Washington, DC – Yesterday, the full House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill -- introduced by U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) – to name the Captain Cook Post Office on Hawaiʻi Island after First Lieutenant John Kuulei Kauhaihao of Hōnaunau, who was killed in action in Vietnam and posthumously awarded the U.S. Army’s second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.
H.R. 8909 would designate the post office located at 82-6110 Mamalahoa Highway as the "Army 1st Lt. John Kuulei Kauhaihao Post Office Building.” On September 5, 1969, at the age of 27, Kauhaihao was fatally injured during a reconnaissance-in-force operation in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam. When his platoon came under enemy fire, Kauhaihao launched over 30 grenades in 15 minutes at enemy bunkers while simultaneously drawing fire on himself so that his men could sight enemy gunners. He is survived by his widow and Konawaena High School sweetheart, Shirley, and their family.
“Naming the post office in the community where generations of Lieutenant [Kauhaihao]’s family lived and still live is more than just honoring and celebrating a fallen kama‘āina warrior who gave his life for our nation,” said Rep. Tokuda on the House Floor. “It is a tribute to an entire generation of men and women who served in Vietnam and who came back to a country that took far too long to honor their service and that is still trying to make this right. It is a reminder of the incredible sacrifices made by those who serve in uniform and the loved ones waiting at home—past, present and future—to whom we are forever indebted and who allow us to live in freedom today.”
U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01) is an original cosponsor of the bill, which now moves to the Senate for its consideration. If passed in the Senate and signed into law by the President, it would be the first post office in Hawaiʻi to be designated since 2011 and the first in Hawaiʻi to be designated in honor of a Vietnam War veteran or an individual of Native Hawaiian descent.
Rep. Tokuda’s speech can be viewed here. Text of the bill can be found here.
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