Hawaii Commandery MOFW News, December 2018

Hawaii Commandery

Commandery News

December, 2018

Table of Contents:

Vol. VII, Issue 4, December 2018 Commander’s Comments…………………………………………….. p. 1 Chaplain’s Corner…………………………………………………………. p. 2 Civil Air Patrol Cadet Awards Ceremony …………………….. p. 3 Commandery Operations …………………………………………... p. 3 WWI Centennial Plaque Unveiling Ceremony …………….. p. 4 Commandery Participates in the Armistice Centenary .. p. 5 WWI Cadet Essay Contest….....………………………..…...…... p. 6 WWI Cadet Essays …………………………………………….……….. p. 7 Working with other Veterans Organizations………..…….... p. 11 Companion News ………..…………………………..……….….….….. p. 12 Poppy Drive……………………………………................................ p. 12 Upcoming Events ……..……………...…………………….……..……. p. 13

Cover Photo: A C-17 Globemaster III and four F-22 Raptors fly together above the Freedom Tower in support of the 2017 Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Photo by Tech. Sgt. Heather Redman If you have patriotic photos you’d like to share, submit them for consideration for the cover of our next issue!

We accomplished the 3rd purpose, namely “To strengthen the ties of fellowship among the Companions of the Order” with Commandery events in March and June and with our collective service in major commemoration events and awards programs.

Through our continuing support to ROTC, JROTC, Youth Challenge, and Civil Air Patrol Cadets, we successfully accomplished our 4th purpose, “To foster the cultivation of military and naval science through the Cadet Awards programs.

In pursuit of our 7th Purpose “to foster and encourage the study of American History and particularly of American Military History “ we continued the successful execution of our 50th Vietnam War Commemoration Cadet Essay Contest, and by providing support to the Hawaii WWI Centennial Cadet Essay Contest. Some of the most recent WWI Cadet essays are in this edition.

We admitted 3 new Companions to the Commandery in 2018 and are processing three candidates for companionship.

Commander’s Comments.

To Senior Vice Commander Manny Manchester, let me state here my thanks for ably taking the reins of command while I was deployed to Israel in support of U.S. Cyber Command.

Aloha!

I wish all Companions and your families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mahalo and “Deus et Libertas”

Fellow Companions, as 2018 comes to a close, we can look back with pride on the many accomplishments of our Commandery, and of individual Companions.

The Commandery successfully carried out operations in support of the first two of our seven purposes: 1) To honor and perpetuate the names of brave and loyal men, and; 2) To keep in mind the memory of their martial deeds and the victories which they helped gain. We did this through our participation, in a rather prominent fashion, at Memorial Day events at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (aka the Punchbowl), the War World One Memorial at Waikiki and State Veterans Cemetery, and the combined State / City commemoration of the Centennial of the Armistice / Veterans Day at the Hawaii WWI Memorial. Companions also represented the Commandery well, attending other commemorations, such as ANZAC Day at the Punchbowl on 25 April, Army Birthday celebration at Schofield Barracks on 14 June.

We also accomplished these two purposes by the successful continuance of our 50th Vietnam War Commemoration Medal and DoD lapel pin programs, by recognizing and honoring 11 Vietnam Veterans in a dignified manner at ceremonies in front of their professional peers.

COL, Ret. Chris Spear Commander

Secretary Update.

It is time to renew your commitment to the Commandery and show your support by paying your annual dues of $35.00.

The Commandery needs operating funds to carry out the many activities just listed on this page by our Commander, so please send in you annual dues checks.

Mahalo to those who have already done so, and to those who added additional year-end donations to continue funding for our important awards programs.

LTC Straus Scantlin Commandery Secretary

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Chaplains Corner—Daniel’s Unimpeachable Character (Editor’s Note: this article appeared on the Army.mil page, and is re-printed here with the author’s permission)

By Chaplain (LTC,) Darren Chester Daniel did well as a servant of King Nebuchadnezzar in the ancient kingdom of Babylon. He had served the king faithfully for more than 30 years. But as time passed, Nebuchadnezzar died, and the kingdom of Babylon weakened. In time it was conquered by a different kingdom - the kingdom of Medo-Persia. Daniel survived this overthrow and lived to serve the new king, Cyrus. King Cyrus eventually made Daniel the ruler over a portion of his kingdom. In fact, King Cyrus had determined to put Daniel over the whole nation as the prime minister!

But there were those in the kingdom who believed that this person, a Jewish exile from Jerusalem, had no business ruling in the Medo-Persian Empire and were plotting how they might depose him. At first, they looked for some flaw in Daniel's character. But his character was above reproach. There was not a hint of fraud, waste or abuse in the discharge of his duties.

