Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Commentary

In his 1977 "A Rumor of War" memoir, Phil Caputo, a U.S. Army officer in the Vietnam War, recounts an exchange with an Army chaplain over the significance of a dozen KIA, or soldiers who were "killed in action" over two months of fighting.

Lt. Caputo says that it "isn't bad."

"That's 12 wrecked homes. Twelve wrecked homes, Lieutenant. ... Twelve KIA is pretty bad for the families of those dead marines," the chaplain replies.

So, with over four and a half years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, what are 20 dead Hawai‘i residents?

Much higher numbers of soldiers are often quoted, but they include many who moved here because their unit was based in Hawai‘i. According to the available information about the soldiers and marines that died, the number who were raised in Hawai‘i is about 20.

Over the next few days, Ka Leo will name and describe these 20 and will also describe the soldiers from other Pacific Islands because the number is so high in comparison to the population size, and because few mainland papers probably notice their sacrifices.

These are the first six. Ka Leo will try to illustrate not only how they died, but how they lived and what they wanted to become.

They aspired to be so many things: physician, electrical engineer, business leader, police officer, airline pilot, diplomat, domestic abuse advocate, even military officer.

One man had earned a B.S. in electrical engineering. Another had to leave the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa after nearly completing his MBA. Others had been students at UH Hilo, Hawai‘i Pacific University and UH community colleges.

All of these 20 could have greatly contributed to life in Hawai‘i; with their deaths died some our dreams.

Given what they sought to achieve, any of these 20 might have eventually enrolled here, so, as you read this, imagine which of them might be your classmate and/or friend sitting next to you today.

Except among their families, friends and comrades, memories of them are already dimming; in our research, dates and places sometimes conflicted. If you can help, please e-mail commentary@kaleo.org.

Finally, the poem by Siegfried Sassoon, who survived three years of World War I as a British combat officer, reminds us that the number of "locals" wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan far outnumbers those killed.

"Does it Matter?"
Siegfried Sassoon
British poet (1886-1967)

Does it matter? - losing your legs?...
For people will always be kind,
And you need not show that you mind
When the others come in after hunting
To gobble their muffins and eggs.

Does it matter? - losing your sight?...
There's such splendid work for the blind;
And people will always be kind,
As you sit on the terrace remembering
And turning your face to the light.

Do they matter? - those dreams from the pit?...
You can drink and forget and be glad,
And people won't say that you're mad;
For they'll know you've fought for your country
And no one will worry a bit.

However, many soldiers are returning with invisible injuries due to the nature of the war itself. One in three returning soldiers have some degree of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the U.S. Army.

2003 to 2004


Staff Sgt. Cameron Sarno, U.S. Army Reserve - Waipahu
Sarno was killed by a truck in Kuwait on Sept. 1, 2003. He died two days before he was to marry his fiancee by proxy. He loved surfing. A comrade, retired chief warrant officer Mike Martino, said about the man he called "Big C," "He was only 5-foot-4, but he had the heart of a giant." His ashes were scattered on Mākaha Beach. He was 43.

Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Martin Liberato Bolor, U.S. Army Reserve - Lahaina
Bolor was killed in a helicopter crash caused by enemy fire in Iraq on Nov. 15, 2003; The crash killed 17. He was the first Hawai‘i-born Iraq KIA. Born in Wailuku, he grew up in a Lahaina public housing project, the third-eldest in a family of six. His father died when he was two; his mother raised the family herself. He graduated from Lahainaluna High School in Lahaina, Maui, in 1984. He played junior varsity football in high school and also wrestled for his school in his senior year. He left behind a wife, a 3-year-old son, three brothers and a sister. He was 37.

Pvt. 1st Class, Joshua K. "Buzz" Titcomb, U.S. Army - Wai‘anae
Titcomb died on Sept. 29, 2004, a day after he was mortally wounded by an improvised explosive device in Iraq. He graduated from Wai‘anae High School in 2001. Said his uncle, "His heart was full of aloha." He died before he could marry his fiancee, also an Army soldier, or meet his newborn son. His fiancee received the Bronze Star he was awarded posthumously. Titcomb is also survived by his mother, six brothers, two sister and four grandparents. He was 20.


Pvt. Jeungiin Na Kim, U.S. Army - Honolulu
Kim was killed by gunfire in Iraq on Oct. 6, 2004. Kim was born in South Korea, and graduated from high school on the mainland. He moved to Hawai‘i to attend Hawai‘i Pacific University. He met his wife, a U.S. Army private, when they were both 18 years old while he was at HPU and she attended the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. His first son, Apollo Ikaika, was born one month before his death. After the army, he hoped to become a Honolulu police officer. Also, because he was unable to fulfill this dream during his life, he was awarded U.S. citizenship posthumously. He also received the Bronze Star. He was 23.


Spc. Kyle Ka Eo Fernandez, U.S. Army - Pearl City
Fernandez was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan on Oct. 14, 2004. A 1996 graduate of ‘Aiea High School, he married his high school sweetheart, and they had two children together. At the end of phone calls to his mother, he would say, "Mom, what are you crying for? You know I'm the Hawaiian 'Supa Man.'" He was 24.


Lance Cpl. Blake Magaoay, U.S. Marine Corps - Pearl City
Magaoay was killed by gunfire in Iraq on Nov. 29, 2004. He graduated from Pearl City High School in 2002. It was his second tour of duty in Iraq. One of his comrades, Lance Cpl. Joaquin McCurty, a Mescalero Apache who was recovering in Hawai‘i after being wounded, gave Magaoay's mother an eagle feather and some sweetgrass to burn, with which she blessed the casket. He said Magaoay could make people laugh at the ugliest times. He was buried in Punchbowl National Cemetery. He was 20.

Internet gives unprecedented view of grief for soldiers:

Through the Internet, memories by families, friends and comrades of soldiers are much more visible. As these examples show, people use these sites as though the dead could read them - little else illustrates the cost of war than these moving words.

Nov. 1, 2005:
SFC BOLOR, you always took care of your soldiers. Thank You SFC BOLOR, I'll never forget the leader that you were to me. SPC AYALA M
Miguel Ayala (Compton, CA)

Jan. 9, 2007:
Master Sergeant Bolor This is so hard for me to imagin(e) yet you are gone, I have learned so so much from you and how i wish you were around still. Until we meet again again my friend,mentor,buddy in battle, fellow NCO, i will live up to your legacy..very tall order to fill buddy. SSG Juarez Mosul Iraq 137 Quartermaster Company/ 101 Airborne Division 2 BCT
Ernest Juarez (Mosul)

Part two: Names and memories dramatize true cost of war, Nov. 15

Part three: UH-Hilo grad among last year's local war dead, Nov. 29

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools