GREGG K. KAKESAKO / GKAKESAKO@STARBULLETIN.COM Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Joseph Yokoyama explained the formation of the "adopt a platoon" program yesterday.

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Program to send
aloha to isle troops

The effort by two Army vets seeks
participants to adopt a platoon

When labor leader James Kuroiwa and attorney Alvin Au served in the rice paddies of Vietnam nearly four decades ago, they seldom got a care package from loved ones in the islands.

Platoon sponsors, donations sought To adopt a platoon, contact coordinator Staff Sgt. Joseph Yokoyama at 228-5554 or send an e-mail to adopt-a-platoon@hawaii.rr.com . An information package, which will include suggested items, will be sent back. Monetary contributions, which will be used to purchase items for the 100th Battalion platoons, should be made out to "Adopt-A-Platoon" and mailed to Adopt-A-Platoon, c/o Go for Broke Association, P.O. Box 88234, Honolulu 96830-8234. Items that cannot be sent are alcohol, pornography, pork or products that contain pork, fresh fruits or vegetables, firearms or knives. Gregg K. Kakesako, gkakesako@starbulletin.com

The two Army veterans don't want that to happen to the more than 2,200 Hawaii citizen soldiers assigned to the 29th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq for a year.

They would like island residents to participate in the Go for Broke Association's "adopt a platoon" program, in which care packages can be sent to a specific Hawaii unit in Iraq.

"I think we have learned from our past, and we don't want our soldiers today facing the same problems," said Au, who retired as a colonel in the Reserve.

Both Au and Kuroiwa served at various times in the Army Reserve's 100th Battalion, whose motto is "Go for Broke," earned during fighting in World War II.

Au, who fought in Vietnam with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade and the 25th Infantry Division, said he was told by family and friends in Hawaii that "they sent me care packages, but those packages never made it to the front."

Kuroiwa said he can sympathize with what the 100th Battalion soldiers are going through, because he was in Vietnam in 1968 as a member of the 100th Battalion and 29th Infantry Brigade.

"I had to leave my wife and 1-year-old son behind," he said.

Now Au, president of the Go for Broke Association, is working with the 100th Battalion's family readiness groups to establish the "adopt a platoon" program.

Security concerns after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks forced cancellation of a military program that allowed people to send care packages and letters generally addressed to "any soldier."

"Now all letters and packages have to be addressed to an individual," said Staff Sgt. Joseph Yokoyama, who is coordinating the program. "It can no longer be addressed to a title, like commander of a unit."

Yokoyama hopes to get community organizations, businesses and individuals interested in adopting any of the 22 platoons that make up the 100th Battalion.

Once a platoon has been assigned, the sponsor will receive information on their adopted platoon and the address of their point of contact or "platoon daddy," Yokoyama said. "It will be the job of the sponsor to provide the platoon with certain comfort items, letters of encouragement and other support until the platoon comes home."

Au said his nonprofit organization is willing to accept monetary contributions.

"We aren't looking for a lot -- simple things like baby wipes to stay clean," Yokoyama added. "We don't want anyone to send clothing, or we aren't looking to collect any of these items."

Sharleen Acierto, who heads the 100th Battalion's family readiness group, said these teams of spouses and friends meet at least once a month to share information.

For her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Glenn Acierto, she periodically sends him three cups of rice. They also send Spam, saimin, Kona coffee and macadamia nut chocolates.

Spc. Nakoa Hoe, a 2004 Kamehameha Schools graduate who deferred joining his 100th Battalion unit in Iraq at the request of his parents, said working with this program "is one little thing I can do for my friends who are there."

Hoe's brother, 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe, who also served in the 100th Battalion, was killed in Iraq on Jan. 22. Nakoa Hoe, 20, said he promised his parents that as the sole surviving son he would forgo this combat assignment.