Let me ask you this question: if someone wanted to depose you, could they find something wrong with your character? Where would the kink be in your armor? Is there any shortcoming in the way you carry out your duties that if known would be a reason for you to be fired? Resiliency comes from living a life based on values, and living a life based on values builds impregnable character! How does building a life of character increase resiliency? It is like having a strong foundation for your house.

Before I was assigned to Fort Benning, I was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. I lived off post and to get to post most days, I would head down Tiny Town Road. About halfway to post there was a new housing development. It looked nice, but the very first house in the development was falling down. Something was wrong with the foundation on the back side of the house and the whole back side was sinking down into the ground. This house looked great when it was first built, but over time, as gravity applied its unending force, the weakened foundation gave way and the house began to fall down.

Our lives are like that house. In this world, forces will work to bring us down low, like gravity. And the only way to stay standing strong is to build a strong foundation of character.

The word "character" comes from the Greek "karakter" which means "engraved mark." It was first used to refer to the mark a brick maker would engrave on his bricks. Character can thus be seen as the marks that life leaves on our soul. Our character today is composed of the total of all of our experiences and all of our responses to those experiences. But that also means that a day from now, a week from now ... a year from now ... a decade from now ... our character will be different. More marks will have been left on our lives. And these marks, these temptations, these struggles, they can either weaken or strengthen our character based on our response.

We can't do a whole lot about our experiences, the things that happen to us. But we can do a great deal about how we respond. My friend, how will you respond today? If your foundation has a crack in it, will your choices today and tomorrow serve to repair the crack, or make it worse?

Daniel's life was built on a strong foundation of character. The men who wanted to see him brought down could not find one small hint of corruption. In the end, they had to contrive a way to have him removed. But even that couldn't keep Daniel down. You can read about it in Daniel, chapter 6.

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Civil Air Patrol Cadet Awards Ceremony

By Companion Peter Hirai "On September 8, 2018 the Military Order of Foreign Wars sponsored awards for nine outstanding Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Cadets, one from each squadron. Peter Hirai represented MOFW at the CAP awards banquet and presented the awards to the outstanding cadets. Of note, the National CAP Commander, Major General Smith, was in attendance and expressed his appreciation of our organization supporting the Civil Air Patrol.

Three of the nine cadets were in attendance (a few were from neighbor island squadrons), and two other cadet awards were accepted by their squadron commanders.

All were appreciative of the award certificate and the Bronze MOFW Leadership Medal."

Cadet CMSgt Vasquez , Cadet MSgt Mandini , Cadet TSgt Kaler , : Cadet awardees pose with COL, Ret. Hirai after the ceremony.

Commandery Operations: Commandery Activities and Projects

By Arthur Tulak, Treasurer and Quartermaster In addition to the great stories in this edition of Commandery News, there are many pending staff actions focused on future operations. Looking forward to the 2019 Cadet Awards Ceremonies, the Bronze Leadership and Silver Academic Medals have been ordered, along with the beautiful embossed certificate holders. The Commandery must re-submit its annual application to the Navy to be recognized as an approved Private Volunteer Organization to operate on Navy installations. Our Essay contest judging picks up again in March. Our NOV 11 Poppy Drive was successful (see article on p. 12), and we need to plan for another around Memorial Day 2019. If our PVO renewal is approved by the Navy, we may do this at Pearl Harbor. We need outreach to those Veteran Organizations we have not yet coordinated with for the 50th Vietnam War Commemoration Medal Presentations. These include: Marine Corps League, Fleet Reserve Assn, ROA, National Sojourners, M.I.S., et al. If you have points of contact to these organizations , please send them our information paper on the program.

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Hawaii WWI Centennial Memorial Plaque Dedication The Hawaii Commandery of MOFW played a leading role in the planning and execution of the unveiling ceremony for the Centennial Memorial Plaque bestowed upon the memorial by the National World War One Centennial Commission in Washington D.C. Only 100 of these plaques were awarded nation-wide, and Hawaii’s nomination was one of the first 50 to be selected. Companion Tulak was the lead coordinator for submitting the nomination, and coordinating with the City of Honolulu Parks Department Several Veterans and Civic Organizations attended, and Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts to include the VFW, MOWW, American Legion, Disato get the approvals for the City to accept bled American Veterans, and AMVETS. the gift of the plaque, to mount it on the wall at the main arch, and to conduct an unveiling ceremony. Several Veteran Organizations that are represented on the Task Force were present, to include the American Legion (WWI) American Veterans (WWII), Disabled American Veterans (founded 1920), Military Order of World Wars (WWI), and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (War with Spain). Ron Lockwood, from VFW Post 8616 was the master of ceremonies , and AMVETS Pearl Harbor Post provided the Chaplain, Michael Ferreira . The key note speaker was COL, Kenneth Tafao Jr., Deputy Commander of Support for the XIV Mission Support Command (9th MSC), who also had the honor of unveiling the plaque. This was also the first public display of the 100 Cities/100 Memorials public art display, which consisted of aluminum panels mounted on the temporary fencing in the lesser arches.

