McKenna Panui-Scobie, six months pregnant, will have her young son at her side Tuesday to accept Hawaii’s heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifice she never hoped she would make: the loss of her husband in Afghanistan.
For the ninth year in a row, the state Senate and House will convene in joint session to honor service members with Hawaii ties who were killed in a war zone, and to present their families with the state Medal of Honor.
According to the office of state Rep. Mark Takai, a lieutenant colonel in the Hawaii Army National Guard and the organizer of the annual recognition, 331 service members with Hawaii ties have been killed since the start of the Iraq War in 2003.
In early 2006, the first year the state Medal of Honor was given out, 120 names were read out, reflecting three years of war losses. The following year brought recognition of 66 more war dead. The year after that it was 31.
This year the loss of four will be memorialized.
They are Hawaii Army National Guard Sgt. Drew M. Scobie, Air Force Capt. Reid K. Nishizuka, Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Edward Balli and Army Sgt. Tofiga J. Tautolo.
"Although four is too many, it’s much better than the 66 we had in the second year," Takai said. "Eventually the plan would be to forgo the medal, but that’s because we’ve lost no one."
The reduction in Hawaii casualties follows the end of the Iraq War in 2011 and ongoing drawdown in Afghanistan.
For Panui-Scobie, though, there is no letup in the pain. Her husband, 25, was killed along with a Wyoming soldier and a civilian in the Jan. 10 crash of a twin-engine turboprop aircraft on a night mission in Afghanistan.
The Kailua resident volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan with other Hawaii Army National Guard soldiers and was an aerial sensor observer on a Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System aircraft, known as a MARSS, and based on a King Air 300.
The cause of the crash still is being investigated. Scobie left behind his 5-year-old son, Duke, his wife and a baby yet to be born.
"I’m devastated," Panui-Scobie said. "I didn’t expect this or even think it was possible. I mean, of course I know his going into a war zone it’s a possibility, but I really didn’t think it was going to happen."
Like others who have experienced war losses, the 26-year-old said she takes it day by day. The days, with more distractions, are better than the quiet and lonelier nights.
Panui-Scobie said she has a "very strong family" with dozens of relatives in Hawaii, adding, "I’m constantly surrounded, me and my son."
"It’s nice to talk about him, but it’s hard, knowing he’s not coming back," she said of her husband, struggling to keep her composure. "He had lots of goals. He volunteered for this deployment. He had a future plan. He wanted to buy a house, he wanted to go to school, further schooling, he wanted to become a pilot, and he was on track to become one."
Takai said three Hawaii National Guard soldiers died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Scobie was the first to be killed in Afghanistan.
"This is a very painful loss to us," Takai said. "Every single one of them is painful, but for someone to dedicate his or her (service) to the National Guard and to end up sacrificing his life is quite significant not only to the entire United States, but also to the state of Hawaii. He (Scobie) was a citizen soldier. He signed up to protect not only the country, but also the state of Hawaii."
In 2005 the state Legislature passed House Bill 8, which created the Hawaii Medal of Honor. Recipients of the medal include members of the armed forces, the Reserves and the Hawaii National Guard who were residents of Hawaii, attended an educational institution here or were stationed here.
The recognition will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the House chambers.
During past ceremonies a ship’s bell was tolled twice as the names of fallen service members were read and their families received the medal. The ceremonies concluded with a rifle salute outside, the playing of taps and a moment of silence.
"The medal is just a small token that we can provide as a state to (the families of the fallen) to let them know that we care deeply and that they will never be forgotten," Takai said.
