House approves
site for memorial
to 100th Infantry

Also being considered
are changes to Rainbow
Stadium and Dillingham Airfield

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

Frank Mendiola of Pearl City says there is ample room at the Sand Island State Recreation Area for a memorial to honor the men of Hawaii's 100th Infantry Battalion.

"They sacrificed for our country," Mendiola said yesterday while admiring the park's scenic Diamond Head end. "And they made a name for the Hawaii people right here."

Proposed changes to Sand Island park, Rainbow Stadium and Dillingham Air Field are moving as the state Legislature nears its final month.

Yesterday, the state House positioned for preliminary approval a Senate measure that requires the state departments of Defense and Land and Natural Resources to choose a site and prepare plans for a memorial at Sand Island to honor the soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion for their heroism during World War II.

State Sen. Matt Matsunaga (D, Waialae-Palolo) said yesterday the bill he introduced would establish a site within Sand Island called the 100th Infantry Battalion State Recreation Area. Originally, he wanted to name a street after the battalion, but city ordinances require street names to be in the Hawaiian language.

"A lot of the members of the 100th are my dad's close friends and ... some of them expressed the desire that it would be so nice to have some tangible recognition of their loyalty and effort," said Matsunaga, son of the late U.S. Sen. Spark M. Matsunaga.

Matsunaga said it will be up to the veterans to decide what type of memorial they want to set up. Private funds would have to be raised but the group could ask for additional funds from next year's Legislature.

The House Higher Education Committee is expected to hear today a resolution requesting the University of Hawaii rename Rainbow Stadium to Les Murakami Stadium, after the longtime coach who built the university's baseball program.

Murakami, who is recovering from a stroke he suffered last November, was inducted this past January into the American Baseball Coaches' Association's Hall of Fame. He will retire at the end of this season.

His early success as a coach prompted the state to build Rainbow Stadium, considered one of the best college baseball stadiums in the country.

Meanwhile, the Senate Hawaiian Affairs Committee is considering a bill that would change the name of Dillingham Airfield on the North Shore to Kawaihapai Airfield once the U.S. Army land is returned to the state.

The name Kawaihapai refers to the mountain-to-shore area, or ahupua'a, of Waialua, where the airfield is located.