Briefs
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NAVY
Carrier catches fire off Hawai'i
The Navy is assessing damage from a fire that broke out in a machinery room aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, but an initial report indicates minimal damage. There were no injuries.
The fire, which broke out in Hawai'i waters around 8:25 p.m. Friday, was caused by a fuel oil leak in one of four main machinery rooms, according to Pacific Fleet spokesman Jon Yoshishige.
The room was evacuated and crewmen put out the fire in a little more than an hour, he said.
The Constellation left San Diego on Nov. 2 on a six-month deployment to the North Arabian Sea. Yoshishige said it is not known yet if the ship will have to divert to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
The Constellation, which carries 72 Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, leads a battle group that is expected to play a role in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
California diver apparently OK
The Navy said its Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One provided life-saving backup for a California diver who experienced decompression sickness, also known as "the bends."
The 40-year-old civilian was placed in MSDU-1's transportable recompression chamber for a six-hour treatment that simulated a depth of 60 feet of water.
A nitrogen buildup from diving can turn to gas in the blood if a diver descends deep enough and stays down long enough. Bubbles can form if a diver ascends too rapidly, or does not make a sufficient decompression stop before reaching the surface.
The Navy said the man had been diving off the Big Island Nov. 2, and was rushed to Kuakini Hospital on O'ahu for treatment after experiencing neurological problems.
Kuakini treated the man, the Navy said, and he seemed to have recovered. But the symptoms returned, and the Navy said it was called on for help when the hospital's recompression chamber became inoperative.
"The military is the only other organization on the island with that type of chamber," said Lt. Todd Ochsner, dive medical officer for MDSU-1. "They asked the commanding officer and he agreed to let us treat the man."
The Navy said the man seemed to have recovered.
ARMY
Remains of three men identified
The remains of three U.S. soldiers recovered from a crash site in Vietnam have been identified by the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawai'i.
They are Capt. Ronald D. Briggs of Philadelphia; Sgt. 1st Class Robert C. O'Hara of Lost Nation, Iowa; and Maj. David E. Padgett of Washington, Ind.
On Feb. 6, 1969, Padgett and O'Hara were crew members aboard a UH-1H helicopter, and were flying Briggs and three other soldiers on an emergency resupply mission in South Vietnam.
While en route to the landing zone in Quang Tri, the crew radioed that the flight was returning due to poor weather, but the helicopter never made it back.
Joint Task Force-Full Accounting investigated the crash and in 1995 and 1996 recovered remains, personal effects and aircraft debris.
The three service members were to be buried as a group at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday.
Group to honor ex-paratrooper
The Hawai'i Army Museum Society hosts its fifth annual "Hawai'i's Everyday Heroes" breakfast 7 a.m. Thursday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom.
The board of trustees of the society has chosen one of its own members, William W. Paty Jr., a 20-year board member, as this year's recipient of the Ihe Award, given to a person or organization for outstanding support to the military in Hawai'i.
According to the society, the "ihe," or spear, symbolizes alertness and readiness to serve. The society's award is a koa replica of a spear.
The society said Paty "has filled his life with service to the military, government and community."
Paty served in World War II, was the first person from Hawai'i to qualify as a paratrooper, and led his unit in the jump over Normandy on D-Day, the society said.
He was captured, escaped from a prison camp in Poland, and joined the advancing Russian Army. He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Following the war, he became president of Waialua Sugar Co. in 1971. He is the civilian aide to the Army for Hawai'i, and has served as the chairman of the state Military Affairs Council and the Hawai'i chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army, according to the society.
For more information about the breakfast, contact Barbara Mills at 955-9552 or 237-8067.
