At Your Service
For and about Hawaii's militaryBy Gregg K. Kakesako
Sunday, August 26, 2001
[In The Military]
Deployments
For Your Benefit
Haleiwa resident and Kahuku High School graduate Army Reserve Specialist Jean Stackpole has been named the Army Reserve's 2001 soldier of the year. Kahuku High alum nabs
Army Reserve soldier
of the year awardStackpole, who is attending the University of Illinois, is a member of the 941st Transportation Detachment, 88th Regional Support Command, at Fort Sheridan, Ill., where she is a traffic management coordinator.
At one time she was a member of the 9th Regional Support Command at Fort Shafter.
In her off-duty time, she volunteers at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Chicago, Ill. She has received the University of Illinois Vice-Chancellor's Award for outstanding volunteer service.
Named as Army Reserve's 2001 non commissioned officer of the year was Staff Sgt. Jody Wilson, a member of U.S. Forces Korea Support Unit at Fort Shafter's 9th Regional Support Command. She is an executive administration NCO.
Wilson also volunteers her off-duty time to organize and coordinate the special needs library at Wheeler Army Air Field and has also been a volunteer in research for the autism support group at Tripler Army Medical Center.
Arlington National Cemetery is projected to run out of in-ground burial space for veterans in the year 2025 unless additional property is provided. The House Armed Services Committee recommends expanding the hallowed graveyard just across the Potomac River in Virginia, once the property of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, into areas adjacent to the current cemetery boundaries. The expansion, says the committee, would ensure the availability of burial space at Arlington through 2060.
[Deployments] U.S. Navy
Western Pacific
USS Chosin (CG 65)
USS Asheville (SSN 758)
USS Buffalo (SSN 715)
USS Columbia (SSN 771)
USS Santa Fe (SSN 763)
USS Los Angeles (SSN 688)
USS Frederick (LST 1184)
USS O'Kane (DDG 77)
USS Olympia (SSN 717)
USS Port Royal (CG 73)
USS Greeneville (SSN 772)
USS Key West (SSN 722)
Hawaii area
USS Charlotte (SSN 766)
USS Columbus (SSN 762)
Eastern Pacific/West Coast
USS Kamehameha (SSN 642)
USS Port Royal (CG 73)
USS Russell (DDG 59)
U.S. Army
Vietnam, Cambodia: US Army Pacific
East Timor: 9th Regional Support Command, 25th Division
Bosnia, South Korea: 25th Division
Vietnam, Honduras, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia: Tripler Army Medical Center
Guam, Alaska, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Micronesia, Kwajalein: 84th Engineers
Los Alamitos: 25th Infantry Division
Australia, United Arab Emirates, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand: Pacific Regional Veterinary Command
England: 125th Signal
Kosovo: 40th Quartermaster
Hawaii National Guard
Alaska: 203rd Air Refueling Squadron, Air National Guard
[For Your Benefit]
Question: I have been trying to find a copy of my discharge papers to file a claim with the Veterans Affairs with some difficulty. I heard about a fire that destroyed military records in St. Louis some years ago. Can you tell me more about that? Offices can find
discharge recordsAnswer: A fire at the National Personnel Records Center on July 12, 1973, destroyed about 80 percent of the records for Army personnel discharged between Nov. 1, 1912, and Jan. 1, 1960.
About 75 percent of the records for Air Force personnel with surnames from "Hubbard" through "Z" discharged between Sept. 25, 1947, and Jan. 1, 1964, were also destroyed. Many records, especially medical records, had been withdrawn from these groups and loaned to the VA before the fire. The fact that one's records are not in NPRC files at a particular time does not mean the records were destroyed in the fire. If a veteran learns that their records may have been lost in the fire, they can send photocopies of any documents they possess, especially separation documents, to the NPRC at 9700 Page Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.
If you don't have copies of your records and the file has been lost in the fire, a veteran can possibly obtain information from the VA, which maintains records on veterans whose military records were affected by the fire if the veteran or a beneficiary filed a claim before July 1973.
Another source could be other National Archives and Records Administration facilities, or contact the state Office of Veterans Services.
By utilizing these alternate sources, a "certification of military service" considered the equivalent of a form DD-214 can be issued.
The key to reconstructing military data is to provide enough specific information such as full name used during military service, branch of service and last unit of assignment, approximate dates of service and place of discharge, and service number or Social Security number.
For more assistance, call the Spark M. Matsunaga VA Medical and Regional Office Center benefits at 433-1000 or the state Office of Veterans Services at 433-0420.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran, call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049 or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
