Vol. 12, No. 1 State of Hawaii Office of Veterans Services April 2008 West Hawaii Veterans’ Cemetery Update By John Grogan basis but also provides the one element the cem- The West Hawaii Veterans’ Cemetery Development and Expan- etery needs most – water. sion Association (WHVCDEA) has been a very active community Without Kukio’s commit- participant in the maintenance of the West Hawaii Veterans Ceme- ment, any expansion of tery. Although the County of Hawaii is responsible for maintaining the cemetery would be the cemetery, the commitment and dedication of the WHVCDEA’s improbable. members provide a community based relationship that has allowed The cemetery has a the cemetery to achieve more. In cooperation with the County of new image, which has Hawaii the WHVCDEA helps maintain the cemetery grounds and caused the cemetery to the support of burial services. fill at an ever increasing Since its formation, the WHVCDEA has been instrumental in rate. Such that it is now obtaining grants and donations from a number of government, nearly completely filled. OVS gained approval from the VA to community groups and businesses. The funds are used to fence In anticipation of reach- save the ancient lama tree. 62 acres and implement a reforestation plan that has turned the ing capacity, the State, Dept. of Defense and OVS secured State area into a green oasis as a result of hundreds of community vol- and Federal funding to complete Phase IIB of the project to con- unteers planting several thousand donated plants. A recent project struct the expansion of a new burial area and add an additional included building an irrigated greenhouse for new plants and in- 300 burial plots to cemetery. Phase IIB also included approved stalling brass flower vases on grave/columbarium sites. The refor- change orders requested by the Kona Veterans and the County to estation effort recently garnered the U.S. Dept. of Interior’s coveted save an ancient Lama tree, and provide a rock landscaped border “Take Pride in America Award” with similar recognition from both which was completed in Mar. of this year. the Kohala/Kona Chamber of Commerce and the Kona Outdoor With regard to future expansion lead by the State of Hawaii, Circle. The cemetery’s recognition extends to Washington D.C. as discussions are currently ongoing between State and Federal the Chief of our Nation’s Natural Resources came to our cemetery government agencies to secure those additional funds needed to this past Earth Day to participate in a tree planting project. complete Phase IIC. This final phase of the project will include a While there are many in the West Hawaii Community to thank Committal Shelter, restroom, maintenance building, a new colum- for the transition of the cemetery including a number of elected barium area, a cremains burial section, scattering garden, road- representatives, perhaps the cemetery’s most valuable benefactor ways, walking paths, a septic tank/leaching field sewer system, is its resort neighbor, Kukio Resorts. a non-potable water system, an irrigation system, and additional Kukio not only donates work crews and equipment on a regular landscaping, providing infrastructure, facilities, and burial capac- ity to the cemetery for the next 25 years. The cem- etery has also been master planned for expansion in future years. Currently, the WHVCDEA is also working with the State and County towards the common goal of acquiring a long-term water source. The cemeteries improvements are scheduled to be completed in time for Labor Day 2009. The WHVCDEA are very hopeful that our vision of the “Arlington of the Pacific” will soon become a Overview of the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery reality. Photos by Jayme Sato Nisei Veterans Memorial Center gets grant On Feb. 25, in Wailuku, Maui the Nisei Veterans Memorial Cen- to preserve all of the items that have been donated by veterans and ter (NVMC) received a grant from the State. Brig. Gen. Gary Ishi- their families. The archive will include historic materials such as kawa, Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona and retired Maj. (Ret.) Mark S. documents, photographs, medals and achievements from the Nisei Moses director of the Office of Veterans’ Services presented a grant veterans of WWII. The Nisei Veterans Memorial Center will honor check for $750,000. Mr. Hiroshi Arisumi received the check on and commemorate the men of the 100th Infantry, 442nd Regimen- behalf