Companion Arthur Tulak is the lead speaker at the This event was a run-up to the main ceremony and program of unveiling ceremony to reveal the public art display on the wooden panels, and the bronze plaque. events for the Centenary of the Armistice ceremony that would follow just 9 days later.

COL Kenneth Tafao was the keynote speaker, and explained the significance of the award to Hawaii, and what it meant to honoring and remembering Hawaii’s WWI Veterans.

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Hawaii WWI Centennial Commemoration The Hawaii Commandery of MOFW was present in force for the Centennial of Armistice Day celebrations at the Hawaii War Memorial at Sans Souci Beach in Waikiki.

Companions Dicks, Hirai, Logan, Manchester, Scantlin, Spear, Staedel, and Tulak, and candidate Brenda Reichel attended and supported various aspects of the combined State and City program.

MG Logan was the sole military speaker, and explained that the State of Hawaii had been looking for a Veterans Day ceremony location outside of a cemetery, indicating that future Governor’s Veterans Day ceremonies may be held at the War Memorial.

Commander Spear also marched with the large Commandery Flag, alongside a Hawaii Youth Challenge Academy Cadet and presented a lei in honor of Veterans past and the 9,800 who served from the Territory of Hawaii in the Great War.

Photos: Top, ADM Davidson arrival, met by Companions Tulak and Manchester. Below: Honorary Companion MG Joe Logan provided remarks representing all military present.

Companion Manchester worked in the tented outdoor WWI Museum, where he displayed his private collection alongside the Hawaii Historic Arms Association, the Red Cross, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Remember the Lady, and other organizations. Companion Manchester was also selected to march with the Hawaii WWI Centennial Commemoration Flag, which was the first to step forward for the parade of flags and presentation of lei.

Companion Tulak joined the honor party on the Dais, representing the many Veterans organizations on the Hawaii WWI Centennial Task Force, and set up in the VSO tent.

Hawaii Ceremonial Guard prepares for the ceremony.

Companion Manchester shares WWI history with visitors to the outdoor tented WWI History Museum.

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Veterans Organizations line up for the Parade of Flags and presentation of Lei. Commander Spear and the MOFW flag are visible on the right side of the photo. There were two lines of Veterans and flags on either side of the main tent.

The Honor Party: L-R—Daniel Martinez, MC; Companion Tulak,; Maj. Gen. Russell Mack PACAF; RADM Kevin Lunday, USCG XIV Dist.; ADM Phil Davidson USINDOPACOM; Sen. Brian Schatz; Mayor Kirk Caldwell; Governor David Ige; MG Joe Logan; MG Ronald Clark, CG 25th Infantry Division; RADM William Greene, PACFLT, and; Col Raul Lianez, Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cadet WWI Essay Contest The Hawaii Commandery is supporting the Hawaii World War One Centennial Essay Contest with essay judging, medal presenters, certificates, and certificate holders. The Essay contest provides a medal to each competing school to award to their top essayist. Participating schools include Campbell NJROTC, Farrington JROTC, Kalaheo NJROTC, Punahou JROTC, and Waipahu JROTC. There will be one more round of essays, which are due to Cadre for review not later than March 22, 2019.

Selected essays will be published in the MOFW Commandery News, and other Veterans publications, as well as the Hawaii WWI Centennial Commemoration website. The HI WWI CTF will also judge all entries to establish the top 3, and best-of-category.

Winners receive a certificate recognizing their essay, signed by Companion Major General Joe Logan to accompany the medal. MOFW Companions are invited to volunteer in to present these medals to Cadets during Cadet Awards Ceremonies on-campus. The essays are published on the Hawaii WWI Centennial Webpage at: http://hawaiiworldwar1.org/rotc-cadet-essays-of-wwi/ Below and following pages are some of the excellent essays in full or partial publication, as well as a few ex6

Aloha, Lest We Forget

By Cadet Matthew Herrera W.R. Farrington High School Governors’ Guard JROTC Battalion World War I, nicknamed “The Great War” or “The War to End All Wars”, started in 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and hostilities ended in 1918 with the November 11th armistice. The war could be considered officially over with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, which took effect on January 10, 1920. Considering our small size, Hawaii had a substantial role in this war, having over 10,000 people volunteer to join the war effort. In 2018, we celebrate the 100 year anniversary since the Armistice of Compiègne went into force on the eleventh of November, at exactly eleven A.M. not far from the chilly, muddy trenches of France. World War I showed Hawaii many lessons in wartime roles, whether serving on the home front or the front lines.

