Shinsato
• PFC Larry K. Shinshiro
• SFC Futoshi Shintani
• PFC Gerald Y. Shiroma
• SP4 Gary K. Shirota
• PFC George J. Shojinaga
• SP5 Antone G. Silva, Jr.
• SP4 Francis T. Silva
• PFC Leroy Silva
• SP4 Lloyd M. Silva
• PFC Rodney W. Silva
• SP4 George Simao
• PFC Kent K. Simmons
• SP4 David A. Sniffen, Jr.
• SP4 Samuel Soares
• SP4 Jeremy G. Song
• SP4 Randall E. C. Soong
• SP4 Albert K. Soto
• SP4 Rogelio R. Soto
• PFC Michael Souza
• PFC Victor B. Souza, Jr.
• SP4 Charles Spencer
• SP4 Charles W. Spitz, Ill
• PFC David K. Sproat
• SP5 George K. Stender, Jr.
• SP4 Barry K. Suda
• PFC Melvin S. Sueda
• SP4 Daniel H. Suehiro
• SGT Reynold Suenaga
• SGT Fusao Sugai
• PFC Joseph J. Sugai
• SP4 Steven T. Sugai
• SP5 Howard M. Sugamoto
• SP4 Roy H. Sugimoto
• SP4 Walter Y. Sugiura
• SP4 Roy Y. Sugiyama
• SP4 Santiago Sumbad
• CPL Elton K. Sumida
• SP4 Masayuki Sumida
• SP4 Richard W. Sumida
• PFC Fred M. Sunada
• PFC Glenn M. Sunada
• SP4 Charles N. Suzuki
• SP4 Howard S. Suzuki
• SP4 Kenneth G. Sylva
• SP4 Jose Tabajunda
• SGT Calvin M. Tadaki
• SPS Jerry Y. Taira
• PFC Francis P. Tajon
• PFC Alton H. Takahashi
• PVT Glenn Takahashi
• PFC Dennis Takaki
• PFC Clifford Y. Takamori
• PFC Jerry S. Takamoto
• PFC Edwin T. Takano
• PFC David M. Takara
• SPS Roy S. Takara
• SP4 Howard T. Takata
• SSG Shigeto Takayama
• SFC Shoji Takayama
• SP4 Gary T. Takayesu
• SP5 Norman M. Takeoka
• SP4 Ernest K. Taketa
• SP4 Raymond T. Takiye
• PFC James I. Tamashiro
• SP4 Ronald H. Tamashiro
• PFC Barry M. C. Tam-Hoy
• PFC Melvin T. Tamura
• SP4 Alvin F. Tanaka
• PFC Clifton H. Tanaka
• PFC Larry T. Tanaka
• SP4 Ronald T. Tanabe
• SP4 Stanley Y. Tanaka
• PFC Glenn T. Tanigawa
• PFC Ronald S. Tanijo
• SP4 Gerald M. Tanioka
• PFC Paul K. Taniyama
• SP4 Brian I. Tanoue
• SP4 Gary T. Tanouye
• SP4 Dennis S. Tashima
• PFC Howard K. Tateishi
• SP4 Patrick K. Teramoto
• SP4 Claude Teruya
• SP4 Eugene T. Texeira
• SP4 Robert S. Thue
• SP4 Marceliano D. Tiqui
• SP4 Robert Tojo
• PFC Thomas T. Tokuda
• PFC Eugene Tokuhama Toknuaga, Jr.
• PFC Theodore M.
• PFC Lance Tokushima
• SP4 Leonard S. Tomihama
• SP4 Miles T. Tomitagawa
• PFC Stanley Tomono.
• PFC Garrett H. Tonaki
• PFC Daniel R. Torres
• SP4 Douglas B. Torres
• SP4 Eric T. Toyomura
• SP4 John Tripoli, Jr.
• PFC James H. Tsuchiya
• PFC Gregory Tsuda
• PFC David P. Y. Tsui
• SP4 Darrell Tsukada
• PFC Dennis S. Tsukada
• SP4 Michael T. Tsuru
• SP4 Mark T. Tsutsumi
• SP4 Bernard J. Tumbaga
• SP4 Raymond S. Uchida
• SP4 Wesley Uchida
• PFC Eugene Y. Uchima
• SP4 Leabert I. Uejo
• SP4 Kenneth Uemura
• SFC David K. Umeda
• PFC Jerry Umiamaka
• SP4 Howard Unebasami
• SGT James S. Uno
• SP4 Andrew T. Urasaki
• SP4 Wilfred P. Uwekoolani
• SP4 Edward D. Valdez
• PFC Joseph Valenzuela
• SP4 Ronald Vandenburgh
• PFC Ernest A. Vares
• SP4 Gary T. Vasconcellos
• PFC Gilbert Vaughan
• SP4 Ronald D. Veriato
• SSG Allen F. Victor
• SP4 Patrick A. Victorino
• SP4 Catalino Villanueva, Jr.
• 1SG Benedicto Villaverde
• SP4 Larry Villegas
• PFC Albert K. Viloria
• PFC David Voss
• PFC Robert B. Wachi
• PFC Louis K. Wai
• SGT Dennis Wasano
• SP4 Andrew Watanabe
• SP4 James Y. Watanabe
• SP4 Preston K. Watanabe
• PFC Roland M. Watanabe, Jr.
• SP4 Dennis M. Wataoka
• PFC John Wataoka
• SP5 Brian I. Watarai
• SP4 Reginald T. Watarai
• PFC Winston T. Watarai
• SSG Robert Watari
• SPS Anthony K. Watson
• SGT Donald Webb
• SP4 William J. Wery
• SSG Terry B. Wessel
• SP4 Douglas Wheeler
• SP5 Wendell A. Windham
• PFC Anthony C. Wond
• SP4 Alvin G. S. Wong
• SP4 John J. G. H. Wong
• SGT Kenneth J. W. Wong
• PFC Kenyon K. C. Wong
• SP4 Lorrin W. Wong
• SSG Norman Wong
• SP4 Wayne T. Yagi
• SP4 Roy T. Yamada
• PFC Michael K. Yamagata
• SP4 Clinton Y. Yamaguchi
• PFC Leslie H. Yamamoto
• SP4 Lester Yamanaka
• PFC Glenn S. Yamane
• SP4 Glenn T. Yamanouchi
• PFC Calvin Yamasaki
• PFC Harvey T. Yamasaki
• SP5 Morton M. Yamasaki
• PFC Victor Yamasaki
• SP4 Calvin I. Yamashiro
• PFC Clinton M. Yamashiro
• SP4 Daniel M. Yamashiro
• SP4 Hugh K. Yamashiro
• SPS Steven S. Yamashiro
• PFC Ralph H. Yamashita
• PFC Bert M. Yanagida
• PFC Mark I. Yanagida
• SP4 Michael H. Yanagihashi
• SP4 Roderic Yanagisawa
• SGT James E. Yap
• PFC Brian M. Yasuda
• SP4 Glen T. Yasue
• SP4 Eric D. Yeaman
• PFC Russell W. Lee
• SP4 Charles Yee Hoy, III
• PFC William Yin, Jr.
• PFC Michael K. Yokota
• SP4 George M. Yonamine
• PFC Wayne M. Yonesaki
• SP4 Claude T. Yorimoto
• PFC Larry H. Yoshida
• SPS Norman K. Yoshida
• SP5 Thomas H. Yoshida
• SPS Wallace K. Yoshida
• SP4 Melvin H. Yoshikane
• SP4 Donald Yoshikawa
• PFC Thomas T. Yoshikawa
• SP4 Stanley T. Yoshimoto
• SP5 Raymond Yoshimura
• SP4 Glen K. Yoshiura
• PFC Bingham B. Young
• SP4 Paul D. Young
• SP4 Randall W. T. Young
• SP4 Steven P. Young
• SGT Gary T. Yoza
• CPL Ronald J. Yoza
• SP4 Gary K. Q. Yuen
• SP4 Adrian Yurong
• SSG Yutaka Zaan

IN MEMORIAM

It is with deep regret that the deaths of the following personnel of the 29th Infantry Brigade, Hawaii Army National Guard, mobilized on 13 May 1968, are announced. The Hawaii National Guard mourns the loss of these loyal members who served their country with distinction and honor.

