{"id":87003,"date":"2026-05-22T07:56:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/?p=87003"},"modified":"2026-04-27T17:49:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T17:49:26","slug":"inside-the-hawai%ca%bbi-royal-guard-history-ceremony-and-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/2026\/05\/22\/inside-the-hawai%ca%bbi-royal-guard-history-ceremony-and-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Hawai\u02bbi Royal Guard: History, Ceremony and Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a recent episode of the <em>Na Koa Exchange<\/em>, host Jeff Hickman, State of Hawai\u2018i Department of Defense Public Affairs director, brought together three voices tied to the Hawai\u02bbi Royal Guard to discuss its origins, evolution and continuing role as a ceremonial and cultural institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conversation featured Randy Lum, one of the earliest members of the Royal Guard (service began in 1961), Franklin Ho, a Royal Guard Guardsman (1980s\u20132010s), and Dr. Niklaus Schweitzer of the University of Hawai\u02bbi at M\u0101noa, whose research and historical involvement helped shape understanding of the Guard\u2019s ceremonial role. He is also the former Executive Director of \u02bbIolani Palace and a good friend of the Royal Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across generations, the discussion revealed how the Royal Guard has become more than a ceremonial unit, it is a living expression of Hawaiian history, identity and continuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lum shared how his path to the Guard began with a desire for service and opportunity, eventually leading him into a unit still in its earliest stages of formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He recalled how the idea of the Royal Guard, introduced under Col. Walter J. Judd, resonated deeply with early members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen Col. Judd spoke\u2026 he made you feel unique\u2026 like you\u2019re somebody now,\u201d said Lum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That sense of purpose, he explained, became the foundation for a decades-long career in both the Hawai\u02bbi Air National Guard and the Royal Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schweitzer described how the modern structure of Royal Guard ceremonies at \u02bbIolani Palace was developed in the late 1980s, when public understanding of the Guard\u2019s role was still evolving. The organization was so different from everything that people knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEverybody was confused,\u201d said Schweitzer. \u201cLots of people, lots of interest, but nobody knew what is really happening here. Who are they?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Working alongside Friends of \u02bbIolani Palace and the Royal Hawaiian Band, Schweitzer helped establish ceremonial structure and protocol that clarified the Guard\u2019s role during official events, particularly the annual Nov. 16 Royal Guard inspection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Franklin Ho reflected on joining the Royal Guard at a young age and the unique responsibility that came with representing Hawaiian history in uniform. He emphasized that the Guard is not simply ceremonial, but a bridge between the public and the historical narrative of Hawai\u02bbi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen it comes to getting involved with Hawaiian history and the past, we&#8217;re the only embodiment of the palace that actually has a speaking part,\u201d said Ho. \u201cMany Guard members balance both military service and cultural stewardship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, the Royal Guard continues to participate in state ceremonies, inaugurations, parades, funerals and annual commemorations at \u02bbIolani Palace, maintaining a visible connection between Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s past and present. Through service, ceremony and storytelling, the Royal Guard continues to preserve a unique chapter of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s history \u2014 &nbsp;one that is still being written today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch the podcast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Royal Guard History and Heritage Podcast\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/D4Q7z-KU09E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The State of Hawaii, Department of Defense (HIDOD)\u2019 Retiree News does not endorse any of the external hyperlinks listed or posted on this site. This includes linked websites, information, products, or services contained therein. We are a government run website for which transparency and accountability are paramount. HIDOD cannot have the appearance of endorsement and are bound by the HIDOD Social Media Policy concerning political posts being respectful, honest, and accurate. Operational Security will additionally be adhered to. Retiree News does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at linked sites. Some of the sites linked to may limit the number of stories you can access without a paid subscription. All links were provided with the intent of meeting the mission of the HIDOD\u2019s version of Retiree News.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a recent episode of the Na Koa Exchange, host Jeff Hickman, State of Hawai\u2018i Department of Defense Public Affairs director, brought together three voices tied to the Hawai\u02bbi Royal Guard to discuss its origins, evolution and continuing role as a ceremonial and cultural institution. The conversation featured Randy Lum, one of the earliest members [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":61920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"13062,64425,3433,61791,84989,57419","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87003"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87004,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87003\/revisions\/87004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dod.hawaii.gov\/retireenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}