of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center. Arisumi is the presi- tal Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service. dent of the NVMC and is also a veteran of the 442nd Regimental For more information about NVMC, check out their web site, Combat Team. www.nvmc.org. The monies will be used to complete the second phase of the center. This phase includes construction of an education center and the extension of the play area for Office of Veterans Services adult day care and State of Hawaii 459 Patterson Road preschool opera- E-Wing, Rm. 1-A103 tions. The educa- Honolulu, HI 96819-1522 tion center is where the majority of the money will be used to build a classroom for student semi- nars and archives. The archives will be fully air conditioned Photo By Nisei Veterans Memorial Center his staff on the maintenance and repairs of the Kauai Veterans Cemetery. In addition to Director’s Message Mayor Baptise, Bill Honjiyo, Advisory Board Maj. (Ret.) Mark S. Moses, U.S. Marine Corps on Veterans Services Kauai representative, Director, State Office of Veterans Services Richard Kashiwabara, Veterans Council’s Aloha my fel- Mrs. Jackson is an Cemetery Committee Chairman and Tony low veterans Air Force retiree, who Elliott, OVS Veterans Services Counselor and your family was a Human Rela- were present at the meeting. The meeting members. Dur- tions specialist with was a success with Mayor Baptise, he was ing the inter- a private company able to better understand the county’s re- vening months before she accepted sponsibilities for the Kauai Veterans Cem- since the pub- the position on Maui. etery. lication of the Both are in training We have continued working with the last Hawaii and want to help vet- Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans group for an upcoming grant release of $250,000 Veteran Newsletter, your Offi ce of Veterans’ erans. We are indeed fortunate to have for the construction of a veteran’s center. Services has been working hard on various Tamickco Jackson these individuals join Our Veteran’s organizations continue issues that affect the services provided. Maui Veterans Ser- the staff of OVS. to take great pride in cleaning the Korean vices Counselor Miles Okamura, and Vietnam War Memorials located on the New Counselors our Cemetery Operations Manager at the State Capitol grounds. However, we found I am happy to re- Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery has ac- that these veterans, many of whom are in port that we have cepted a position with a private cemetery. their 70’s and 80’s fi nd it increasingly diffi - hired two new coun- Mr. Okamura has served as the Operations cult to rake and bag leaves, and to drag the selors to better serve Manager for nearly eight years and did a hose to wash down the area surrounding you. Joseph Flores, fantastic job. He faced many challenges the Memorials. We also heard about them Veterans Services and developed strategies to mitigate our picking up hypodermic needles found in Counselor Hawaii settling grave problem. We wish him and the area, and of course it is dangerous for County and Tamick- his wife, Trish, good fortune in their future the veterans to try to pick up and dispose co Jackson, Veterans activities. of them. I discussed this issue with our Services Counselor Comptroller, Russ Saito, at the beginning Maui County are fi ll- Joseph Flores of March. I am happy to inform you that as ing these temporary Presentations Veterans Services of Tues., Mar. 18, 2008, DAGS has begun appointments. We are Then on Feb. 8th, Adj. Gen. Robert Lee Counselor to have contractors clean the granite slabs waiting for authoriza- and I made a grant presentation to the Pa- and State grounds keepers will police the tion from the Department of Human Re- cifi c Aviation Museum of $500,000 to con- area and maintain the landscaping. sources Development to fi ll the positions tinue the development and construction of Make your plans now to join us at the permanently. Mr. Flores is an Army retiree the Museum and National historic site on Governors Annual Memorial Day ceremony who provided transition assistance services Ford Island. at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery on to Guard members prior to accepting the On Mar. 4th, my staff and I provided a Mon., May 26th at 1:15 PM. Uniform for the appointment to work with veterans. power point briefi ng to Mayor Baptise and event – Aloha. Hope to see you there.

