Sgt. Maj. Clement Y. F. Hew 

The Different Hats of 1SG Clement Hew

By SP5 Judd Hambrick

“I feel I was born in the National Guard. I’ve been in it over half my life. And, let me tell you, Specialist Hambrick, I like belonging to the Guard. As long as they want me here, I’ll stay. But, I was shocked to know they selected me for this award.”

First Sergeant Clement Hew, Battery A, 487th Field Artillery, is a man who wears a variety of “hats,” and while under every one of them, he does an excellent job.

For example, Sergeant Hew wears the top-fitting Noncommissioned Officer “hat” in the Hawaii Army National Guard this year. He’s been chosen the 1971 Guardsman of the Year.

For twenty-two years, he has been actively involved in the Guard. “I joined when I was a junior at the old Kaimuki High School, in 1949. A friend of mine and I played hookey from school to join.”

In talking to Sergeant Hew, it becomes emphatically apparent that he likes the National Guard—but, more than likes it, he respects it. He respects the Guard as much now as he did twenty-two years ago. However, the Sergeant doesn’t like some of the changes that have taken place in the Guard since he signed up.

“In the old days, you were told what to do and when to do it; there was discipline. And, there was a certain dedication you had about doing whatever job you had in the Guard.”

“In the last few years, many kids joined the Guard to avoid the draft. In my day, you joined the Guard because you wanted to, and were proud of it. The Guard and the military, in general, is important because in it you get discipline, and discipline is an important part of anyone’s life. I think the rules have been too liberal.”

About his current job in the 487th, Sergeant Hew says it’s his job to supervise. Regretfully, he says he’s the only First Sergeant in the entire Brigade who doesn’t know how to type. But, what the Sergeant lacks in typing ability, he makes up for in hours spent working in the Company area. He manages to work about one and a half hours every day at his unit.

And, it’s not that Sergeant Hew doesn’t have other work to do. In addition to his “hat” in the National Guard, he pursues a full-time civilian job in the City and County Public Works Division of Engineering in Honolulu. He’s worked there for nineteen years. He wears a transit man’s hat on a surveyor’s team.

Sergeant Hew believes teamwork is extremely important in a man’s life. He believes it takes teamwork to get a difficult job done properly—whether it be in the National Guard, civilian life, or in sports.

Another “hat” the Sergeant wears is a coach’s cap. He’s been a coach of baseball and football at Iolani High School for nine years. The boys he coaches like him and respect him. To use one young man’s description, “I think he’s a good one.”

But, like the job he does in the National Guard, his coaching job doesn’t come easy. He puts in almost two full days a week for the City, and his hour to hour and a half of extra work at his unit in the Guard each day.

But, even with his 60-hour work week, Sergeant Hew still has time for his family. He and his wife, Ethel, have two children, Clement, Jr., who is 13, and Shendra, 12. They live on Sunset Avenue in Kaimuki.

Mrs. Hew is an engineering draftsman with the State Department of Transportation in the Highway Planning Division. Shendra is in the seventh grade in Kaimuki Intermediate School. And, Clement, Jr., is in Iolani High School, where he is actively involved in sports. However, Clement, Jr. wants to play football, so Sergeant Hew is giving up his job as assistant football coach at Iolani because he doesn’t feel it’s right for a father to officially coach his son.

In summing up his philosophy of life, Sergeant Hew said, “I like to do things for people. Everyone needs guidance now and then, young men, as well as children.” And according to Sergeant Hew, the Hawaii National Guard is an excellent place to get that guidance and training. He says he’s positive of that because the Guard did it for him.

– 1971 Fall The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 16