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NAVY

Buffalo returns to Pearl Harbor

The USS Buffalo, a Pearl Harbor-based attack submarine, returned Jan. 16 from a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific.

The Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine with a crew of 130 became the first submarine to load a dry deck shelter in a forward-deployed location.

The news of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was delivered over the ship's intercom by Buffalo commanding officer, Cmdr. Ralph C. Ward.

"Shock and disbelief were the immediate reactions," Ward said. "But then the crew became focused and galvanized into wanting to support national security and do their part."

A family ombudsman answered 30 to 40 phone calls a day from worried family members.

Although liberty was not as frequent as usual, the crew still was given free time in Guam and Yokosuka and Okinawa, Japan.

The Buffalo was selected as the 2001 Battle Efficiency "E" award winner for Commander Submarine Squadron One.

ARMY

Filipino war film receives grant

An additional grant of $23,000 from the Hawai'i Council for the Humanities has made possible the completion of a documentary film detailing efforts by the U.S. Army's 1st and 2nd Filipino Regiments to liberate the Philippines during World War II.

The documentary, titled "An Untold Triumph: America's Filipino Soldiers," tentatively is expected to be completed in May.

About 50 Filipino American war veterans and family members in November packed Waipahu's Hawaii Plantation Village to view a rough cut of the film that has been in the making for seven years.

The regiments were created in 1942, and more than 800 handpicked volunteers were transported to the Philippines by submarine to be Gen. Douglas MacArthur's "eyes and ears" there.

The humanities council early on granted the film project a $21,777 matching grant to begin the project.