Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Commentary

Garcia

Calapini

Sakoda

As this series on residents of Hawai‘i and other Pacific islands has unfolded over several weeks, it has been shaped by comments from readers it touched. Thanks especially to Allen K. Hoe, Vietnam War veteran and father of Mānoa's 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe (killed 1/22/05) and Pfc. Nakoa Hoe.

Thanks also to Lt. Col. Rodney Laszlo, military science department chair, for calling me to describe Lt. Hoe and the UH Mānoa ROTC battalion. Lt. Col. Laszlo promised to connect Ka Leo to UH Mānoa ROTC cadets who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Look for their viewpoints next semester.

Likewise, some thought this series would have been better if we'd interviewed the families of the soldiers and Marines that died. However, I decided not to approach anyone unless I knew they wanted to talk to me.

On the other hand, we are glad to share heartfelt statements posted on the Internet, like these about Sgt. Sakoda of UH Hilo, killed in 2006.

Earlier installments in this series were printed on Nov. 14-15. See Names and memories dramatize true cost of war, Nov 14 and In Remembrance: Locals killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during 2005, Nov 15 for parts one and two.

2006

13. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ruel M. Garcia, U.S. Army - Wahiawā

Garcia was killed when his helicopter was shot down in Iraq on Jan. 16, 2006. Garcia lived with his grandparents in Waipi‘o in the early 1990s; he was their first grandson.

Garcia came from the Philippines dreaming of flying Air Force jets. In the Air Force, he earned an electrical engineering degree in night school. Later he switched to the Army. It was his second tour in Iraq. He was survived by his wife, Apple, his grandparents and his parents in the Philippines. He was 34.

14. Pvt. Lewis Calapini, U.S. Marine Corps - Waipahu

Calapini was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq on Jan. 23, 2006. Attending Waipahu High School until the 11th grade, he enrolled in the youth challenge academy and then decided to join the Marines.

Calapini was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was survived by a younger brother, Marvin, his parents Orencio and Helen Grace, one grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. He was 21 years old.

15. Sgt. Steve M. Sakoda, U.S. Army - Hilo

Sakoda was killed by an IED (improvised explosive device) in Iraq on April 29, 2006. A graduate of Waiākea High School in Hilo, he entered and graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

Devoted to peaceful conflict resolution, as a UHH student acted in a drama about domestic abuse. According to UH Hilo drama professor Jeri Gertz, Sakoda wanted to show young people alternatives to violence.

He loved surfing, paddling, fishing, acting and socializing.

Sakoda served eight years in the Marine Corps Reserve, and then after Sept. 11, he joined the Army. He was proud to be a sergeant like his police officer father, who died of cancer while Sakoda was in college.

After the war, he wanted to fly helicopters for the Hawai‘i National Guard. He was survived by his wife, Michelle, who he met at UH Hilo, and his sister. He was 29 years old.

16. Staff Sgt. Jeffrey S. Loa, U.S. Army - Wai‘anae

Loa was killed by an IED in Iraq on Aug. 16, 2006. He graduated from American Samoa Community College and then moved to Wai‘anae to live with a sister. He joined the Army around 1997.

His sister said, "He would have been a great father because he was like a second dad to my kids."

Loa was the eldest of four brothers in the Army; two others were in Iraq when he died. Although he called Wai‘anae home, he was buried in American Samoa. He was the eighth soldier from American Samoa to die in Iraq. He was 32 years old.

17. Staff Sgt. Henry K. Kahalewai, U.S. Army - Hilo

Kahalewai died on Dec. 15, 2006, from wounds inflicted by an IED which exploded three weeks earlier. He was born in Hilo, where he met his wife, Debbie. Although the family moved to the mainland when he joined the Army, they planned to return to Hawai‘i.

Kahalewai served two tours of duty in Kuwait during the 1991 war and was on his second tour in Iraq. He loved fishing, diving, camping and even yard work, "if you can believe that," said his wife, Debbie.

While trying to recover, he told his daughter Azhalane, "Don't worry about me. Just take care of your mother and sisters." Kahalewai served 19 years in the Army and planned to retire on his 20th year. He was 43 years old.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools