COURTESY PHOTO The next cover of Parade magazine features soldier Matthew Hinck. His sister lives on the Big Island.

Soldier on Parade cover
is Kona woman's brother

Heather Nakamoto is proud of her
sibling serving in Afghanistan

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Star-Bulletin staff

KEALAKEKUA, Hawaii >> Kona resident Heather Nakamoto is proud that her brother Matthew Hinck is serving in the Army in Afghanistan.

Tomorrow in the Star-Bulletin, readers of Parade magazine can share the pride when they see Hinck, 25, eyeing them from the cover.

Nakamoto, who met her husband, Shane, at Utah State University, said her brother played Rambo as a kid. He looked up to their grandfather, who wrote about his experiences as an Army captain in World War II.

Hinck joined the Army in 1998 and serves as a sniper.

Their mother, Carol Ralphs, who works for sporting goods and firearms manufacturer Browning in Morgan, Utah, used to provide food for the family by shooting deer with a muzzle-loading rifle, Nakamoto said.

Nakamoto is the only family member who does not own a gun. "I'm kind of the wimp of the family," she said.