Shizuya “Cesar” Hayashi On a sad note for Hawaii, we lost one of Advisory Board Members our Medal of Honor recipients, Mr. Shizuya Mr. Honjiyo is a Mr. Kalua is retired Hayashi, on Mar. 12, 2008. Shizuya Hayas- retired LTC. U.S. from the HI Army hi was a Private in the U.S. Army, Company Army. He is the for- National Guard and A, 100th Battalion stationed in Cerasuolo, mer President of is presently em- Italy. the Kauai Veterans ployed with the Dept During Council. of Transportation in a fl ank Hilo. a s s a u l t William Honjiyo Herring Kalua Sr. on high Kauai Board Member Hilo Board Member g r o u n d held by Mr. Lum is our new- Mr. Parker is our the enemy est OVS Advisory newest OVS Advi- P r i v a t e Board member. He sory Board Member. H a y a s - served in the U.S. He is an active mem- hi rose Marine Corp. and is ber and founder of alone in a Korean War Vet- the Vietnam Veter- the face of eran. ans’ of America. grenade, rifl e, and Herbert Lum Luis Parker machine Kona Board Member Oahu Board Member gun fi re. F i r i n g Mr. Sodetani was Ms. Stevens served his auto- the past 29th In- as an offi cer in the matic rifl e fantry Brig. Com. U.S. Coast Guard. Medal of Honor Recipient Shi- from the for the HI Army Na- She also served in zuya “Cesar” Hayashi hip, he tional Guard. He is the House of Repre- charged Photo by HomeOfHeroes.com currently the Pres. sentatives for Waiki- and over- for the Maui Realty ki Ala Moana and took an enemy machine gun position, kill- Co. Inc. Kaka’ako area. ing seven men in the nest and two more as they fl ed. Lloyd Sodetani Anne Stevens After his platoon advanced 200 yards Maui Board Member Oahu Board Member from this point, an enemy antiaircraft gun opened fi re on the men. Private Hayashi Ms. Stine is the Ms. Wieland retired returned fi re at the hostile position, killing Chair person for from the U.S. Navy nine of the enemy, taking four prisoners the OVS Advisory Reserve and is the and forcing the remainder of the force to Board. She served VA Volunteer Ser- withdraw from the hill. in the U.S. Navy and vice Manager. She Private Hayashi’s extraordinary heroism is an active member is the Commander and devotion to duty are in keeping with in the veteran com- of several DAV Aux- the highest traditions of military service munity. iliaries. and refl ect great credit on him, his unit, Cynthia Stine Patricia Wieland and the United States Army. Oahu Board Member Oahu Board Member 2 Hawaii Veteran Vol. 12, No. 1 April 2008 News From Kauai The following is a glimpse of other happenings on the Garden Island.

Real Property tax credit A special end of the year bill was introduced by Coun- cil member Mel Rapozo and passed in December 2007. The bill provided a one time tax credit of a war veteran or widow’s property tax assessment of up to $1500.00 on their primary residence. The veterans must have served in a combat or hazardous duty zone in any conflict or area. The Korean War Veterans Kauai Chapter will be hosting the statewide Veterans should have filed for the credit by Feb. 1, 2008. reunion of the Korean War veterans in July and will be observing the The second part of the bill provides a full tax exemption 55th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice. for those subsequently assigned to a combat zone after calendar year 2007. The exemption form must be filed by July The association asks for supporters by sponsoring a Tee, a mon- 1, 2009. The bill initially proposed a yearly tax credit, but was etary or prize contribution, or being a participant in the tourna- amended at the final hearing. According to Rapozo, a permanent ment. Entry fee to the shotgun start tournament is $75.00 and it yearly tax exemption will be proposed during tax reform discus- includes a cart, green fees and an awards luncheon following the sions for the Garden Island. tournament. Those who prefer may attend only the luncheon at the Kauai Veterans Center at a cost of 10 dollars per person. For Korean War veterans golf tournament information, contact after 5 PM, Royce Ebesu at 822-4341 or Bob The Kauai Chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association Hiraoka at 822-5516. (KWVA) will host the association’s annual statewide reunion on July 25-26, 2008. The KWVA will be observing the 55th anniver- Kauai Veterans Center sary of the Korean War Armistice. As a fundraiser for this event, The Kauai Veterans Center is under new management. Indi- there will be a golf tournament at the Wailua Golf Course on May viduals are asked to confirm or cancel any reservation made pri- 24. The deadline for registration is May 17. or to September 2007. Advance reservations can be made up to and including calendar year 2009. The center is available to the community for rentals of the hall or conference rooms for smaller size meetings. The proceeds are used for the mainte- nance of the center and to subsidize veteran activities spon- sored by the Kauai Veterans Council, a non profit organiza- tion. The office hours are Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM. For information, visit the center on Kapule Highway or call Aida Padilla-Cruz at 246-1135.

