Lt. Col. Kenneth Hara, executive officer of 103rd Troop Command, stands with retired Lt. Col. Henry Hara, former commander of 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry; Col. Gary Hara, Hawaii Army National Guard chief of staff; 1st Sgt. Dennis Hara of B Company 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation; and Sgt. 1st Class Larry Hara, motorsergeant of C Company, 193rd Aviation.
Guard is Hara
family traditionAll four Hara brothers follow
in their dad's military footsteps
For Army National Guard Col. Gary Hara, the military, and particularly, the Hawaii Army National Guard has always been there.
He is the eldest of the four brothers, all of whom work as full-time technicians for the Hawaii Army National Guard like their father did for nearly four decades.
Gary will mark a year as the Army Guard's chief of staff at the end of this month, after serving as commander of Troop E, 19th Cavalry; 1st Battalion, 193rd Aviation and 103rd Troop Command since enlisting in 1970.
Like their 70-year-old father, retired Lt. Col. Henry Hara, the Hara brothers point with pride to their affiliation with the Army Guard.
"I was brought up in that environment," said Gary Hara, 50. "My father was commander of the Hawaii Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion in Hilo for so many years and a lot of times he was called in on emergencies and I would tag along with him. I called all of his friends 'uncle.'"
His youngest brother, Lt. Col. Kenneth Hara, said he never felt any pressure to follow either his three older brothers or his father into the military.
"But my dad was real happy when I told him I was going into the Guard when I was a senior in high school," said Kenneth, 37. "In fact, it was my mom who was a little skeptical."
Kenneth serves as the executive officer of the 103rd Troop Command in Wahiawa; First Sgt. Dennis Hara is with Company B, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation in Hilo; and Sgt. 1st Class Larry Hara is in Iraq with Charlie Company, 193rd Aviation, as a motor sergeant.
Larry's son also is keeping up with the Hara military tradition. Spc. Ryan Hara is in Iraq serving in a medevac detachment of the 82nd Airborne Division. He is serving his second tour in Iraq and was able to meet with his dad, Larry, in Balad last week.
Gary, 50, said serving in the Hawaii Army National Guard meant the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
"I wanted to fly ever since I was kid and visited the aviation facilities in Hilo and talked with Col. Nelson Kunitake," he said. "I enlisted as an infantry soldier and once I got commissioned I applied for flight school. It was a dream of mine. I wanted to fly helicopters."
Hara is qualified to pilot OH-58 Kiowa, UH-1 Huey and CH-47 Chinook helicopters, and C-26 cargo planes, and joined the Hawaii Army National Guard as full-time instructor pilot in 1983.
Patriarch Henry, who spent more than 37 years in the Hawaii Army National Guard of which 14 was as the boss of its 2nd Battalion, acknowledged that he did exert "a little pressure" on his four sons to follow him.
"But once they joined," the senior Hara added, "I think they enjoyed it."
"Once they joined the Guard, they all took interest in the camaraderie and all that."
To that, Gary adds, "I think he (Henry Hara) is pretty proud of our accomplishments."
