KAILUA-KONA — All 277 people from Hawaii killed in the Vietnam War now have photos.
KAILUA-KONA — All 277 people from Hawaii killed in the Vietnam War now have photos.
It was the result of the efforts of volunteers with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, including Janna Hoehn, who spearheaded the project.
“It takes a village to make it happen,” she said, “not just me.”
She set upon the idea of contacting local newspapers to supplement reading files, examining yearbooks and other efforts to match a photo with each serviceman killed in action.
But saying the servicemen are from Hawaii can be misleading, as their enlistment paperwork listed where they enlisted. That’s led to complicated cases for the volunteers.
Staff Sgt. Steve Freddie Johnson was listed as a resident of Kailua-Kona. But he was actually a Californian who lived in Hawaii a few years before enlisting.
After a story ran in West Hawaii Today his childhood friend, recently moved to Kona, recognized the photo and contacted Hoehn.
The very last man identified was Army Sgt. First Class Felicisimo Areliano Hugo, who registered in Honolulu. He was from the Philippines, Hoehn said, and she ran down information on the vessel that brought him to the islands. She contacted the Philippines Embassy, who arranged to send over a photo.
Elated, she called an end to the search. But they sent the wrong image, which a reader of the Maui News recognized. A new photo was sent, this time of the proper man.
She said the project is a difficult one, but she hopes the planned construction of the Education Center in Washington, D.C. will begin to add their images. The design includes a large digital wall where the faces will be displayed.
She intends to work on Texas next.