An act of kindness, never forgotten

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer

You never know where a simple act of aloha will lead. You never know how long it will last.

This story begins with an act of kindness in 1945. It lives on today. In between are nearly 55 years of goodwill toward Hawai'i.

Here's the tale, as I heard it this week:

It's 1945, and Clarence B. Kramer, a veteran of 29 combat missions, is returning from a South Pacific combat tour, flying a war-weary B-24 back home. When the plane lands at Hickam Air Force Base, the only thing Clarence and his co-pilot, Bob Waldo Anderson, want is a really big steak dinner and a good bottle of Scotch.

Unfortunately, it's 8 a.m. on a Sunday, and nothing is open in downtown Honolulu.

Still, they inquire at one restaurant where children are running in and out of an open door. The owner, P.Y. Chong, tells them, "We not open yet." But when the flyboys explain that they've just come back from the front, Chong said, "I take care of you. Whatever you want."

Thereafter, a table was reserved for Clarence and his friends for the rest of their stay in Honolulu. Clarence was so impressed with the meal and the owner's patriotic attitude, he took a menu home to Ohio as he started his new life.

That might have been the end of the story, but it isn't. For 40 years, Clarence kept the image of that steak dinner alive, sharing it with his wife and nine children, telling them all about a restaurant owner named P.Y. Chong who showed him what patriotism and aloha really mean.

In 1984, all of Clarence's children got together to send their mom and dad to Hawai'i for a vacation. Clarence brought that menu with him and went looking to say thanks to the restaurant owner.

Unfortunately, high-rise Honolulu had eaten up the P.Y. Chong restaurant, and the phone book overflowed with Chongs. Clarence never got to express his appreciation.

That, too, might have been the end of the story, but it isn't. After Clarence died a few years back, his son, Peter, kept the menu and continued to cherish the memories it holds.

Last month, Peter was buying some stuff on the Internet, where he met Richard Meyer, a Kailua resident selling some things. The two ended up exchanging tales and e-mails. Peter sent a copy of the menu from the House of P.Y. Chong, which shows that steak dinner back in 1945 costs $3. The menu includes pictures of Chong and three of his sons, as well as a back cover on which Chong urges his customers to buy war bonds.

"It just goes to show you that a little bit of aloha goes a long, long way," Richard Meyer said. "I just thought if there are any relatives of P.Y. Chong out there, they'd like to know that someone never forgot a kindness their father showed a long time ago."

Mike Leidemann's columns are published Thursdays and Saturdays. He can be reached by phone (525-5460) or e-mail (mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com).