Combat Deaths

• PFC Earl C. M. Au Hoy – Co A 1st Bn 299th Inf
• SP4 John S. Otake – Co A 1st Bn 299th Inf
• PFC Glenn T. Shibata – God Survl & Hv Mort Plat HHC 2d Bo 299th Inf
• SFC Edward L. Loo, Jr. – Co C 2d Bn 299th Inf
• PFC Michael S. Nakashima – HBC 29th Inf Bde
• SP4 Roger R. Pangen – Trp E 19th CA V
• SGT Gaylord K. DeFries – Co B 1st Bn 299th Inf
• SP4 Walter D. Drowne – Co C (-) 1st Bo 299th Inf
• 1LT J oho K. Kauhaihao – Co C ( – ) 2d Bn 299th Inf
• SP4 Alberto Milar, Jr. – HHC ( – ) 2d Bn 299th Inf
• SGT Wilfredo B. Andrada – Co B 2d Bn 299th Inf

Non-Combat Deaths

• 1SG Anthony C. S. Tam Sing – HBC 29th Inf Bde
• SP4 Norman K. Hayashi – Co C 29th Spt Bo
• SP4 Rudy Aquino – Co B ( – ) 1st Bo 299th Inf
• PFC Robert H. Kawamoto – Btry A 1st Bn 487th Arty
• 1SG Joseph Harvest – Co A 29th Bn
• PFC Dennis R. Penis – Co A ( – ) 2d Bn 299th Inf
• SSC Allen K. Matsumoto – HBC 29th Inf Bde
• SP4 David S. Laamea – Co B 1st Bo 299th Inf
• SP4 Frank T. Longakit – Co A 2d Bo 299th Inf

– 1969 Winter The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 10-13

WELCOME HOME

This issue is, quite naturally. primarily devoted to a big “Welcome Home” to our members of the 29th Infantry Brigade. As I have written in the past, they can all be certain that we are delighted to see them return. During September, I was fortunate enough to make a trip to Vietnam and, although it was rather quick trip with only three days in country, I was most pleased with the arrangements made and with the fact that I was able to see almost 200 of our men. It was a rewarding experience for me and I received the answer I expected from the commanders I talked to, namely, that our members were performing outstandingly. They have congratulations, admiration and appreciation from us all.

– 1969 Winter The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 14

IN MEMORIAM

It is with deep regret that the Department announces the deaths of additional 29th Infantry Brigade members during Fiscal year 1970. These men were mobilized with the Brigade on May 13, 1968. The Department mourns the loss of these loyal men who served their country with distinction and honor.

COMBAT DEATHS

• SP4 Roger R. Pangan, Trp E, 19th Cav
• SGT Gaylord K. Defries , Co B, 1st Bn, 299th Inf
• SP4 Walter D. Browne, Co C, 1st Bn, 299th Inf
• 1LT John K. Kauhaihao, Co C, 2d Bn, 299th Inf
• SP4 Alberto Milar Jr., HHC, 2d Bn, 299th Inf
• SGT Wilfredo B. Andrada, Co B, 2d Bn , 299th Inf

NON-COMBAT DEATHS

• SP4 David S. Laamea, Co B, 1st Bn, 299th Inf
• SP4 Frank T. Longakit, Co A, 2d Bn, 299th Inf

– 1970 Annual Report pp.5

29TH INFANTRY BRIGADE

The 29th Infantry Brigade was released from active duty and reverted to State status on December 13, 1969 after 19 months of Federal service. Brigade personnel levied for overseas duty began returning from Vietnam and Korea in late November of 1969. A deactivation ceremony was held, on December 10, 1969, during a Brigade review at Schofield Barracks. Colonel Edward M. Yoshimasu, Chief of Staff, Hawaii Army National Guard, was designated as the Acting Commander and assumed command on December 13, 1969, replacing Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer Ill.

The strength of the 29th Infantry Brigade, upon deactivation, was 1,797 officers and enlisted men, compared to an authorized strength of 3,306. At the end of February 1970, the strength of the Brigade decreased to an aggregate of 1,190. The losses consisted primarily of individuals who chose to transfer to the Individual Ready Reserve (USAR). As of June 30, 1970, the strength of the Brigade was 1,582, or 47.8 percent of authorized strength, a gain of 392 from its strength at the end of February 1970.

The following awards were received by personnel of the Brigade during the active duty period:

• Distinguished Service Medal-1
• Legion of Merit-2
• Silver Star-4
• Air Medal-87
• Bronze Star-187
• Army Commendation Medal-208
• Joint Service Commendation Medal-3
• Purple Heart-40

On June 30, 1970, there were 120 non-prior-service personnel from the Brigade who were on active duty and undergoing recruit training in Continental United States Training Centers. At the end of the fiscal year, 274 non-prior service individuals were awaiting entry into the Reserve Enlistment Program.

Upon deactivation in December 1969, the 29th Infantry Brigade undertook the tremendous task of rebuilding its units to premobilization strength. Strength buildup was the primary objective of all units. To assist the units in recruiting, Headquarters United States Army, Hawaii, assigned three former Brigade NCO’s to the 29th. These NCO’s had extended their tours on active duty. Three 25-passenger Army buses were converted into mobile recruiting offices and were utilized at schools and public meeting places. By June 30, 1970, 396 men had been recruited by units of the Brigade.

Brigade training began in January 1970, following demobilization. Emphasis was placed upon strength buildup, organization of units, and receipt and processing of TOE and TA equipment. This was followed by training in mandatory subjects and civil disturbance operations.

Upon deactivation, the Brigade was required to turn over all TOE equipment to the 4th Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, which was activated in December of 1969. The 29th Infantry Brigade began receiving new TOE equipment in January of 1970. The equipment included M-14 rifles, 1 ¼ ton trucks, unit mess equipment and other items. Major items of equipment for training that have not been received in sufficient numbers to date include: radios, l ¼ ton trucks, 2½ ton trucks, crew served weapons, and engineer equipment. By the end of the fiscal year, the Brigade had received approximately 66 percent of its TOE equipment.

– 1970 Annual Report pp.9

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 27

EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO MEMBERS OF 29TH INFANTRY BRIGADE Set At:

WHEREAS, The 29th Infantry Brigade composed of units and members from the Hawaii Army National Guard and the 100th Infantry Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, was mobilized on 13 May 1968, for service connected with the Vietnam conflict; and

WHEREAS, The 29th Infantry Brigade was composed of three thousand four hundred and seventy-one citizensoldiers of the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, Nearly half of 29th Brigade performed service in Vietnam, and many served with distinction and honor in combat; and

WHEREAS, Twenty-eight citizen-soldiers of the 29th Infantry Brigade lost their lives and forty-three were seriously injured in the service of their country; and

WHEREAS, The 29th Infantry Brigade was released from active duty 12 December 1969, and its citizen-soldier members from the State of Hawaii have since returned to civilian status and have rejoined their wives and families; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1970, the Senate concurring, that it hereby expresses its pride, appreciation and mahalo to these militiamen of the State of Hawaii who unselfishly served their Country in time of need, and extends its heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of Hawaii militiamen who lost their lives while in the service of their Country; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a duly authenticated copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Honorable Governor John A. Burns; the Adjutant General; Commanding General, 29th Infantry Brigade, Hawaii National Guard; the Commanding Officer, 100th Infantry Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve; and Chief, National Guard Bureau,

– 1970 Summer The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 1

VILLA VERDE RECALLS VIETNAM

“Steadfast and Loyal,” the motto of the famed Fourth Infantry Division, became the motto of dozens of men of the 29th Infantry Brigade. All over the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, Hawaii’s men with their new green-on-white ivy shoulder patches went about the very unconventional business of combat – South East Asia style.

The newly-arrived men of the 29th wasted no time in becoming acclimated or adjusting to the prevailing conditions. Rather, they simply rolled up their sleeves and went to work. They were found in the boondocks and around base camp perimeters, facing North Vietnamese regulars or Charlie himself. The. “Pineapples” presence was felt in the ranks of all of the Fourth’s units and more important, it was appreciated by the professional hardstripers.

Wherever you turned in the Division, you found a Hawaiian. Whether you were in a major command headquarters or a subordinate unit, whether it was an aviation, company or engineer unit or medial or transportation battalion, you found a “Pineapple.” The division’s area of operation covered over 17,000 square miles, a lot of territory, but of course, there were a lot of “Pineapples” – “Pineapples” in the dust bowls, “Pineapples” in the quagmires during the monsoons, “Pineapples” in areas acessable only to choppers or to another “Pineapple.”