Veteran’s Texas Hold Em tournament The Kauai Veterans Club (KVC) is considering hosting peri- odic Texas Hold Em tournaments for veteran members of any Kauai organization. Non members may join the KVC, which is open to any honorably discharged veteran. Annual dues are The Kauai Honor Guard at the Veterans Cemetery. Upon request, 12 dollars. There will be an entry fee which will be returned in the honor guard will render traditional honors to all veterans, its entirety as prizes to participants. A survey is being taken which can include the playing of “Taps.” to determine if there is sufficient interest. Email Johnny at Photos By [email protected] or call him at 245-1625. Johnny Rabasa Senator Inouye selects Walter Kaneakua as New Executive Assistant for Military affairs Hawaii Veteran State of Hawaii Department of Defense WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye Senator Inouye said: “Alex Lum is a vet- is pleased to announce the appointment of eran of World War II, the Korean War and retired Air Force Col. Walter Kaneakua as Vietnam. He is a decorated warrior. He rep- The Hawaii Veterans is funded and his new Honolulu-based executive assis- resented me well with the military and vet- published quarterly by the State of tant for Military Affairs, Feb. 7 erans throughout Hawaii. He was an advo- Hawaii, Office of Veteran Services. It Kaneakua, an Air Force command pilot, cate of service members and their families. is an offset publication. Views and retired after 27 years of active duty service Alex provided me with wise counsel and opinions expressed herein do not with both the U.S. Air Force and the Hawaii guidance on matters of importance to the necessarily represent those of the Air National Guard. He commanded the 9th military, veterans and civilian communities. Department of Veterans Affairs. All Airborne Command and Control Squadron I am happy that he is relaxing and spend- photos are State DoD photos unless and the start-up 203rd Air Refueling KC- ing more time with his lovely wife, Momi, otherwise credited. 135 Squadron. His last assignment was as and his family.” Vice Wing Commander for the 154th Wing The Senator continued: “I am pleased to at Hickam Air Force Base. Most recently, welcome Walt Kaneakua to my team. Walt Gov. Linda Lingle Kaneakua flew for Aloha Airlines. will carry on where Alex Lum left off as a Commander in Chief Kaneakua replaces retired Army Maj. working liaison to the armed services in Ha- Gen. Alexis T. Lum, who faithfully served waii. I have also asked Walt to reach out to Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee as the Senator’s executive assistant for Mil- both the military and members of our Na- The Adjutant General itary Affairs from 1991 to 2007; he retired tive Hawaiian community in an effort to find to spend more time with his family. Prior compromise and common ground. Walt will to his service with Senator Inouye, Lum also be responsible for civil defense, veter- Maj. (Ret) Mark S. Moses served as the adjutant general for the State ans affairs, and homeland security matters. OVS Director of Hawaii. He retired from that position in I have a robust agenda for which I have no 1991 with more than 43 years of decorated doubt Walt will add insight and wisdom to Jayme E. Sato service to the U.S. Army and the Hawaii Na- our collective efforts for the benefit of the Editor/Layout tional Guard. people of Hawaii.” www.hawaii.gov/dod/ovs email: [email protected] If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Hawaii Veteran newsletter please mail your address to OVS at 459 Patterson 459 Patterson Road E-Wing, Rm. 1-A103 Rd., E-Wing, Rm. 1-A103, Honolulu, HI 96819-1522 or email Honolulu, HI 96819-1522 [email protected]. For any change of address please include 433-0420 (OVS), 433-0385 (OVS fax) both old address and new address. 733-4258 (DoD), 733-4236 (DoD fax)

Hawaii Veteran Vol. 12, No. 1 April 2008 3 A Korean Veteran receives a generous gift By Jayme Sato M i s s i n g In Action Capt. Hyung-Kyu Joo from the De- (MIA) and fense Attache to Hawaii, Korean Consul- has not ate Gen. called Dir. Mark Moses at the been ac- beginning of Dec. Capt. Joo had extra counted for funds available for a donation. Capt. Joo to this date. wanted to give the money to a deserving A memo- korean veteran. Depending on the Ko- rial stone rean Consulate’s funds, Capt. Joo hopes is placed in to do this every year. the Korean Moses contacted James Ward, Presi- War Me- Greg Reed, Dir. Mark Moses, Capt. Hyung-Kyu Joo dent of the Aloha Chapter, The Chosin morial on Defense Attache, Pansobila M. Sandobal. Few. Ward recommended a man by the the Hawai- Photos by Jayme Sato name of Pansobila M. Sandobal. Panso- ian State Capitol grounds in his honor. bila is also known as Sandy, he served Sandy’s wife, Jane had a massive stroke and has had to be in Korea in 1950-1951. He was assigned cared for 24 hours a day. It is very hard on Sandy, emotionally Pansobila M. Sandobal in the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion D and financially. It has been especially difficult for Sandy’s family. “Sandy” shows us pic- company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Regiment, Therefore it is with great honor, we recommended Sandy for the tures of his brother 