On April 6th, 1917, a group known as Hawaii’s War Relief Committee was formed upon the U.S. entry into WWI. In doing so, the Committee raised funds which were converted into war bonds for the production of materials to be sent to the frontlines. Meanwhile, those currently in the Hawaiian National Guard, otherwise known as the Territorial Guard, were mobilized into active service. The Territorial Guard was quickly mobilized at military installations across the Territory including Fort Shafter, and Schofield Barracks in Wahiawa, just to name a few. As the Committee raised funds gradually, they merged with the Red Cross in order to form a joint fundraiser for the war effort. In the year 1917 alone, the two organizations raised $233,291. Through inflation, today that money would be worth $4,957,916.42.

One of the sacrifices citizens made, using their time and sewing skills, was making blankets and towels to keep our doughboys warm and clean. In May 1918, women and children took to the sewing machines or the needle and thread to make many of the items requested to keep the soldiers warm. More people were interested in helping to create items and willingly did so, as they sacrificed their time and materials. Altogether, those who participated in this tremendous effort created 58,241 items requested. The Red Cross was very pleased at Hawaii’s effort to produce these items all for our boys two continents away.

Another one of the sacrifices people made was the preservation of food. Hawaii’s culturally and religiously diverse communities came together to make it happen. An ongoing effort in 1917, lasting until the end of the war, supported by President Wilson’s food administrator Herbert Hoover urged Americans both on the mainland and in territories owned by the U.S. to save food. Unique challenges arose such as the Chinese community going without pork during Lunar New Year in 1918, and a rare challenge calling for the question of whether or not pineapple should be a wartime essential crop.

Love’s Bakery, as patriotic as they were, created a recipe for bread called the “Victory Loaf”. The bread was made of bananas and much less flour, contributing to the increase of the flour supply. The bakery also prompted ideas like cooking with stale bread. Advertisements bragged that if all of Honolulu ate “Love’s Grahams”, then 10,000 pounds of wheat could be saved. In September 1917, Central Union Church preached food conservation to help the effort. In doing this, citizens were urged to follow one of Herbert Hoover’s concepts: eat one meal a day without wheat, eat one meal without meat, 3 meals a week of leftovers, cooking without butter, and avoid waste of foods. Our soldiers in Western Europe endured the sacrifices of combat and food rationing and we here in the Islands also did our part by saving food to feed our hungry troops in the trenches.

The third sacrifice that citizens had to make was the loss of alcohol privileges. In 1915, one year after World War I began, a group known as the Hawaii Anti-Saloon League hired a superintendent while expanding their campaign to rid Hawaii of alcoholic beverages. The following year, they went to Washington D.C. searching for evidence to impose prohibition on Hawaii. Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole (Prince Kuhio), the elected representative in Congress for Hawaii at the time, wanted the territorial government to decide on prohibition. Faced with outrage from voters on the issue, Hawaii’s legislature failed to pass prohibition, until Prince Kuhio was forced to allow federally imposed prohibition.

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In March 1918, President Wilson signed a bill, thus beginning the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in Hawaii on August 20th of that same year. Hawaii’s public and private sector food businesses ran dry. Prohibiting people to drink alcoholic beverages was considered a relief of problems such as sickness, hunger, misery, and poverty, to name some.

In early 1919, a group named the Prohibition Law Enforcement League was created. The group wanted Hawaii to be the prime example of the effects of federally imposed prohibition.

Personally, I did not know that Hawaii played such a pivotal role in World War One. I thought that Hawaii was never considered important to the war effort until doing research on this topic. Countless people helped the war effort whether it was through food preservation, knitting and sewing items for the Red Cross to send overseas, or through simply not allowing alcohol to be consumed. I feel that as a Junior ROTC cadet, a product of the National Defense Act of 1916, the act that created JROTC & ROTC, we cadets are intimately involved with around 100 - plus years of history. Hawaii sacrificed many things in order to stop tyranny of the Central Powers in Europe, and so that our doughboys could get home back in one piece. To the mothers who lost their sons, to the fathers who lost the same, to the wives who lost their husbands, or to underage soldiers who illegally served, we will never forget them. Many gave the ultimate sacrifice not just for America, but for freedom for everyone. The Waikiki Natatorium stands as a monument to their gallantry, and also as a reminder that war is hell.

