The ashes of a 25-year-old Hawaii National Guard soldier with a love of the ocean will be scattered in an aloha oe ceremony and paddle-out Sunday at Makapuu Beach Park, one of his favorite surf spots, officials said.
Sgt. Drew M. Scobie of Kailua, a married father of a 4-year-old son, was killed along with a Wyoming soldier and a civilian in the crash of a twin-engine turboprop reconnaissance aircraft on a night mission in Afghanistan on Jan. 10.
His wife, McKenna A.K. Panui-Scobie, is expecting their second child in June.
Memorial services for Scobie will be held Saturday at Hawaiian Memorial Park chapel, 45-425 Kamehameha Highway, Kaneohe.
Viewing will be from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. with a service to follow. A celebration of life lunch will take place at 2 p.m. at Senator Fong’s Plantation & Gardens, 47-285 Palama Road, Kahaluu.
An aloha oe gathering will begin at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at Makapuu Beach Park with a paddle-out at 10 a.m. Members of the community who wish to pay their respects are invited to attend.
Scobie was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery, in Wahiawa, as a fire direction operator.
He volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan with Detachment 55, which is providing reconnaissance and surveillance for ground forces in Afghanistan. Detachment 55 was mobilized on Oct. 8 and deployed to Afghanistan later that month.
In Afghanistan, Scobie was an aerial sensor observer technician on a Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System aircraft, which is based on a King Air 300.
"Drew said that he couldn’t be happier serving with such fine men and women," the family said in a release developed with the Hawaii National Guard.
Scobie also worked as a perioperative technician aide at Straub Clinic & Hospital.
"In each of his career paths — both military and civilian — Drew excelled, while managing to be an outstanding family man as well," the family said.
Scobie was born in San Francisco and moved to Kailua at age 3, his family said. He attended Kalaheo High School and George Washington High School in San Francisco.
"Drew enjoyed family time at the beach and was dedicated to teaching his son everything about the islands by sharing his passion for activities such as martial arts, football, paintball and his love for the ocean, which included surfing and body boarding," the family said.
Scobie joined the 1/487th in 2009 as a tactical data systems specialist.
"He was eager to further his military education and specialized training, achieving multiple military occupational specialties and the rank of sergeant in just four years," his family said.
Scobie is survived by his wife; son, Duke A.P. Scobie; mother, Karen K. Tao; father, Darryl Scobie; sister, Devan K. Scobie; brother, Jack M. Whiteted; stepbrother, Austin Whiteted; stepsisters, Portia Whiteted and Sara Whiteted; grandparents, Joyce and Ben Acma (grandfather Henry M. Tao is deceased) and Shirley and Daniel Scobie; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins both in Hawaii and on the mainland.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made in support of his children through the accounts In Memory of Drew Scobie at Bank of Hawaii, and www.GoFundMe.com.
