Hawaii soldier
is killed in Mosul

Friends remember the
Kamehameha and UH
graduate as "solid"
and patriotic

CORRECTION Wednesday, January 26, 2005 » 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe, who was killed in Iraq on Saturday, was a member of the Army Reserve's 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, for four years while enrolled in UH's ROTC program. In 2001, he was selected as the Pacific area's Army Reserve soldier of the year. A story on Page A1 in yesterday's morning edition incorrectly said he was a member of the 100th for two years and that he was named soldier of the year in 1999. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

First Lt. Nainoa Hoe, a Kamehameha Schools and University of Hawaii Army ROTC graduate, was an avid body surfer and a person who understood what it meant to serve his country, friends and relatives said.

Nainoa Hoe: The 27-year-old was married in June

Hoe, 27, was killed by a sniper Saturday while on patrol in Mosul, Iraq. He is the 52nd person with Hawaii ties to die in Iraq, Kuwait or Afghanistan.

Michael Chun, president of Kamehameha Schools, said he last saw the soldier at Hoe's younger brother's graduation in 2004.

"He was one who was really solid," Chun said of the 1996 Kamehameha graduate. "He was fully engaged in school, especially in our JROTC program. This young man understood national pride and service to his country ... and when a person like Nainoa stepped up to the plate, it really caught your eye."

Beyond his passion for the military, Hoe enjoyed karaoke and body-surfing at Point Panic.

"We sang karaoke after our wedding," Emily Hoe said. "It was a big change because with work he was so structured and so precise. It was great to see him let go like that."

Emily Hoe, a 21-year-old business student at Western Oregon University, is living with her parents in Newberg, Ore. She received an e-mail from her husband two hours before he was killed.

"He told me how he was going to love me forever and how he couldn't wait to see me," she said.

The couple married last June in Hawaii Kai. They were planning a formal reception for next fall, when he was due to return from Iraq.

Hoe's survivors also include his father, Allen Hoe, an attorney in Honolulu; his mother, Adele; and his brother, Nakoa.

Nakoa Hoe is a member of the 100th Battalion, which is on its way to Kuwait and eventually Iraq for a year. Army officials say that Nakoa, 19, as the sole surviving son, is eligible to request a waiver from combat duty. The Army Reserve said yesterday it had not been able to talk with Nakoa since his brother's death.

Nainoa Hoe was assigned to the 25th Division's Stryker Brigade -- Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment -- stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington.

He was a member of the Army Reserve's 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry for two years while enrolled in UH's ROTC program. In 1999 he was selected as the Pacific area's Army Reserve soldier of the year as a member of the 100th Battalion.

Nainoa met Emily online while he was stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., according to his mother-in-law, Sharon Vo. "He knew he was being transferred to this area, and he was hoping to find some local connections."

Vo said her daughter "has always loved Hawaii and learned to do the hula" while attending Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore.

"It was instant attraction when they met. They were meant for each other," Vo said.

She said the two were married at a simple sunset beach ceremony on June 24 attended by close family members once they knew he was going to Iraq. His unit deployed to there on Oct. 7.

"He was a wonderful man. She fell in love with him immediately," Vo said. "She has a notebook here with all his awards. He was a top soldier. He had done so much, it's unbelievable. Now she is 21 and a widow."

Vo said in his last e-mail to his wife that he would be home on leave next month.

"We think he had that joy in his heart," Vo said.

Family members said that after his military service he wanted to join the FBI and live near his parents in Kailua.

A memorial service for Hoe will be held tomorrow at Fort Lewis. His father, mother and brother are expected to attend.

An island memorial service will be held at Kamehameha School's chapel. Hoe will be buried at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe, close to where he grew up in Kailua.

Through a family spokesman, Allen Hoe asked "people in Hawaii to pray for the troops overseas, especially for the guys from Hawaii."

Hoe is 2nd UH Army
ROTC grad killed

Army 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe is the second University of Hawaii Army honor ROTC graduate to be killed in the Iraq war.

On Nov. 15, 2003, 2nd Lt. Jeremy L. Wolfe, 27, of Menomonie, Wis., was piloting one of two Black Hawk helicopters that collided in Mosul, killing 16 other soldiers. Wolfe graduated from Hawaii Pacific University in 2002 and was commissioned through the University of Hawaii Army ROTC program.

In November 2003 and upon learning about Wolfe's death, Hoe told the Star-Bulletin: "His (Wolfe's) dedication to duty and commitment to his fellow soldiers will be greatly missed by those who knew him."

Hoe at the time was a second lieutenant at Fort Benning.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Bob Takao, who was UH's Army professor of military science and guided the two cadets, said Hoe's death is "a big loss."

"He was a terrific leader," said Takao, who now heads Punahou Schools JROTC program. "He excelled in all facets."

Takao described Hoe and Wolfe as among the best from the UH Army ROTC program. "Both were former enlisted soldiers so they knew their way around," Takao said. "They were both battalion cadet commanders in their senior year."

Takao said Hoe was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 2000 when he graduated from Manoa with a bachelor's degree in business. Three years later he received a MBA from UH.