1st Marine Div. Korean Consulate General’s generous monetary gift. Congratula- and family members. Sandy’s brother, Albino Sandobal is tions Sandy! We hope this monetary gift will help. Internal Revenue Service Media Relations Office For Immediate Release earned income, such as income from wag- Social Security, Railroad Retirement or vet- From: Clay Sanford es, salaries, tips and self-employment. For erans’ benefits who have already filed but taxpayers filing joint tax returns, only a to- did not report their qualifying benefits on Millions of people who receive certain vet- tal of $3,000 of qualifying either Line 14a of Form erans’ benefits who don’t normally file a tax income from both spouses The payment will equal 1040A or Line 20a of Form return will need to do so this year in order is required to be eligible for 1040 that they may need to receive a stimulus payment. For those a payment. the amount of tax liability to file an amended return who don’t normally need to file, the IRS re- The Form 1040A illus- on the tax return, with a in some situations to re- leased a special version of Form 1040A that tration on IRS.gov shows maximum amount of $600 ceive a larger stimulus highlights the simple, specific sections of the limited number of lines for individuals ($1,200 for payment. the return that can be filled out by people that will need to be filled. A Taxpayers who already who can qualify for a stimulus payment. key line is reporting their married couples who file have filed but did not re- In most cases, the payment will equal the 2007 benefits on Line 14a a joint return). port these benefits can file amount of tax liability on the tax return, of Form 1040A. The IRS re- an amended return by us- with a maximum amount of $600 for indi- minds taxpayers they can also use Line 20a ing Form 1040X, which can only be filed viduals ($1,200 for married couples who file on Form 1040 to report these same bene- with a paper form. The IRS reminded tax- a joint return). fits. In addition, taxpayers in these groups payers who don’t have any other require- The IRS reminds taxpayers when they file should write the words “Stimulus Payment” ment to file a tax return that submitting a their 2007 tax return to use direct deposit, at the top of the 1040A or 1040. tax return to qualify for the economic stim- which is the fastest way to get both regular For now, taxpayers in this group filing a ulus payments does not create any addi- refunds and stimulus payments. tax return can only file a paper copy of the tional tax or trigger a tax bill. In addition, Qualifying income includes Social Secu- Form 1040 or Form 1040A. the stimulus payments will not have any ef- rity benefits, certain veterans’ benefits and The IRS also reminded taxpayers with fect on eligibility for federal benefits. New CT Scanner 100th Infantry Battalion The VA Pacific Islands Health donut-shaped x-ray machine Care System (VA PIHCS) re- that takes x-ray images at many cently dedicated a new 64-slice different angles around the body. Computed Tomography (CT) In each of these images the body scan, the newest generation in is seen as an x-ray slice, which CT scan technology. It has the is recorded digitally. Imagine ability to do cardiac studies and the body as a loaf of bread and angiograms without the need you are looking at one end of the to hospitalize patients for arte- loaf. As you remove each slice rial catheter placements. The of bread, you can see the entire 64 “slices” refer to the number surface of that slice from the of images that are gathered at crust to the center. The body one time. Original CT scanners is seen on CT scan slices in a used only one detector to gather similar fashion from the skin to information, modern scanners the central part of the body be- use multiple detectors to create ing examined. When these lev- images of the body. This tech- els are further added together, a Amanda Stevens, Office Manager for the 100th Battalion Vet- nology can create more detailed three-dimensional picture of an erans, Mark Moses, OVS Dir., Robert Arakaki, Pres. of the images in a shorter amount of organ or body structure can be 100th Battalion Veterans, and Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, the time. The CT scanner is a large obtained. That picture can then Adjutant General. be rotated and Photo by Stephen Lum viewed from all dif- On Feb. 4th, The 100th Infantry Battalion received $1 million ferent angles. VA from a grant in aid request to the Legislature. Maj. Gen. Robert PIHCS’s new CT G.F. Lee, the Adjutant General and our OVS Dir. Mark S. Moses Scan is only one of presented the check to the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans or- two located in the ganization. Hawaiian Islands, On hand to receive the check was Robert Arakaki, the Pres. of and is another ex- the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans’ and office manager Amanda ample of provid- Stevens. ing the best health The purpose of the grant is to fund the construction of an edu- care anywhere for cation and resource center. One of the projects being implemented our pacific island is documenting the oral histories from the 100th Infantry Battal- veterans. ion soldiers. Photo by Fred Ballard 4 Hawaii Veteran Vol. 12, No. 1 April 2008