Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 6, 1 June 2011 — President Obama awards Medal of Honor to fallen Hawaiian soldier [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

President Obama awards Medal of Honor to fallen Hawaiian soldier

Ffc. Anthony Kaho'ohanohano is honored for gallantry during Korean War

By Kekoa Enomoīo WAILUKU — Kaho 'ohanohano may be translated "one who conducts himself with distinction," and, after living up to his name, Maui-born Anthony T. Kaho'ohanohano posthumously was awarded the Medal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism" during the Korean War. President Barack Ohama presented the award May 2 in the White House East Room with nearly two dozen Kaho'ohanohano relatives present from the Valley Isle. On behalf of his unele, retired Maui poliee Capt. George Kaho'ohanohano accepted the award given "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and

beyond the eall of duty" at Chupa-ri, South Korea, on Sept. 1, 1951. The Medal of Honor citation reads in part: "Private First Class Anthony T. Kaho'ohanohano, Company H, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division ... was in charge of machine-gun squads supporting the defense positioning of Company F when a numerically superior enemy force launched a fierce attack. Because of the enemy's overwhelming numbers, friendly troops were forced to execute a limited withdrawal. As the men fell back, Private First Class Kaho'ohanohano ordered his squad to take up more defensible positions and provide covering fire for the withdrawing friendly force.

"Although having been wounded in the shoulder during the iniīial enemy assault, Private First Class Kaho'ohanohano gathered a supply of grenades and ammunit i o n

a n d returned to his original po-

sition to face the enemy alone. (He) fought fiercely and courageously, delivering deadly accurate fire into the ranks of the onrushing enemy. When his ammunition was depleted, he engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand eombat until he was killed. Private First Class Kaho'ohanohano's heroic stand so inspired his comrades that they launched a counterattack that completely repulsed the enemy." In a recent Maui interview, George Kaho'ohanohano recalled the award ceremonies were "an emotional experience, especially when the President gave me the Medal of Honor and I looked out at the

whole family with smiles of pride on their faces, and some were crying." "And to have my twin grandsons, who are 20 months old, attending," he added, his eyes red with unshed tears, "I felt a wide range of emotions and even a big lump in my throat." Anthony Kaho'ohanohano appears to be the second Medal of Honor recipient of Native Hawaiian ancestry, after Herbert Kaili Pililā'au was so honored in 1952, also for Korean War valor. Anthony Kaho'ohanohano was born in 1930, the fifth of nine children of the late Joseph and Virginia Kaho'ohanohano of Wailuku, family members said. The awardee was a quiet person who enjoyed helping his family and who loved sports. The 6-foot-l 225-pounder was an all-star basketball and football player at St. Anthony High School in Wailuku. The Medal of Honor presentation for the 1949 St. Anthony graduate occurred four months shy of six decades after the fateful battle. "I feel proud that he got the award after 60 years," said David Kaho'ohanohano, 77, of Makawao, the recipient's younger brother. David described his sibling as a "gentle giant" and "man of his word." Nephew George said he received a eall eight months ago from former maehinegun Sgt. John Davis of Mesa, Arizona, who affirmed the award was deserved. Davis recounted how Anthony's actions had allowed fellow soldiers to survive a nearly untenable situation and recalled Anthony saying, "I got your back. I'll take care" of the enemy. George said the quest to have his uncle's actions be cited appropriately had begun a half-century earlier with a letter dated in the late 1950s from Anthony's older brother, the late Ernest Kaho'ohanohano, requesting a review of Anthony's battlefield performanee. George's late father, Able Kaho'ohanohano, had renewed the quest in the early 1990s, and George had taken up the cause in 1998. "It's been an amazing battle ... getting information from the Army," George said, noting that a 1962 fire in St. Louis had destroyed numerous Army records. U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and his staff stepped in to reinforce the records request in 2002-03 ; then Akaka inserted into a 2009 deSEE KAHO'OHANOHANO ON PAGE 12

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George Kaho'ohanohano, left, a nephew of the honoree, joins President Barack Ohama on stage while the citation was read. - Photo: Courtesy ofJesse Broder Van Dyke. T0P RIGHT, Pfc. Anthony T. Kaho'ohanohano. - Photo: Courtesy ofthe U.S. ArmyMuseum ofHawail RIGHT, the United States Army Medal of Honor. - Photo: Courtesy U.S. Army

KAHO'OHANOHANO Continued from page 5

fense authorization bill a provision enabling an upgrade from Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor for Anthony Kaho'ohanohano. George said his 13-year mission only validated that his unele deserved the nation's highest conllict-related award, whieh requires "incontestable proof of the performance of the meritorious conduct." "Basically to have finally aeeomplished it ... and how long it took us, I just felt a sense of pride for Anthony and for the family," George said with a long, emotion-filled pause. "I kept telling everyone it's Anthony's medal, and I was just there to make sure he received the proper recognition." He said officials noted some 3,000 Medal of Honor recipients, half of whom served in the Civil War. That leaves "only 1,500; that's a pretty elite group (out oD the tens of millions of people who've served in uniform," George said.

He said the family will convene to decide a venue for public display of the Medal of Honor and its accompanying light blue flag with 13 white stars and gold fringe. And what would Anthony's response have been to the award for one of distinction? "After what my aunty and uncles said about him, he would have said: ' What's all the fuss about? I did a job. What else do you want?' " said George. President Obama - a Punahou schoolmate of the recipient's cousin Dwight Kaho'ohanohano - had acknowledged privately to the family before the ceremony that Anthony Kaho'ohanohano's bravery was exemplary. "Loeal boys would do that, and more, if they could," George recalled the President saying. David Kaho'ohanohano said it another way: "Being Hawaiians, we have that spirit of the warrior and respect and dedication in our family." ■ Kekoa Enomolo is a retired copy editor and Staff Writer with The Maui News and former Honolulu Star-Bulletin.