The most distinguished of us all was Brigadier General Frederick Schaefer, the Assistant Division Commander of the Fourth by the time most of us got there. As a matter of fact, the general order cut in mid-69 announcing his appointment as ADC was a source of considerable pride for the rest of us. We were equally proud when he was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star and the Republic of Vietnam Staff Service Medal for his complete reorganization of the camp’s defense. It was just a matter of time before the “Old Man” got around to see most of the former 29th members, not once but several times in many cases.

If you’re not familiar with Viet Nam, the Central highlands offer a very cool, very comfortable climate. The nights were a little chilly, if noisy, as the big tubes of Div Arty punctuated the darkness with their staccato as round after outgoing round kept Charlie on his toes. On several occasions, the sound of the gunships interrupted the howitzers as the VC attempted to penetrate the perimeters. During these episodes, it wasn’t too uncommon to see a group of pupule Hawaiians huddled on the roof of the hillsides orderly room clutching their blankets for warmth and watching the activity below, as load after load of ordnance arced from the unseen choppers into the vegetation below. At other times, alerts signaled incoming or sapper activity nearby, giving us some anxious moments.

In succeeding articles, I’ll be talking about the places and the people who served in Viet Nam. You’ll see names like Auwae, Cabral, Crockett, Hema, Kalua, Kunitomo, Low, Orton, Respicio, Toriano, Taira, and Yoshimura; and places like Dragon Mountain, Camp Enari, Pleiku, An Khe, Kontum, Ban Me Touot – places to some, marks on a situation map to others.

In the next issue: Eddie Auwae, the Mayor of An Khe and the story of Respecio and the Montagnards.

– 1970 Summer The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 16

VILLAVERDE RECALLS VIETNAM -PART II

By: First Sgt Ben Villauerde

By the time most of us from the 29th were firmly entrenched in 4th Infantry Division bunkers in the Central Highlands, Charlie had pretty well restricted his activities to light contact and skirmishes with the Fourth ‘s persistent and wide ranging patrols. Occasional rocket attacks on the fire bases, landing zones and, every so often, on the division base camp-Camp Enari served as a reminder, however, that he was still around.

An activity that proved to be fruitful in many ways, and one that many of us participated in, was the Civic Action or “pacification” program. Through the efforts of the S5 teams, the suspicious Vietnamese discovered that the American GI was human after all, and kind, gentle, even neighborly at times, and always determined to improve Vietnamese living conditions. At the same time, the teams introduced a program of nationalism to make the Vietnamese aware of their government and its interest in them.

Under a completely revamped “Good Neighbor Program,” training sessions were begun to teach the Montagnards fundamentals of first aid, construction, and updated agricultural techniques, including vaccination of their cattle which, with herds of buffalo, were a common sight throughout the country.

But it wasn’t all peace and tranquility, for the enemy constantly brought havoc and discomfort to the natives in its attempt to offset the American’s plan for village pacification. Incorporation of Montagnard hamlets under the· Division’s Hamlet Visitation Program became a priority effort, sponsored by the base camp’s support units. This entailed not only helping the ‘Yards to settle themselves in ham lets other than their own, but also providing adequate defenses for their protection. One Civil Affairs team was responsible for the protection of a consolidated hamlet called Plei Brei Dor, and the team was commanded by Captain James Respicio of Company A, First Battalion, 299th Infantry. Quickly and efficiently Captain Respicio’s team tightened the village perimeter and fortified the area with strong bunkers and well-placed concertina wire.

A week later, under the cover of darkness, the Viet Cong surged toward the wire, intent on a quick victory. Under a heavy volume of firepower from the Red Warriors and the well-organized Montagnard defense groups, the enemy was turned back, their attack broken. Six of the enemy were killed in action. For tbe Plei Brei Dor this was more than a military victory; it was a major psychological achievement because it boosted the morale of the villagers and strengthened their confidence in the Americans.

With the village secured, health and sanitation became the major concerns of the Red Warrior CA team. By practicing modern preventive medicine and treatment, the team managed to curtail the persistent outbreaks of cholera and plague and greatly reduced the incidence of disease among the villagers. The importance- of sanitation was also stressed.

The villagers learned a lot about agriculture from the CA team as well. Rice forms the major part of the Montagnard diet. The team introduced a new strain of rice imported from the Philippines which could possibly double production. The people were also instructed in the cultivation of vegetables such as corn, tomatoes, squash and watermelon.

The Montagnards kept water buffalo and pigs largely as a measure of wealth, and these animals
were seldom killed except as a gesture to honor a deceased villager. Consequently, their diet was supplemented with fish. Five fish ponds were also constructed for the use of the villagers.

Another “Pineapple” engaged in pacifying the natives living near his base was Sergeant First Class Edward Auwae (Company D, 29th Support Battalion), who served as acting First Sergeant for Company A of the 704th Maintenance Battalion at An Khe. SFC Auwae, who could pass for an overgrown Montagnard himself, personally controlled his unit’s indigenous labor force composed primarily of ‘Yards. Ed’s ability to get the most out of each Montie without causing disc on tent or disenchantment among them was his forte. All of the grounds and building maintenance, beautification, and even repairs were done entirely by Auwae’s native cohorts. Word got around that this American GI was “Numbah One,” and recruiting of local labor became routine matter. Small wonder that the moniker “Mayor of An Khe” was tacked on to this veteran Hawaii Guardsman.

In the next issue, work and play-the Vietnamese way.

– 1970 Fall The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 21

A SPECIAL SORT OF MAN

Lieutenant John K. Kauhihao was a special sort of man. He spent most of his life on the Kana Coast of Hawaii, going to school, making a living, raising a family, and fishing when he wanted to relax and think. John died in Vietnam last year in a final effort that won him the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest combat award.

His handwritten autobiography in the OCS files sketches a man of quiet strength and determination, who was devoted to his wife and four children. There are other letters in the file with the autobiography-letters of recommendation from his clergyman, a family friend, and one from his company commander in Kana. Descriptive phrases recur in the letters, “learns quickly,” “well coordinated,” “has a great deal of strength and stamina.” A sheaf of colored forms adds more to the picture of John’s character. His OCS classmates thought of him as fair, enthusiastic, cooperative, and a man who was always ready to help someone else. The staff at OCS concurred, and John Kauhaihao was selected to receive both the Hawaii National Guard Association and the Association of the United States Army awards for leadership.

The awards were presented on Friday, May 10, 1968. A short while later, his unit was activated. John was eventually reassigned to an infantry company of the First Cavalry Division.

On Friday, September 5, 1969, he was briefed by his OCS classmate, Lieutenant Zenon Wong, prior to a reconnaissance patrol near Tay Ninh. Later, during that mission, in the dense jungle, the patrol was fired upon by a battalion-size force of North Vietnamese regulars occupying bunker fortifications.

After John had directed his men to cover behind large bamboo covered dirt mounds, the rest of the company moved up to lend support fire to the pinned down element, only to be caught m a crossfire from flanking enemy bunkers. Seizing upon a momentary lull in the exchange of fire, Lieutenant Kauhaihao hacked an opening through the bamboo growing over the dirt mound behind which he had taken cover. During the next 15 minutes, he hurled more than 30 hand grenades at the enemy bunkers, drawing enemy fire on himself again and again so that his men could sight the enemy gunners and bring them under suppressive fire.

Lieutenant Kauhaihao then directed the withdrawal of his battered point element, crawling over a hundred meters of fire-swept terrain to drag vital equipment to the rear and helping wounded soldiers to positions of safety.

Later, as he and his men moved to rejoin the company’s main force, John sighted an enemy squad moving up on them. He engaged the approaching enemy and was mortally wounded by their fire.

For his extraordinary heroism, which cost him his life, Lieutenant Kauhaihao was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Shirley Ann Kauhaihao, John’s wife, and John Jr, one of the four children, recently received the award from Major General Ben Sternberg, Commanding General of USARHAW.

John Kauhaihao lived for 27 years. His life was shaped by his personal choices. He chose to join the National Guard. He chose to become an officer, and he chose to perform some difficult tasks as a leader. John was one of those special men whose service in uniform make the wearing of that uniform a very special privilege for the rest of us.

