McKinley to honor war vet

Maj. Ladda Duckworth was shot down in Iraq

Maj. Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth, who graduated from McKinley High School in 1985, will be honored by the McKinley High School Foundation at a dinner Oct. 18 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral ballroom.

Duckworth was the pilot of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that was shot down in Iraq. She lost both her legs and the use of her right arm. She is currently the director of Veterans Affairs for the state of Illinois.

Proceeds for the dinner will be used to fund scholarships for McKinley graduates. This year the foundation awarded 63 scholarships to 2007 McKinley graduates valued at $65,000. For more information, call the foundation at 536-3832.

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U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, has drafted legislation that gives the Navy the discretion to transfer as much as $20 million to the Interior Department to pay for the renovations of the USS Arizona Memorial visitor center, a Washington, D.C., newspaper reported this week.

The Hill, a newspaper that specializes in covering the U.S. Congress, reported that the transfer of funds is contained in the 2008 defense appropriations bill now pending before the Senate.

Inouye, a Democrat, is honorary chairman of the Pearl Harbor Memorial's fundraising campaign, which has raised $32 million though public and private donations.

Renovations to the visitor center, which was built in 1980, are expected to cost $52 million. National Park Service officials, who operate and maintain the visitor center, have said that the facility needs to be replaced because the building is sinking. The National Park Service allocated $8 million for construction of a new visitor center. In the 2008 appropriations bill for the Interior Department, the Senate and the House set aside $4.5 million to continue the reconstruction work.

MOVING UP:

Pearl Harbor: Capt. Edward Takesuye has assumed command of Submarine Squadron Three, relieving Capt. Joseph Tofalo.

"In the Military" was compiled from wire reports and other sources by reporter Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin. He can be reached by phone at 294-4075 or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.