Briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
ARMY
Former Waipahu student honored
Henry C. "Hank" Knight, a one-time Waipahu High School student killed in Vietnam 33 years ago, was interred Memorial Day weekend with other members of his crew in a full honors ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery just outside the nation's capital.
Knight and four other members of the 243rd Assault Support Helicopter Company were responding to an emergency call for munitions and medical supplies when their Chinook helicopter, called Freight Train 053, crashed during bad weather in Ninh Hoa Valley near the Cambodian border on Oct. 20, 1968. Also on board were aircraft commander Charles Deutsch, crew chief Charles Meldahl, flight engineer Jerry Bridges and door gunner Ronald Stanton.
The men and wreckage were not found until 1994. During the interim years, Knight was classified as missing in action.
Knight was born in Bakersfield, Calif., on March 18, 1943. He attended Waipahu High School during his junior year in 1960 and was a member of Waipahu High's Royal Court.
After being drafted into the Army in 1965, Knight re-enlisted and trained to be a helicopter pilot.
During the funeral services at Arlington, a "missing man" formation by five Chinook helicopters flew over to commemorate the crew of Freight Train 053.
PACIFIC COMMAND
More school projects planned
The first year of a $5 million Department of Defense program that assists 25 Hawai'i public schools with renovations and repairs is nearing completion, and more projects are in the works.
The program is administered by the U.S. Pacific Command and led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu Engineer District. The corps schedules contractors for projects that include bathroom repairs, painting and carpet work in schools with high concentrations of special needs military dependents.
Schools that qualify for the assistance are: Leilehua, Moanalua and Radford high schools; üliamanu, Moana-lua and Wahiawa middle schools; and üliamanu, Barbers Point, Fort Shafter, Hale Kula, Helemano, Hickam, Iroquois Point, Lehua, Makalapa, Mokapu, Mokule-le, Nimitz, Pearl City, Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor Kai, Red Hill, Solomon, Webling and Wheeler elementary schools.
Hawai'i's congressional delegation supported the $5 million allocation for schools, in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2000. An additional $5 million is included in the act for fiscal 2001.
NAVY
Singles to get new housing
The Dick Pacific Construction Company of Honolulu has been awarded a $13.8 million Navy contract to design and construct bachelor enlisted quarters at Pearl Harbor.
"These quarters will provide the kind of decent living conditions our sailors deserve," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, ranking member of the House military installations and facilities subcommittee, who announced the authorization for the project last week.
Work is expected to be completed by March 2003.