– 1970 Winter The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 6

VILLAVERDE RECALLS VIETNAM

By 1st Sgt Ben Villaverde

The Vietnam tour wasn’t a MUTA-4, it was a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week grind, as Charlie kept reminding us that we were unwelcome. The big Chinese and Russian rockets and mortar shells homed in at all hours of the day starting somewhat of a drill procedure. The sirens wailed after the first “incoming,” then, like clockwork, we’d head for the bunkers while the perimeter guards cranked up their M60s, M16s and M79s, and reaction forces all over the base camp readied themselves for the brunt of the attack.

Yet, there were opportunities for rest and recuperation “in place.” The service clubs provided a nightly haven for the tired, war-weary and thirsty Gls who stood in line for an hour or more waiting for the doors to swing open. This was especially evident when the billboard announced an upcoming stage show or an appearance by one of the many girl-fronted rock combos. Pandemonium reigned as the Gls whooped it UP, and Charlie “ate his heart out.”

Other sources of off-duty fun and enjoyment were the regular weekend cook-ins and beer-tasting seminars, especially up Pleiku way, where the Hawaii Club would do its thing with nearly a hundred members, including Captain Haruo Shigezawa and First Lieutenant David Hamilton. New acquaintances were made at the Club’s gatherings, interservice comraderie fortified, and gossip from home exchanged.

When it was time for those from the distant camps and fire bases to get back home before the 1800 curfew, men like Staff Sergeant Jona Hema and his 3/4 tonner made it past the main gate with nary a minute to spare.

Traditionally, those who returned from R&R to Hawaii carried back an extra package or two as a contribution to the Club’s resources. If the Customs people were understanding, the packages might include shoyu, kim chee, takuan, dried squid, opelu, abalone, peppered codfish strips, and naturally, portuguese sausage. An unoccupied lounge next to Captain Ward Taira’s hootch served as a gastronomic dispensary for the Hawaiian good ies. His loyal neighbor and fellow medic (this writer) assisted with the preparation and serving-ala buffet. Captains Edward Toriana, Donald Orton, Second Lieutenant Calvyn Low, Sergeant First Class Respicio, Jonah, Specialist Four’s Glen Y oshiura, Fred Sunada, Herring Kalua, and Richard Sakai were regulars in our chow line.

These get-togethers, and others like them all over Viet Nam-these momentary R&Rs in the reality of war-softened the impact of the Nam tour. They didn’t make it enjoyable, but they did make it bearable, and that’s all you can really ask.

– 1970 Winter The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 16

29th Infantry Brigade Activation: May 1968 – December 1969

It’s been 10 years since the end of the Vietnam War, but for all those who were activated with the 29th Infantry Brigade. the memories are still vivid. There were 1,100 Hawaii National Guardsmen serving in Southeast Asia and Korea between 1968 and 1969. Twenty Hawaii Guardsmen were killed.

The Pupukahi pays tribute to all those who were there and reflects back on the Hawaii Army National Guard’s involvement in the Vietnam War.

– 1985 April – June Pūpūkahi pp. 6-7

20th Anniversary of ’68 mobilization commemorated

The 29th Infantry Brigade (Separate) received the Army National Guard Meritorious Service Award from the National Guard Bureau in Washington D.C., March. 5. The award recognized the 20th anniversary of the mobilization of Army National Guard units during 1968 for service in Vietnam.

Col. Haruo Shigezawa, deputy commander, State Area Command, presented the award to Col. Edward R. Cruickshank, deputy commander of the brigade.

On May 13, 1968, nearly 3,000 brigade soldiers reported to Schofield Barracks to begin their Federal active-duty service. It was the first time since World War II that the Hawaii Army National Guard was called up for active-duty.

After 18 months, brigade soldiers returned home to State control. During those months, many brigade soldiers served in Vietnam.

Annually, the 29th Infantry Brigade and Army Reserve’s 100th Battalion conducts a memorial service honoring 29 Hawaii Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers who died while on active duty.

– 1989 January – March Pūpūkahi pp. 5

Moderows remember the ’68 activation

Nobody expected it (the activation) to happen. and then it happened

The lens of the camera closed at just the right moment to forever capture the emotion of his departure. Her head, tucked to hide the tears, rests on his chest. His steel pot hides his eyes and face but his left arm betrays him as it encircles his wife to draw her near. His boots are spotless. He loosely grasps his M-1 rifle, which is slung on his shoulder with his right hand grasping its stock. It is a heart-wrenching farewell filled with tears and a warm, patriotic glow.

More than 20 years ago, a photographer’s timing was flawless as he captured for posterity the departure of Spec. 4 Robert Moderow, the first Hawaii Army National Guardsman levied for service in the Republic of Vietnam.

The quality of the photo, combined with the obvious emotion it evokes made this photo a “must-print” for the 1968 summer edition of the Hawaii Guardsman magazine. The only drawback was that the couple could not be identified. It remained a mystery.

The powerful photo later found its way into the mission briefing for the Hawaii State Department of Defense. For 29th Brigade soldiers who served in Vietnam, the picture invokes a strong empathy with the tall young man and the woman wearing a muumuu. For those who never went, it became a potent reminder that a call to active duty could come at any time.

’68 Call-up couple identified

But for 20 years. the question lingered, “who are they?” It went unanswered, until recently.

Deanna DeMello, the key person from the 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry, “Ohana” family support group, was reviewing the 1989 version of the Hawaii National Guard Family Support Program video with her husband, Maj. Damien DeMello. She mentioned to him that the people in the photo were never identified.

Maj. DeMello recalled, “I was there at Fort DeRussy – it’s my friend Robert Moderow and his wife, Linda.”

Deanna quickly relayed this information to David Price, the State family program coordinator.

After further investigation, the photo did prove to be the Moderows who still lived on Oahu, in Hawaii Kai.

Brigade activation, May 13, 1968

While a member of the 29th Support Battalion, Moderow was a public information specialist with the Hawaii Army National Guard. He and his wife, along with two friends, owned a full-time landscaping business. At the time the photo was taken. the Moderows had a one-year-old-son, Bobby, and Linda was two months pregnant with a second child.

After being called up in April 1968, the 29th Infantry Brigade and the U.S. Army Reserve’s 100th Battalion were activated on May 13. 1968.

Knowing his business would not continue without him, Moderow sold all assets before leaving for Vietnam.

“There was a chance I wouldn’t come back and I couldn’t leave bills around for Linda to be stuck with. I hated to sell my business, but I had to,” Moderow said.

Moderow serves in Vietnam

While on active duty, Moderow was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Cu Chi, Vietnam. Moderow worked in civil affairs (G-5), mainly in psychological operations. He also worked in a program called “Helping Hand” where canned goods, grain, and medical supplies were provided to Vietnamese villagers.

Seven months after Moderow’s arrival in Vietnam. Kim was born.

“When Kim was born, I kept trying to call and I kept getting the same message. ‘Cu Chi was hit,”‘ says Linda . “Now I’m in the hospital, right? I’ve just given birth to Kim. I tell you, I kept begging the locators and operators to please try anything, but just get through to my husband. I was so scared and upset and yet so happy and excited about Kim. Talk about emotions! The nurses at Kapiolani didn’t know what to do. They were happy but scared, too . They kept telling me, don’t worry!”

“When I finally got through, on the general’s phone line, it was wonderful! Bob chose the name Kimberley for the baby and Kimberley she is. But I wouldn’t want to go through that again. I was too young. Nobody deserves that,” said Linda. “I just wasn’t prepared.”

Stronger and grateful today

Today, the Moderow again own a landscaping business. Hawaii Landscape and nursery. Their son, Bobby, is 21 and Kim, the baby born while Bob was in Vietnam, is 20 years old. Bobby has his own landscaping business and Kim works part time with her father and at Safeway Supermarket.

When looking at the photo, the Moderows go back to that day twenty plus years ago on the lot by the beach at Fort DeRussy. where the Hale Koa Hotel now stands.

“Oh no! Look! Look how sad! It was such a sad day. It was such a very, sad day,” said Linda. “Oh that looks so pathetic. I remember that day. It was so hot and humid.”

“I remember a lieutenant colonel was holding Bobby when this photo was taken. That’s why he’s not in it,” said Linda.

Moderow remembers. “Nobody expected it (the activation) to happen. We were a ready reserve force, and then it happened. We never thought it would happen to us. It was such a surprise to me. What chaos!”

Even though the memories bring back sadness, both agree the trials they lived through made them strong and very grateful for their blessings today.

“Most people don’t think about death, but when you face it every day you learn to respect life,” said Robert. “Anything is better than being dead. You might not have much. but at least you’re not dead. You can see someone smile. You can look around and see flowers, you know. but at least you’re not dead.”

The tears aren’t there anymore and the steel pot Bob wore in Vietnam has been replaced by a full head of hair with a sprinkle of gray. The boots have long been thrown away and there is no M-1 to carry. The Moderows are just a family whom a photographer captured on film twenty years ago. The photograph that remains, however, is a split second moment in their life that will live forever in their memories.

By 2nd. Lt. Margret N. Meacham

– 1989 July – September Pūpūkahi pp. 13

Brigade soldiers hold 1968 call-up reunion

By Gaye S. Sakamoto and Stephen M. Lum

Soldiers from the 29th Infantry Brigade, Hawaii Army National Guard, activated in 1968 during the Vietnam conflict, reunited in Hilo for the 25th anniversary of the call-up, May 15. Also, 12 soldiers assembled at the Vietnam memorial at the Brigade’s headquarters on Oahu to salute their fallen comrades, May 13.

More than 260 soldiers, loved ones and guests gathered at Hilo’s Wailoa State Park to recall old times, renew friendships with fellow comrades and honor those who died during the 1968 call-up.

Maj. Gen. John R. D’Araujo Jr., director of the Army National Guard, was the keynote speaker at the reunion. D’Araujo served nine months in Vietnam as commander of a mobile advisory team, and later as an operations advisor. “The role of the National Guard has changed,” said D’Araujo, “and the lessons we learned during the ’68 call-up were applied when the reserve was called up to support Operation Desert Shield and Storm.”

At the reunion, an emotional retired Sgt. Maj. Robert Y.H. Ko, read the names of the 29 soldiers from the Brigade and the Army Reserve’s 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry(which was assigned to the Brigade’s as its third battalion), who died during the Brigade’s activation.

Earlier in the week, 12 present and former members of the 29th held a quiet ceremony at the Brigade’s Vietnam memorial. Lt. Col. John K Hao and Command Sgt. Maj. James M. Reis placed a floral spray at the base of the memorial. They were joined by Maj. Keith H. Tanouye, Chief Warrant Officers Paul N. Kahunahana and Edgar P. Clark, Master Sgts. Wayne C.K Lewis, George Q.W. Tom, and Steven P. Young, Sgt. 1st Class Clifford D. Duro, Staff Sgt. David M. Ogura, and retirees Chief Warrant Officer Maurice A Souza and Command Sgt. Maj Clement Y.F. Hew.

The Department of Defense called 24,500 National Guards members and Army Reservists to federal active duty for the first time in 28 years, April 11, 1968. Col. Horace S. Hara remembers, ‘We had to drive past picket lines protesting the Vietnam war to get to the Aloha ceremony held at Fort DeRussy before reporting to Schofield Barracks, May 13, 1968.”

More than 4,120 soldiers from the 29th and the 100th Battalion were placed on active duty that day. The soldiers underwent intensive training before serving tours in Vietnam, on the mainland or at Schofield Barracks. The 29th was not sent as a whole to Vietnam. Instead, 1,200 of its members were “levied” to serve as replacements for other units.

D’Araujo, Brigade commander from 1988-1990, and Reis, present Brigade command sergeant major, both concluded their remarks by reminding the audience “not to forget” those who gave their lives serving our country.

– 1993 April – May Pūpūkahi pp. 4

Brigade’s ’68 activation commemorated- honoring those who served when called

The 30th anniversary of one of the Hawaii National Guard’s most historic events is nearly upon us. On May 13, 1968 the 29th Infantry Brigade was called to active duty for eventual service in Vietnam. The HawaiiArmy National Guard unit was one of only four Army National Guard brigades federally activated during the Vietnam contlict. To mark the anniversary, the Hawaii National Guard is planning to hold a ceremony at the 29th Infantry Brigade Headquarters on Sunday, May 17, 1998 at 10:00 a.m. More than 4,000 soldiers were activated and more than 1,100 went on to perform duty in South east Asia. Twenty-nine members of the Brigade and the Army Reserve’s 100th Battalion died by the time the unit was returned to state control in December 1969. One of those who made the ultimate sacrifice was 1st Lt. John Kauhaihao. His story of bravery is told on page 3 of this issue. It is only fitting that we honor those such as Kauhaihao, and all of the other soldiers, who fulfilled their commitment to serve their country when they were called.

– 1998 February – March Pūpūkahi pp. 2

30th anniversary of ’68 activation remembered

Lieutenant K’s Vietnam heroics recalled

By Sgt. 1st Class Aaron R. Pollick
Historical Section

Lieutenant K. That’s what his men called him in Vietnam. They couldn’t pronounce his name so they nicknamed him ”Lieutenant K.”

First Lt. John Kuulei Kauhaihao, born and raised on the Kona coast of the Big Island, did what most local boys would do, went to school, made a living, raised a family and like most loved to fish. A devoted husband and father of four, John was a person who learned quickly, was athletic and had a great deal of strength and stamina said his family friends.

Hawaii Army National Guard Officer Candidate School, Class 06-68 classmates thought of him as fair, enthusiastic and cooperative. He was a man who was always willing to help someone else. Kauhaihao, a member of the Hawaii Guard’s Company C, 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry out of Honokaa, was commissioned just two months after the call-up on May 13, 1968. Just a little over a year later, John was reassigned with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, of the 1st Cavalry Division.

“The Mission”

Lieutenant K’s story of heroism began Sept. 5, 1969. Kauhaihao was briefed by his OCS classmate 2nd Lt. Zenon K. Wong prior to his a reconnaissance patrol near Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. He was advised that there were unknown numbers of enemy bunkers hidden in his sector of patrol. His mission: to seek and destroy the bunkers. He was willing and ready.

Kauhaihao preferred hand grenades to rifle fighting and favored fragmentation grenades. At least 30 were fixed on and over his gear and clothing, so many that it looked like armor.

Lieutenant K’s search for the enemy bunkers was relatively short. He and 25 men from his platoon found a strand of blue communication wire in the scrub brush. They carefully traced the wire to its source. Then the battle began.

Fire erupted savagely from a bunker complex on the platoon’s flank. It was instantly clear that the Gls wereout numbered and they could only drop for cover. Kauhaihao’s cover was a mound of dirt. He knew his platoon was caught in a crossfire put down by a large North Vietnam force in thick jungle terrain. Recognizing his unit’s precarious position, he hacked an opening through the bamboo growing over the dirt mound and began a one-man war. In the next 15 minutes he threw 30 hand grenades. When his own supply dwindled, his men tossed theirs up to him. The lieutenant kept grabbing and tossing. Minute after minute until the battleground was littered with enemy dead, he drew fire upon himself again and again so that his men could sight the enemy gunners and bring them under suppressive fire. Kauhaihao then directed the withdrawal of his men and crawled more than 100 meters over fire-swept terrain to drag vital equipment to the rear and help wounded soldiers to a position of safety.

Later, as he and his men moved to rejoin the company’s main force, Kauhaihao sighted an enemy squad moving toward his platoon. He advanced toward them, opened fire, and was mortally wounded by their fire. It was said that after the battle a newspaperman heard of John K. Kauhaihao and wanted to do a story on him. The men eyed the newsman curiously. “Oh, you mean Lieutenant K. Listen man, you know, he saved our lives out there. Just say he was the greatest; that’s all, the greatest.”

Recognition

For his extraordinary heroism, Kauhaihao was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the highest award for valor to be given to anyone called up with the 29th Infantry Brigade.

Mrs. Shirley Kauhaihao and her four children also received a Bronze Star medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster for heroism, earned by her husband in an earlier engagement, as well as the Air Medal, Purple Heart and seven other awards.

Editor’s notes: Story based on materials gathered from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Hawaii Army National Guard records and the Hawaii Guardsman (Guard’s historical publication from 1950 to 1973, prior to the pupukahi).

29th Brigade ’68 call-up commemoration successful

My thanks go to those who helped make the 30th anniversary of the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade’s Vietnam call-up a success. The ceremony was a very touching event for the veterans in attendance. We have an obligation to remember the accomplishments of the dedicated individuals who came before us. First-class events such as the one held at the Brigade headquarters, May 17, go a long way towards honoring our deserving veterans and help perpetuate our federal Hawaii National Guard legacy

– 1998 April – August Pūpūkahi pp. 2

Brigade Commemorates ’68 call-up

By 2nd Lt. Jonathan M. Shiroma

Thirty years may have gone by, but the memories of May 13, 1968 are still very clear for the soldiers of the Hawaii Army National Guard’s 29th Separate Infantry Brigade.

On that date, more than 4,000 Hawaii Army Guard soldiers were activated into federal duty and thrown into one of the most controversial wars the United States has ever been involved with Vietnam.

More than 1,100 would eventually deploy to Southeast Asia and 29 soldiers would lose their lives while serving their country.

“We must never forget those who fought so bravely and ultimately gave their lives for their country,” said Gov. Benjamin J. Cayetano, commander in chief of the Hawaii National Guard, during the 30th commemoration of the activation ceremony held at the brigade’s headquarters. The governor thanked all those who had come to honor the Guard’s fallen heroes, especially the families of soldiers like 1st Lt. John K. Kauhaihao, who died saving his platoon and Spc. 6 Thomas T. Horio, who was a prisoner of war.

The governor also tied on a mobilization streamer to the 29th Brigade’s colors, in recognition of the ’68 call-up.

In his welcoming remarks, Maj. Gen. Edward V. Richardson, the adjutant general and Vietnam veteran, reflected on the mood and events of the days leading up to the activation. “We are here to give a real welcome home to you, the soldiers, who served gallantly and brought distinction to their units, community and family,” said Richardson.

The Hawaii Guard soldiers received the first notified of their activation by local morning radio show personality Hal ‘J. Akulhead Pupule’ Lewis, said Richardson, an F-102 Delta Dagger pilot who flew escort missions for bombers in Vietnam. “The day after Christmas 1968, I took a flight for Vietnam … along with six brigade soldiers … also on to assignments in Southeast Asia. They were part of the silent majority-those who answered the call when their country needed them.”

Twenty-nine M-16 rifles, planted in the ground with battle helmets fixed on top, lined the sidewalk leading up 1D the headquarters, a symbol of the soldiers who died during the Vietnam activation.

“It still hurts, to remember my friends who died in those killing fields,” said one Vietnam vet who did not want to be identified. “I lost two of my very best friends because of the war, yet, I’m proud to say they gave their all despite how unpopular the war was back home.”

“It really woke me up,” said ChiefW arrant Officer Paul N. Kahunahana about the activation. “There was so much opposition, but we were called to do our job and that’s what we did. It made us realize that we had to depend on each other to make it through,” he said. Kahunahana works full-time with the Hawaii Army Guard’s vehicle and equipment maintenance shop.

“I remember that day so well,” said retired Brig. Gen. Frederick A Schaefer III, who served as the commander of the brigade during the activation. “We were all at Fort DeRussy’s Kuroda Field … there was a whole lot of leis, loved ones … a lot of Aloha.”

But Schaefer pointed out, the grim reality was some of the soldiers would be off to war, in the midst of public protests and demonstrations.

“There was a lot of tension in the air,” said Schaefer, “but through it all, I believe our Hawaii soldiers, for the most part, served their country well and gave their all for the cause.”

Now, in 1998, Schaefer says, the Hawaii Guard’s Vietnam activation should serve as a reminder to the next generation of soldiers.

“Being ready is the key to all the training you receive during drill status because you never know when a potential hot spot will erupt and an activation ordered,” said Schaefer

– 1998 April – August Pūpūkahi pp. 4

Guard remembers Vietnam call-up

Hawaii Army National Guard’s 29th Separate Infantry Brigade soldiers took time from their busy pre-annual training schedule to salute their fallen comrades. I’m glad we held the event. The 30th commemoration gave us an opportunity for soldiers, past and present, young and old, and families and friends to keep alive the memory of those who gave their lives in service to our country

– 1998 April – August Pūpūkahi pp. 6

Former Guardsman shares his Vietnam P.O.W. story

Compiled by Sgt. 1st Class Aaron R. Pollick

HIARNG Historian Section

Serving your country sometimes comes with a big price tag. For one member of the activated Hawaii Army National Guard, the price would be serving a nearly four-year tour of duty in the “Hanoi Hilton.”

Little did the Hawaii-born Thomas T. Horio know what the future would bring. The McKinley High School graduate enlisted in the Hawaii Guard in 1967. The Nuuanu raised soldier went on to attend Universities of New Mexico and Hawaii.

Carries on Guard legacy

Like his father, he joined the Hawaii Guard to serve his country. His father was a member of the Guard’s 299th Infantry Regiment of Maui and later, like most of the JapaneseAmericans, a member of the famed 100th Infantry Battalion during World War II. Horio, a member of the 227th Engineer Company, was activated along with 3,600 other 29th Infantry Brigade soldiers, May 13, 1968.

Imprisonment recalled

Shortly after arriving in Southeast Asia, Horio’s firebase guard post was overrun by the Viet Cong, and he was captured.

Instead of torturing us, the North Vietnamese forced us to read communist literature. We read it; it was the history about Cambodia when the French occupied FrenchIndochina and about Ho Chi Minh. For some reason, they left us alone after that.

At night, they would clamp our ankles in socks to prevent us from escaping. We were not allowed to exercise because the North Vietnamese wanted to keep us docile so we wouldn’t try to escape. But we maintained our sanity and kept the faith by exercising when the guards couldn’t see us. The only other thing we could do was pace and talk to each other. Our optimistic conversations always included discussions about what we were going to do when we got home.

We never lost faith. Our hopes for release hung on the success of the Paris peace talks that began on Jan. 18, 1969. The talks were still under way when Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam’s president for more than 30 years, died on Sept. 2, 1969.

Not long after Ho Chi Minh died, and after about five months in POW camps in Cambodia and Laos, we started on a month-and-a-half 350-mile trip to Hanoi,

One prisoner died, or was killed, enroute because he was too sick and frail to endure the journey.

The guy weighed about 200 pounds when he was captured; he got so skinny, you could pick him up with one arm. On the way to Hanoi, a guard escorted him down a trail, and we never saw him again. We think they killed him.

I fell ill during the journey, too, but luck was with me again. I contracted malaria and spent about a month in a North Vietnamese field hospital.

They made us carry all the food, and one day, I just passed out. All I remember was falling. The enemy soldiers showed compassion for me the rest of the way to Hanoi. I got to ride part of the way, and I arrived on Christmas eve 1969.

I joined the others in Hanoi at what American POWs dubbed “The Plantation”, about two miles from the infamous Hanoi Hilton. The Plantation was my home until I was moved to the Hanoi Hilton about seven months before being released in March 1973 during Operation HOMECOMING.

They stuck me in a room with six other enlisted guys. I had no idea of how many Americans were incarcerated in the camp. All I knew was the enlisted and officer prisoners were separated, and the officers were mostly pilots.

Camp food wasn’t very nourishing, bland, meatless, watery soup and a piece of bread twice a day. Summer brought a flavor change-pumpkin soup in the morning and pumpkin soup at night. There wasn’t any lunch. We prisoners got another flavor change at the end of summer – pumpkin soup with maggots.

On Christmas and the Vietnam Tet holidays, the communist captors were magnanimous. They treated us American captives to a half bottle of Vietnamese beer, candy and fruit. I traded my candy and fruit and got everybody’s beer, except for one guy, it was great!

Christmas 1972 was a hairraising, scary time for us. American bombs started falling and exploding around Hanoi. The North Vietnamese told us to dig foxholes through three-quarter-inch concrete floors in our cells.

We spent about a week-and-a-half trying to cut through the concrete with entrenching tools; they didn’t give us any picks or sledge hammers.

We went down about seven feet. We could hear the missiles all around us. Once we saw a B-52 U.S. bomber go down in flames. We were right in the city where the bombs were exploding, but none of them hit the POW camp area. I think they knew where we were.

