CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Isaac Ho'opi'i listened to Gov. Linda Lingle speak yesterday about his involvement in rescue operations during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Lingle names day
after isle hero
of terror attacks
Gov. Linda Lingle declared yesterday as Isaac Ho'opi'i Day in Hawaii, again honoring one of the heroic rescuers at the Pentagon following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Ho'opi'i and members of his family gathered in the governor's office to witness the signing of the declaration that recounted Ho'opi'i's heroics.
The Waianae High School graduate, who is a member of the Pentagon's federal police force canine unit, was similarly honored by then-Gov. Ben Cayetano in November 2001, two months after the attacks.
Ho'opi'i raced into the burning building minutes after it was hit by a hijacked airliner and carried eight victims to safety. He then went as far as he could into a corridor filled with toxic smoke and called to victims crawling in the darkness to follow the direction of his voice to safety. Eight made it.
Ho'opi'i was awarded the Congressional Medal of Valor, the nation's highest civilian award.
Ho'opi'i said his experience has made him "more think about life in general, taking it one day at a time, do what you can and make the best of it."