Effects of World War One

By Cadet Tara Chun Campbell High School Navy JROTC The start of World War one dates back to July 28th, 1914 and ended on the 11th of November 1918. The war did not occur in Hawaii but there were still many different impacts that came from it. In the beginning of the WW1, America was not in the war. America joined the war when Germany shot a torpedo at a U.S. cargo vessel. The S.S.Aztec was shot just off the coast of France, six sailors from Hawaii died and the only survivor was Charles Nakao who after this happened sent a letter back home to Hawaii to be put in the bulletin. During the war about 100 people from Hawaii died and more that 10,000 signed up to help the war efforts.

While America at this time was a neutral country along with all their territories, since Hawaii was a U.S. territory, it provided many different types of relief organization for not only our own people but the outsiders as well. The people of Hawaii stepped up many different times to contribute to the war, this includes helping the American Red Cross and helping families who experienced a loss due to the experimental submarine that got lost killing 21 people. Lastly since America joined the war it automatically sent Hawaii into war due to Hawaii still being a U.S territory.

As the war progressed many people from Hawaii moved to the mainland to help Europe fight on the frontlines.

People also gave whatever money they could to the children who became orphans from the ongoing war. Hawaii to this day is a very important port. During the war when the Japanese needed refueling and new supplies they would come to Hawaii due to the location of the island.

In Hawaii the German community was strongly affected by the war. There were many different companies German people worked for in Hawaii, so due to the ongoing conflict of unrestricted submarine warfare the German population faced a great amount of discrimination.As the war went on, a naval militia was formed. This means that civilians came together to help the military and their war effort. With the civilians contributing to the war, everyone was on edge at all times, at night the lights at Pearl Harbor would be shut down so that the Germans could not use light to attack.

During the war the Selective Service Act was put into motion on May 18 1917, where all men between the ages of 21-30 were put on a Selective Service list to serve in the military. There was a lot of men in this age range in Hawaii so they were all sent to Europe to fight. When America declared they were joining the war, time some harbors in Hawaii had non U.S vessels stationed in the harbors. The U.S overtook the vessels and made them their own.

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Cadet WWI Essay Contest (Cont.)

The estimation of 10,000 men and women contributed to the war. Their jobs ranged from sailors and soldiers to ambulance drivers. All the men and women known to have contributed and helped with the war effort are remembered at the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, this was built by the people of Hawaii to ensure that the people who fought and helped are always remembered. The memorial is a large concrete enclosure in the ocean acting as a pool with rows of concrete bleacher, today no one is allowed to swim in this pool due to safety hazards of the decaying concrete but there is talk that the memorial will possibly be fixed and reopened to the public in the near future. The memorial was built in 1927 and is on a 5.3 acre lot.

The impact of the war on America was vast. While overseas factories and businesses were being destroyed, America was prospering. The need for factory workers and product was at an all time high. While the men were out fighting in the war the women would take on the men’s jobs. The expectations of women greatly increased, when men came back from WW1, they needed their jobs back. Men returning also had to learn to tolerate other races and females in the workplace.

The war came to an end but there were still conflicts from the war. Some of the conflicts involved worker strikes, due to people getting laid off from their jobs and getting paid less. These strikes occurs because corporations decided to hire other people such as Mexicans and African Americans who would work for less pay. Some positive effects from the war was America became the leading world power and became the industrial center of the world. Women were able to vote and hole a variety of jobs. America also took over many overseas markets causing the American competitors of these makers to become more successful. Negative effects of the war was the Great Depression, this came about because people were being laid off jobs. Immigration levels and problems arose after the war causing the “Red Scare”, where the nation was under the impression that America would become a communist state. During this time there were many different bombings and attacks by anarchists.

To conclude, World War 1 not only impacted America but had a great impact on Hawaii and the people that lived here. The impacts of the war range from new job opportunities to the death of loved ones who served in the war. I’ve also learned how many soldiers and families have sacrificed in order to protect the future of our nation. Writing this essay has given me a better understanding of the sacrifice and think about more than just myself.

Essay extract from Campbell H.S. NJROTC Cadet Aidan Alexander’s essay “Hawaii’s Great War” When America’s period of neutrality and isolationism ended and war was declared, both Red Cross groups in America and Hawaii took on a more patriotic role: supporting the U.S. military. Over 60% of all Navy nurses and 80% of all Army nurses were recruited from a Red Cross group. Though many ad campaigns that were endorsed by Queen Liliuokalani, the Hawaii Red Cross raised hundreds of dollars and acquired thousands of new crew members, each donating some form of monetary support from $1 to $100. On September 29th, 1917, the Red Cross gained over 16,000 members, including Queen Liliuokalani herself.

