Service honors first AJA killed in WWII
Retired Army Brig. Gen. James Hirai, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Center for Strategic Studies at Fort DeRussy, will be the keynote speaker at the Oahu AJA (Americans of Japanese Ancestry) Veterans Council’s eighth annual Joint Memorial Service, which will be held Sunday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
The service honoring fallen World War II Japanese-American soldiers and veterans is held on the Sunday closest to the date when Waialua native Shigeo "Joe" Takata of the 100th Infantry Battalion was killed while attacking a German position outside Salerno, Italy, becoming the first AJA killed in action in World War II. This year’s service will fall on the 70th anniversary of that day.
Takata died Sept. 29, 1943, at Monte Milletoy; he is buried at Punchbowl.
Takata was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. In June 2003 the baseball field at Fort Shafter was named Joe Takata Field in his honor.
This year’s service will begin at 9 a.m.
High school teacher can sue Kaiser in court
The Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled that a Maui teacher has the right to sue Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. in court for reimbursement of $250,000 in medical bills, even though the state health trust fund agreed to an arbitration process to settle disagreements.
Kaiser officials argued that Maui High School teacher Michael Siopes was bound to go through an arbitration procedure agreed to by his employer — a process that would have required him to give up his right to a jury trial.
The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Siopes wasn’t bound to enter into arbitration because he hadn’t signed a waiver agreeing to arbitration.
His attorney, Mark Davis, said that under procedures available for Siopes, he had the option of choosing Hawaii Medical Service Association or Kaiser but was never required to sign a waiver when he became a Kaiser Health Plan subscriber in 2003. Kaiser spokeswoman Laura M. Lott declined comment and said the health firm was studying the decision.
Report of man’s rescue delayed for several days
A 48-year-old man who was the object of a nearly weeklong search by the Coast Guard and Hawaii County police and fire was actually rescued Sunday, but the rescue was only reported to authorities Thursday.
Richard Gomez was found by a Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park ranger after his boat broke up in the surfwhile attempting to come ashore Sunday. The park ranger rendered basic first aid to Gomez and then took him to a local campsite, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
