Several readers wrote to me about my article on Aku — Hal Lewis — on May 6. Sam Dunn, a retired Hawaiian Airlines pilot, said that “Aku was on one of their flights (not mine) and the captain invited him to sit in the jump seat in the cockpit.”

“Well of course this was against company and Federal Aviation Administration rules,” Dunn says. “The next morning, Aku was on the radio telling his listeners how he flew in the cockpit, and how wonderful it was. He thanked the captain.

“This got the attention of an FAA inspector who was listening to his radio on his way to work.

“I believe the captain got two weeks (suspension) on the beach,” Dunn surmises. “Knowing Hawaiian as I do it was probably a paid vacation.”

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Kate Paine wrote to tell me her dad fired Aku. “My dad, Bill Paine, let Aku go from KGU because he was tired of paying his gambling debts,” most of which were from golfing. Paine was general manager of KGU.

She was not sure how much the debts were, but that it had to be substantial for him to fire Aku.

“He regretted that move because ratings went down, and KGMB’s (where he was hired) went up.”

KGU used to be broadcast from the newspaper building on Kapiolani Boulevard.

“I loved going up to the third floor of the Advertiser Building and hanging with Lucky Luck, Sam Sanford, Gene Good, Carlos Rivas and others,” Paine recalls.

“They had a great collection of demo 45 RPM records, some of which were found to have memorable flip sides, us kids learned to play and sing to.”

My younger readers might not remember vinyl records, which came in a 12-inch size (33-1/3 revolutions per minute) with a full album, spread over both sides, or seven-inch (45 RPMs) which had one song on each side.

Groups would often release their hits on 45s, and enterprising disc jockeys often found the flip side to have memorable tracks, too.

For instance, the Beatles released “Hello Goodbye” as the “A-side” of a 45 in 1967. The “B-side,” “I Am the Walrus,” turned out to be an even bigger hit.

Likewise, the Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (A-side) was outperformed by “God Only Knows” (B-side) in 1966.

Paine also reminded me that “when Aku’s back got really bad, he put Marty &Charley Relief on the map, because of airtime given to their business.”

For a while they were the top massage therapists in town. Charles Carroll, formerly of Marty &Charley, is still working out of his home in Makaha under the name Charley Relief.

“What made Aku great,” Kate Paine believes, was that “no salesperson was able to tell him what to do. His show wasn’t canned like today’s. Even the advertising spots were entertaining. Aku had a great sense of timing and a finger on the local pulse.

“I miss him like I miss Johnny Carson.”

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Jackie Weyhenmeyer chuckled about how Aku referred to the construction company, HC&D, as “Hot Coffee and Donuts.” The company was originally Honolulu Construction and Draying, later changed to Ameron and now is officially known as HC&D.

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Alvin Yee commented on the part of the article about Aku and Sen. Tom Connally of Texas, who insulted Hawaii’s ethnic minorities.

This caused Aku to raise money to send a delegation of 100th and 442nd Regimental Combat Team nisei veterans to the mainland to remind the senator that they saved Texas’ 36th Division in Italy during World War II fighting.

“I understand his cousin Gov. John Connally (who was wounded during the Kennedy assassination) pushed through and signed a resolution in the Texas Legislature making veterans of the 442nd honorary residents of Texas.

“The signed proclamation is in the 442nd clubhouse by ‘Iolani School,” Yee says.

“Dan Inouye’s autobiography recounts his 1959 experience with Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn of Texas.

“On Inouye’s first day on the job, Rayburn took him on a tour of the Capitol building. He introduced Inouye to the entire Texas delegation in the House cafeteria.

“Inouye was with the 442nd, Rayburn told them, whereupon the entire delegation jumped up to shake his one hand.

“A few years later,” Yee says, “President Johnson (also from Texas) suggested Hubert Humphrey name Inouye as his vice presidential running mate.” Maybe Humphrey would have won if he had. Nixon beat him in 1968.

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John Schrader says the article brought back “many memories of the days I was stationed in Hawaii while in the Navy.”

“I would wake up every morning (when I wasn’t at sea) to Aku’s ‘Beautiful Day in Hawaii.’ I sure do miss those days. My wife and I get back as often as we can, but it’s just not the same without Aku.”

In a future column I’ll look into the real story behind how Aku got his name.

Bob Sigall, author of the Companies We Keep books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.