Other than the bombings, the scariest time in my area was when a prisoner had frequent seizures. There wasn’t anything we could do. The doctor would come, but only gave him aspirin

A big morale boost came when the prisoners managed to steal enough metal wire and used it to fashion a crude communications system throughout the POW garrison. The garrisons were built by the French in rows like townhouses. The mortar in between the bricks were soft, so it wasn’t too hard to make holes through to the next room.

Every time we got information from Col. Guy (Air Force Col. Theodore W., the camp’s senior American prisoner and an F-4C pilot shot down in 1968), we’d relay it from room to room through the holes in the wall. We hid behind mosquito nets over our bunks when the guards came by at night.

The enlisted prisoners were given the task of emptying slop buckets for themselves and the officers. They learned to use the distasteful job to their benefit.

Col. Guyused toilet paper to put messages in the top of the lids, which gave us another way to communicate. I thought to myself, this can’t be true; this is like Hogan’s Heroes (the television comedy show about WWII POWs in Germany).

Meanwhile, the North Vietnamese were hell-bent on making the prisoners protest the war. They wanted us to write letters of protest to our congressmen and other dignitaries. They even offered to establish communications with our families if we protested the war. “We had to keep pretty tight to encourage each other not to fall for those kinds of things,” he said.

About five months before our release, the officer and enlisted prisoners were allowed to mingle and have recreation time together. Until then, we were only allowed to mingle with prisoners in our own rooms. One of the officers was a doctor who was shot down on a medical evacuation mission. He talked to the guys about their problems, but he didn’t have any medication.

The North Vietnamese anticipated the war would end and started feeding us more and gave us new clothes and shoes. They also let prisoners mingle and do recreation and exercise, but they guessed wrong. The peace pact wouldn’t be signed until Jan. 27, 1973. The four-year ordeal melted more than 40 pounds off of me. When I was captured, I weighed 190 pounds and had a 34-inch waist. It shrunk to less than 27 inches.

POW released

After our release, we spent three days being examined and debriefed at a hospital in the Philippines. I was then transferred to Tripler Army Medical Center.

When my escort officer in the Philippines asked me what was the one thing I wanted to eat, I said, ”beer and vanilla ice cream.”

”I chased the beer down with raw fish and clams,” with a chuckle. My escort officer attended my wedding when I married the former Phoebe Inabe of Maui, in 1974, and the first thing he did was give me a bowl of ice cream.

Returning to normalcy

Thomas wasted no time using his GI Bill benefits to finish his education. Discharged from the Army in April 1973, he returned to the University of Hawaii for summer school that June. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in medical technology in 1976 and worked at Tripler Army Medical Center from September 1977 to January 1980. He accepted a job with the Internal Revenue Service and went to the mainland five years later.

A branch chief in the IRS’ Delaware/Maryland collection division in Landover, Md., Thomas quipped, “Now I’m licensed to take blood and money.”

The couple has two sons. Brant, 19, is a freshman at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. Ross, 17, is a junior at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, Va.

Vietnam flashbacks

After attending a couple of POW reunions, Thomas decided to keep a low profile. “I try to forget some of the things that happened to me,” he said. “So I don’t go to many functions any more. The only one I keep in contact with is Nat Henry, the guy who had seizures in the camp. He lives in North Carolina. He was one of the five guys left after his unit was ambushed.”

Thomas’ luck is still holding. “I don’t have malaria relapses anymore. When I returned, they had developed a cure for the type of malaria I had.”

He said he also feels lucky because he doesn’t suffer flashbacks or any other severe, belated reactions to his captivity. “I attribute a lot of my mental survival to being a Buddhist,” he said. “Buddhism taught me to have peace of mind within myself. That, in combination with exercise, kept me going. I also have a personality where I don’t react emotionally to a lot of things. I’m more conservative.” If there was one word that helped, it would be ”faith, we never lost faith.”

Reference: Thomas T. Horio, American Forces Press Service by: Rudi Williams, Hawaii Army National Guard historical files, news articles and The Honolulu Advertiser.

– 1998 Winter Pūpūkahi pp. 5

Dog Tags Returned – Honoring a Vietnam Veteran

HI-DOD Staff – with Excerpts from Spc. Paul Berzines – 117th MPAD

It started with a phone call in December of 2017 to the State of Hawaii, Department of Defense’s public affairs office. Maj. Jeff Hickman, deputy public affairs officer, answered the phone that day.

“We get all kinds of calls to this office,” Hickman said. “UFOs, public defender inquiries, conspiracy theories, employment verification and noise complaints are just a sample of the diversity of subject matters asked about. I thought this was one of those calls.”

It wasn’t.

The caller asked if there was a lost and found and Hickman said, “Sure,” and asked what was the object that he was looking for.

“My dog tags,” the caller replied casually.

“Dog tags? Okay…when did you lose them,” Hickman asked.

“1969,” was the matter-of-fact response.

“I asked him if he was in the 1968 29th Infantry Brigade’s Vietnam “Call-Up,” He was.”

(Specialist) Tom Peterson was in the U.S. Army Reserves then transferred to the Hawaii Army National Guard for a couple of years prior to the 29th’s ’68 mobilization in support of the Vietnam War. He is a Saint Louis high school and Chaminade University graduate who grew up in Hawaii. Peterson drilled out of the Molokai armory and was a member of Troop E, 19th Cavalry, 29th Brigade. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 25th Infantry Division when he was in Vietnam.

“Tom said that he was going to be in Hawaii for a couple of months,” Hickman said. “So I offered to produce him a new set of dog tags with his Vietnam-era information on them and then present them to him with a HIARNG VIP or two. I thought that was the least we could do since he missed last year’s commemoration during the week leading up to Memorial Day.”

The Hawaii National Guard honored Vietnam-Era veterans in a pair of ceremonies held at the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Readiness Center on May 25, 2017. The ceremonies, which focused on honoring Hawaii’s VietnamEra veterans, included remarks from speakers associated with the 29th Brigade during the Vietnam War. The first ceremony of the day took place in front of the Readiness Center, between the Pohaku, or sacred stones, bearing the names of the 29 members of the 29th Brigade who gave their lives in service to their country.

“As for the members of the 29th who were deployed during the Vietnam War, their performance was outstanding,” said Col. Moses Kaoiwi, Jr, 29th Infantry Brigade Commander at the time of the ceremony. “This is why it was particularly important to honor the Hawaii Guard’s Vietnam-Era veterans with these ceremonies. What we really wanted to do, as part of the 50th Anniversary of the Hawaii’s involvement in the Vietnam War, was to recognize the veterans that served during that time. Not a lot of people know about the 29th Brigade’s contributions to the Vietnam War.”

The 29th Brigade was called to fight in the Vietnam War on May 13, 1968, mobilizing approximately 4,000 personnel. Eleven hundred Hawaii Guard Soldiers went on to serve in Vietnam. While most people didn’t think the National Guard served in Vietnam, the 29th Brigade did.

According to Kaoiwi, “The importance of holding ceremonies like these cannot be overstated. We have to remember our history, we have to honor those who sacrificed themselves.”

That is where the story really begins. Hickman remained in contact with Peterson, who now lives in Oregon, to get all the information and also to coordinate the hand off of the “lost and found” items. The 103rd Troop Command assisted in the production of two new sets of Vietnam-era dog tags and the 29th IBCT leadership was on board for the presentation and tour of the Readiness Center.

Peterson was going to be in Hawaii from January to early March, so finding a date to present the dog tags was going to be easy. Then the January 13th false missile alert happened and the initial date agreed upon had to be postponed, but that wasn’t a bad thing. With that extra time to prepare, word started to spread throughout the Hawaii National Guard about the upcoming dog tag presentation.

It was because of HING leadership, the event grew in scope and importance.

Tom Peterson thought he was just going to pick up the new dog tags and get a tour of the new 29th IBCT Readiness Center, but as he pulled up to parking lot, he saw a large gathering of troops.

“Maj. Hickman, is that for me?” Peterson asked as he got out of his rental car with his wife and another couple.

No was the initial answer, to ease his reluctance, but then Hickman shook his head, “Yes, it is.”

Col. Roy Macaraeg, 29th IBCT Commander, coordinated with Hickman ahead of time to have all 29th IBCT full time employees, numbering around 50, to form up and honor one of their own. The presentation was to take place in front of the memorial pohaku, fronting the Readiness Center.