As more reports of deaths overseas reached the islands, more and more people felt a duty to serve in some way, leading to ever increasing membership. The throne room of Iolani Palace was used as a makeshift station for rolling bandages, packing gauze, knitting blankets, preparing surgical dressings and so on for troops fighting in the war. Volunteers from all over Hawaii were enlisted to knit everything from hats to socks to blankets for the troops. Even nuns from Fort Street Covent were knitting socks for soldiers, having been knitting their own socks for years. These knitted goods were of monumental help to the soldiers, especially those fighting in the cold European front. The Hawaiian people were proud to serve their country in World War One.

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Cadet WWI Essay Contest (Cont.)

World War One Centennial Essay Brianna Martinez Kalaheo High School NJROTC Many fought in what was once known as the “Great War” or the “War to End All Wars.” World War I resulted in numerous deaths and an incalculable amount of sacrifices made by young to old men and women. Many laid down their lives for the country they called home. Each person who entered this war had a specific reason for doing so and these soldiers must not be forgotten. By making the decision to leave their families to fight for a country some were not even welcomed to, they helped the United States become the land of opportunity it is today. Many gave their lives fighting for what they believed was right during this time. Among the seemingly limitless number of brave soldiers included one hundred and two veterans from Hawai’i. The majority of these veterans were men who were farmers or individuals who worked civilian occupations; some of these people were even athletes. However, these same men stepped up to the call when they were needed to fight for their country and truly embodied the American spirit until their dying breath. One of these honorable and selfless soldiers was Sgt. Apau En Pau Kau. Sgt. Apau En Pau Kau was born in Kohala, Hawai’i to Kyau and Loy Sang Kau. He was the fourth of seven children and lived a relatively normal life. His parents migrated to Hawai’i from China to work as contract laborers in the early stages of their lives. As time passed and as the children grew older, the family began to leave the Big Island in search of even grander opportunities. However, the Great War led Apau and some of his siblings to make the decision to join the military. The first of the children was Edward En Young Kai who joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps. The second was En You who was a mess sergeant for the Hawaiian infantry at the Schofield Barracks. Before joining the military along with his brothers, Apau worked for Bishop & Co. and served as a manager while also being the pitcher for the ‘Chinese University’ Baseball Team. During his time as pitcher, Kau enjoyed his small taste of popularity by accomplishing feats such as pitching a perfect game against Baylor University in 1915. In the time between 1915 and 1917, Kau joined the Pennsylvania National Guard and on September 18, 1917, he enlisted into the 315th Infantry in Philadelphia.

It is not known for sure why Kau decided to join the National Guard as it also isn’t known how Kau viewed America either.

Irregardless, there was much controversy between Chinese people and other individuals in Hawai’i during the time Kau chose to enlist.

Chinese people, especially men, were seen as “unprogressive” and unable to adapt to a new culture. They were thought to keep their unfamiliar customs instead of acclimating to a more “normal” way of life. However, after the Japanese began to become increasingly perceived as a possibly greater threat to Hawai’i, Chinese immigrants were seen as “trustworthy, upright, and honored…” In The U.S. Military in Hawai’i: Colonialism, Memory and Resistance, the book states that it is significant to consider that Sgt. Kau chose to enlist in Philadelphia because he knew he would have a higher chance of coming in contact with combat. After he completed basic training at Camp Meade, Maryland, Kau was shipped to France in May 1918.

Kau’s infantry spent some time training behind the lines before getting moved to the front lines in September of that same year. After fighting in heavy fire in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Sgt. Apau En Pau Kau was killed in action on November 4, 1918, just seven days before the Armistice of World War I. Despite Kau’s difference in race, his sacrifice was acknowledged and he was written up as a hero in the Star-Bulletin as well as being included in the patriotic narrative of sacrifice for the national cause. He was mentioned in the article “Hawaii Did Her Part on France’s Blood-Red Fields: Manhood of Isles Sacrifice Life on Land and Sea in Cause of Liberty”.

Sergeant Apau En Pau Kau is an example of one who defied the odds by those who judged his abilities before considering his true potential. He is an upstanding role model to be followed by young Hawaiians and Americans for generations to come. Despite facing adversity rooted from discrimination to include being viewed as untrustworthy or dishonorable, he demonstrated that you can overcome these hardships and do whatever you set your mind to. Instead of submitting to the negativity and challenges he faced, Kau chose to fight and rise above the discrimination. Instead of living a comfortable, safe, life as a farmer or a baseball player, he chose to fight for his country. He helped make the United States a safer, stronger place making it possible for his home to be known for what it is today.

