FOR Veterans Day next Tuesday, I have a message from on high. The Defense Department's top officer in this half of the world calls Hawaii "the most patriotic community I know." Hawaii’s exceptionally
strong patriotismAdm. Joseph W. Prueher said that to a Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii lunch in July. He reiterated it recently when I asked for amplification.
He has been CINCPAC (commander-in-chief Pacific) since January 1996, dealt with a lot of community matters, watched the turnouts of political and community leaders for Military Appreciation Week in May (which few if any other communities have), Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day and Pearl Harbor anniversary events.
He also is fully aware of the World War II contributions of Hawaii's soldiers of Japanese ancestry fighting to prove their loyalty. He is impressed by the still-continuing reunions of those groups with sons and daughters pledged to carry on.
He knows there are scratchy points in military-community relations such as the Makua Valley beach landing exercise, which he called off at the request of Governor Cayetano and leaders of the Leeward Oahu community.
But he has faith the community remains behind the essential use of Hawaii facilities to train fighting forces. He works closely with Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, who says "this community pulls out the stops for the military more than any place I've ever seen."
He's a Navy man, of course, who sees more of our mainland coasts than inland, but his Army deputy, Lt. Gen. Joseph DeFrancisco, concurs. The only place DeFrancisco can think of that comes close to matching us in showing its patriotism is the Gulf Coast area of Georgia around Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. Our Navy League chapter of 5,000 is the biggest in the U.S.
Servicemen in Hawaii get stickers for their ID cards that entitle them to kamaaina discounts in Waikiki and elsewhere. They also get auto license discounts and reduced tuition at the University of Hawaii.
There's a two-way street, of course. The armed services are among the very best Aloha United Way contributors. They provide emergency medical airlifts and rescues at sea, are prompt with community disaster relief. They have adopted 130 public and private schools for renovation help and grounds cleaning. They recently gave six schools 205 computers.
They host the Special Olympics for children with disabilities, serve as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, help tutor children in all grades, and dig in for projects like litter cleanup around Diamond Head. They co-host Hydrofest, join in community parades and open their bases for visitation. Veterans' medical facilities at Tripler Army Medical Center are first-rate.
Hawaii's high cost of living is a concern for many service people, alleviated by the fact that 78 percent are housed on base. Past criticisms of our schools seem to have eased with more military-community interaction.
MOST land use concerns have been quieted by creation of a joint military-civilian task force to review military needs and relinquish unneeded properties.
Makua is the current hot potato. The canceled beach landing would have been a first, but continuing use of the valley itself as a weapons training area remains a high priority need to the military, an intrusion to the civilian critics.
It is the kind of thing the governor and other top civilian officials will have to weigh carefully in light of the $3.4 billion annual military spending here that is based heavily on our year-round training capability for all services.