The original plan was to present the dog tags and also give Tom Peterson a commemorative pin from the HING’s 2017 Vietnam event, which includes a certificate signed by the Adjutant General. Peterson wasn’t aware about that ceremony, so this was a great time to make up for it.

“Here he is, a Vietnam veteran, from ‘our’ 29th Brigade,” Hickman explains. “He missed our commemoration, hasn’t been a part of the Brigade for over 49 years, and he called us to ask if we had his dog tags. This was our opportunity to do something special for him.”

Brig. Gen. Kenneth Hara, HIARNG Commander, Col. Macaraeg, Lt. Col. Stanley Garcia, 103rd Troop Command Executive Officer (and 103rd TC staff), and Sgt. Maj. Bret Moore, 29th IBCT Operations Sgt. Maj. (and Brigade full timers) all played major roles in the dog tag presentation success.

As Peterson made the walk from parking lot to pohaku, the formation was called to attention. After a brief introduction, Peterson was given two sets of dog tags. One set was for him and a second was given to his wife, in case he lost his new pair. (An audible laugh rumbled from the formation.) The chains for the Tom Peterson pair belonged to a 29th IBCT member who took it off his neck, minutes before Peterson arrived. When told that the chains belonged to a current Brigade Soldier and that they were with him when he was deployed to Afghanistan, the veteran chains, connecting the new dog tags to a Vietnam Veteran had exponentially become more valuable to Peterson.

“So this chain has gone through a different war,” Peterson said. “I will treasure them for the rest of my life.”

Along with the two sets of dog tags, the pin from the 2017 Commemoration with TAG “Mahalo”, Peterson was also presented with two 29th IBCT patches. One OCP pattern patch and one color version from the old Class A uniform. Finally, he was given a commander’s coin from Col. Macaraeg.

The usually shy Peterson then shared his story with the formation. His wife was amazed that he would stand in front of a formation and speak at all. He discussed the day of his mobilization, his old unit, and what it was like when he returned from war.

“I’ve never had anybody welcome me home,” Peterson said. “No one greeted me when I got back, this was the first greeting that I have gotten.”

Those words resonated with all of the Soldiers who were present and there were some tears in the ranks. They knew, at that exact moment, that they were a part of something special.

Something that meant more for the man in front of them, than they could’ve anticipated. It went from being a “nice ceremony” to be a part of, to “I was lucky to be there and honored to welcome back a 29th Brigade Vietnam veteran.”

Peterson then viewed the 29 names of Soldiers from the 29th who never made it home on the memorial pohaku. He found someone that he knew, he was in Peterson’s unit in the Brigade. He also viewed the second pohaku that lists the names of those heroes who have fallen since the Brigade’s mobilization in 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The day ended with a two-hour tour of the Readiness Center and some “talk story” sessions with the Petersons and his friends. Peterson thoroughly enjoyed all the historical displays and promised Col. Macaraeg and Sgt. Maj. Moore that he would send them an autographed copy of his book. The Colonel said that the book would proudly be added to their display.

So with answering one phone call, the Hawaii Army National Guard was able to right a wrong and present one of their own with something that he will treasure for the rest of his life. Dog tags may be just one of the physical items Tom Peterson takes home to Corvallis, Oregon, but the warm Aloha shared with him from the 29th IBCT will also be on that chain close to his heart.

“It was great to finally be honored in such a way that made me feel really important,” said Tom Peterson

– 2018 Spring Pupukahi pp. 1-2 & 13

A Call to Duty: The 1968 Activation of the 29th Infantry Brigade, Hawai‘i National Guard

A Tribute to Hawai‘i Army National Guard Vietnam Veterans – Vietnam Veterans Day honors the sacrifices made by Vietnam veterans and their families, serving as part of a broader national effort to acknowledge the men and women who were denied a proper welcome upon returning home more than four decades ago. The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act officially designates March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day each year. This marks the day in 1973 when the last combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, and the final prisoners of war held in North Vietnam returned to the United States. – State of Hawai‘i, Department of Defense Public Affairs Office | Story by Rachel Blaire | Saturday, March 29, 2025

The morning of April 11, 1968, dawned like any other on the islands. Yet a headline in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin would change the future for many, it read: ISLE NATIONAL GUARD UNIT ACTIVATED.

The last time the Hawai‘i National Guard had been mobilized was during the days of World War II. But in the spring of 1968, amidst the swirling tensions of a nation torn by the conflict in Vietnam, the 29th Infantry Brigade known as “Hawaii’s Own,” was ordered to report for federal service.

The announcement sent ripples through the local community. For the soldiers of the Hawai‘i National Guard, it meant leaving behind their civilian lives as — doctors, teachers, lawyers, and postmen — to answer the call of duty.

The national call-up saw the activation of 24,500 National Guardsmen and Army Reservists across the United States, including soldiers from the 29th Infantry Brigade, who were “levied” to replace units already deployed to Vietnam

The 29th Infantry Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer III, was made up of: 187 officers, 21 warrant officers, and 2,760 enlisted men.

The call to active duty on May 13, 1968, marked the beginning of an intense period of transformation. What began as an island-based militia became a full-fledged combat-ready force, training tirelessly to meet the demands of federal service.

The sheer scale of the mobilization led to criticism from some, with observers noting that Hawaii’s share of the callup seemed disproportionate compared to the national average. But as the months wore on, these criticisms were quelled by the professionalism and dedication that the 29th Infantry Brigade displayed throughout their preparations.

Chief Warrant Officer Paul N. Kahunahana remembered the sense of unity and duty, “We were called to do our job and that’s what we did. It made us realize that we had to depend on each other to make it through.”

Training began in earnest at Schofield Barracks, where the soldiers faced the immediate task of adapting to new weapons and equipment. One of the grueling but essential aspects of their training came in late May when the 29th began its jungle training at the Pohakuloa Training Area. This was not just physical conditioning, it was a mental and emotional trial, testing the soldiers’ ability to endure in the harshest conditions.

A major milestone of their service came in late August when the Brigade sent its first group of men to Vietnam. While the sense of loss was palpable, these early departures only served to reinforce the seriousness of their mission.

By December 1968, after months of intense training and preparation, the 29th Infantry Brigade was ready for its ultimate test. The soldiers of the Brigade conducted a full-scale exercise, simulating an assault on a beachhead. The soldiers demonstrated their capabilities, executing the operation with precision and professionalism.

Brigadier General Frederick A. Schaefer received orders for deployment to Vietnam, a bittersweet moment for the 29th. On Jan. 9, 1969, at the activation ceremony, “There was a whole lot of leis, loved ones… a lot of Aloha,” Schaefer said.

In total, 1,100 Hawai‘i Guardsmen served in Southeast Asia and Korea between 1968 and The 29th Infantry Brigade’s mobilization had far-reaching impacts, as the soldiers found themselves in unfamiliar and often dangerous environments. Twentynine members of the brigade lost their lives during their service, and one became a prisoner of war.

As 1969 drew to a close, and with the announcement of demobilization set for December, the 29th Infantry Brigade had undergone a transformation that few could have imagined when they first answered the call. They were no longer civilian soldiers; they were veterans, having faced the trials of war and the bonds of brotherhood.

On Dec. 13, 1969, the Brigade officially reverted to its state status, marking the conclusion of its federal service and the end of a chapter that had forever changed the men of Hawaii’s National Guard.

Despite the hardships, the 29th Infantry Brigade excelled during its federal service. It was recognized for its professionalism and dedication, earning the Army National Guard Meritorious Service Award from the National Guard Bureau on March 5, 1970.

In total, the Brigade earned numerous medals and awards during its federal service, including 40 Purple Hearts, 187 Bronze Stars, and 87 Air Medals. The bravery and sacrifice of the men of the 29th was etched into history.

As the Brigade began rebuilding its units, recruiting new personnel, and receiving new equipment, the story of the 29th was far from over. The spirit of the unit, forged through sacrifice and camaraderie, would continue to guide them as they moved forward.

References: 1968 Annual Report, 1969 Annual Report, 1970 Annual Report, 1993 April – May pūpūkahi, and 1998 April – August pūpūkahi

Learn more at: https://dod.hawaii.gov/blog/hinghistory/1960s/1968-federalservice/

– 2025 pūpūkahi | volume 55 | No. 01 pp. 10

Newspaper Articles and Photos 

Honoring the Soldiers of the 29th Infantry Brigade who Lost Their Lives