As young Americans, we may not fight wars, at least not at the age we are now. However, this lesson can easily be applied to people at the ages of fifteen and sixteen. As teenagers, we not only have our parents and others guide us on what to wear, how to behave, what knowledge we should know and more often than not what to think. We also have a societal pressure that weighs down on us like bricks to be and to live a certain way that we may not want to conform to. Sgt. Apau proves this box can be broken through and shows us that we can be or do whatever we set our minds to. Sgt. Apau showed the country who he was and what he was capable of, and, in the end, he was recognized for his actions with the same respect his fellow soldiers received. Bottom line, we can think what we choose to think, we can learn anything we want to learn, we can realize things at young ages, we can talk about issues that aren’t being openly discussed and we can have a voice. Without people like Sgt. Apau stepping out and standing up for what they believe is right, Hawai’i and the United States would not be paradise and the land of opportunity it is today.

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Building our Veterans Community: Working with other Veterans Organizations to create an impact, attract new members, and revitalize our Commandery through action.

By Arthur Tulak.

In his recent blog article, “Why Our Service Organizations are Dying (and How to Fix Them), Michael Brand wrote that there is… “Nothing more American than a service club. Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, International Order of Odd Fellows, ..., Shriners…… “ Brand recalled the observations of Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville who “rode all over the United States in the 1830s and was struck by the influence of religious, fraternal and civic organizations, and secret societies, on American democracy and concluded that they made communities stronger, more interesting, and more engaged.”

Brand goes on to observe that all the service clubs he listed, were “once the backbone of community life in America, [and] have been in significant decline over the past 2-3 decades. It is not that our clubs have changed. America has changed. Thus the imperative is for us to reinvent for a new America.”

Writing in her on-line blog “The Patriot Ledger“ about the parallel experience of Veterans Organizations, Mary Whitfill observed that “Gulf War veterans are now the largest group of living veterans at 7.3 million, outnumbering living Vietnam era veterans by more than a million, Department of Veterans Affairs data shows. But those younger veterans aren’t interested in joining local posts….” Why is this? Writing in 2015, John Ismay reported in his article “Veterans Groups Have Long History, Uncertain Future,” that More than 2,000 American Legion and VFW posts around the country had recently closed., with many of those still operating on shaky financial ground, “putting communities in danger of losing institutions that for decades sponsored parades, youth baseball games, and other civic events.”

The younger generations of Americans now define their association with a community by their affinities, based on socio-political affiliation or interests, for example social activist community or the tech community. Young Veterans certainly know they are part of this community, but are not interested in participating. However, there is hope. As Adam Tschorn wrote a decade ago for the Los Angeles Times, some organizations are bucking the trend. In his article, Tschorn interviewed UCLA history professor Margaret C. Jacob, who described how the Free Masons, after experiencing years of decline, experienced a surge of new members, to include Millennials who were curious about the historical institution and found plenty of information posted on-line by the Masons. With our own unique and long history, we may be able to follow this example with a more active on-line presence than we currently have. In the words of our Senior Vice Commander “There is an interest in historical organizations like the MOFW amongst many people out there, they need to be able to find out about us, and find us!”

Our community of focus is made up of civic-minded Veterans. We are seemingly few in Hawaii, which has a Veteran population that accounts for one in ten of all Hawaii residents. How can Hawaii’s Veterans organizations continue to grow and make an impact in the face of indifference from Millennial Veterans? We can look to the recent events at the War Memorial on 2 and 11 NOV where Veterans Organizations banded together in service to make a visible statement.

How can we now leverage this recent cooperation, and model of working together to form a community of Veterans Organizations who are willing to support one another? The key foundational element to build on seems to be an event, where such cooperation is both possible, and highly visible, but there may be others we haven’t thought of yet.

The other Military Order on Oahu, the Military Order of World Wars, has attempted this strategy with the Military Officers Association of America for their annual Christmas Party. The idea is not to “poach members” from other organizations, but to join forces with like-minded organizations to accomplish organizational goals in tandem and cooperation with other Veteran Organizations, and expand our social connections to other like-minded, service oriented Veterans.

In the United Kingdom, a Veterans Charity organization known as “Veterans in Action” has taken a similar approach under the motto “Working together is the way forward with like minded people.”

We need your ideas on activities we can do with other organizations. What activities can we invite others to do as a way of testing the waters? One activity we have used to introduce potential members to our mission of service is the annual set of Cadet Awards Ceremonies. As our Senior Vice Commander has stated, this is a great event to bring a candidate member to attend. As we continue the 50th Vietnam War Commemoration Medal presentation program, we all need to have this conversation with other veteran organizations. We need to introduce our programs to other organizations to see where we can support one another.

Bring your best ideas to our next Commandery meeting.

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Companion News— Companion and Commander Chris Spear returned from six months deployment in support of U.S. European Command Companion LTC Straus Scantlin was selected by RADM Stephen Koehler as the outstanding performer of the year for J3 Operations Division, HQs, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Companions Manny Manchester and Larry Dicks supported the Hawaii Civil War Round Table in remembering decoration day, November 10th, at the Oahu Cemetery, where they decorated the graves of Union Soldiers from the Civil War. The Oahu Cemetery, Civil War Graves decoration effort is led by Hawaii Civil War Round Table. The event, which lasts about two hours, begins with a flag raising at 0800 hrs over the Grand Army of the Republic's plot, decorating the graves of the Civil War Companion Manchester leads the Veterans, and then fanning out across the cemetery recognizing other Veterans. color guard at ceremonies honoring Hawaii's Civil War Veterans.

Companion Arthur Tulak recently published an article on the history of the Hawaii Naval Militia, which was called to active duty with the Navy within days of the Congressional Declaration of War and sent for duty in the Atlantic Theater. You can read the article, “Centennial of the Hawaii Naval Militia” in the on-line Hawaii Military Guide.

Feeling left out? Share your news with your fellow Companions!!

Commandery Poppy Drive The Commander y’s November Poppy Drive was held in conjunction with the Hawaii WWI Centennial Commemoration on November 11th. We had a great turnout of Companions to support this effort. Companions Manchester and Dicks were the setup team early in the morning inside the Veterans Service Organization tent that housed 7 different Veterans Organizations, that like the Hawaii MOFW were recognized by the State of Hawaii as Commemoration Partner Organizations.

The poppies were provided by Companion, Major, Australian Army, Ret. Rory Cain. Companion Manchester provided various vases and bowls made out of artillery shells from his personal WWI “Trench Art” collection to display the poppies. Manning the tables during the day were Companions Spear, Hirai, Staedel, Dicks, and candidate Companion Brenda Reichel.

Many poppies were distributed to attendees and a few recruiting leads as well to follow-up.

This event afforded a great opportunity to meet other Veterans organizations with whom

Companions Spear, Staedel, Dicks, and Tulak at the MOFW poppy drive in the VSO tent.

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Upcoming events: •

7 DEC—76TH Pearl Harbor Day Ceremony—Pearl Harbor Visitor Center

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11 DEC— VA Pacific Health Care System Health Care Job Fair, Oahu Veterans Center, 1100-1900 hrs.

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14 DEC—Disabled American Veterans (DAV) hosts Veteran Information Seminar at the Ke’ehi Lagoon Memorial Park, Burns Hall, 2685 North Nimitz Hwy, Honolulu, HI, 96919 from 0830 to 1200 hrs.

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5 DEC — 1800 hrs Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge Academy Graduation Ceremony—Pearl City Cultural Center

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17 DEC — Showing of WWI film “They Shall Not Grow Old” https://www.fathomevents.com/events/they-shallnot-grow-old

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23 DEC—Vietnam Veterans Memorial Gathering at Korea/Vietnam Memorial, 2300 hrs. This will be the twentyfourth year for this low-key, un-sponsored event. Parking provided at the Capitol Underground Garage. Contact Tom Stirling at tstirling@tlslawhawaii.com for more information.

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27 DEC— Showing of WWI film “They Shall Not Grow Old”

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30 JAN — Hawaii MOFW Commandery Meeting at Sunset Lanai, Camp H.M. Smith, 1700 hrs.

March — Judging of Cadet 50th Vietnam War Essay contest entries. MOFW Companions will judge the essays submitted by JROTC Cadets to determine the top three essays, and runners-up that achieve “best of category” essays not selected for the cash prizes for 1st through 3rd place. Last iteration of the WWI Cadet Essay Contest.

29 MAR —Vietnam War Veterans Day. Be ready to volunteer to observe this new holiday, established by President Trump in 2017.

25 APR —ANZAC Day Memorial Service at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, hosted by the Consulates of Australia and New Zealand, 1000 hrs. Uniform is Class B/Summer White/Blue Dress Delta/Blues.

April — JROTC Governor’s Parade, Fort Shafter. MOFW Companions show their support for the Cadets who conduct a Pass-in-Review for the Governor and the presiding General Officer. The ceremony also recognizes organizations, such as ours, who have provided support to the Cadets over the academic year.

Mid April to early May— JROTC Cadet Awards Ceremonies. Companions are asked to volunteer to present MOFW medals and Prizes for the WWI and 50th Vietnam War Essay contests, as commemoration partners.

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Hawaii Commandery, Military Order of Foreign Wars A non-profit 501 (c) 3 Veterans Organization Oahu Veterans Center, 1298 Kukila St. Honolulu Hawaii, 96818

Mahalo to our 2018 Sponsors:

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