Moloka'i's aloha shines during war
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
These days it's not unusual for Brenda Espaniola to get hugs from people she doesn't know.
Whether they heard it at a church prayer service or from the neighbor down the street, they know that Espaniola's son, Albert, a corporal in the Marines, is serving his country in the Middle East.
"That's what Moloka'i is all about," said Espaniola, a ticket agent at the Ho'olehua Airport. "It's such a small island, but it's so full of love."
With the war heating up in Iraq as troops close in on Baghdad, Moloka'i is stepping up support for its sons and daughters in battle — and the anxious families left behind. Many of the island's 7,200 residents are proudly wearing ribbons, sending care packages and holding rallies in support of the troops.
At last count, there were 11 men and two women from the Friendly Isle serving in the war theater, representing every branch of the service and every corner of the island. Another six or seven individuals appear to be heading to the conflict.
"There is so much aloha here," said Yvonne Friel, Kaunakakai School's Parent Community Network coordinator and leader of the Aloha Freedom 'Ohana. "In times like these, everyone on Moloka'i pulls together."
Parents and volunteers are distributing ribbons — yellow to bring all the troops home safely; red, white and blue for patriotism; and green and white for the Moloka'i service personnel (green is the color of Moloka'i).
Next week, Kaunakakai School will begin preparing "local grinds" care packages for each Moloka'i military member in the Persian Gulf region. The children will be accepting donations of Island treats, such as li hing mui, crackseed, cuttlefish and noodle cups, and the school's Parent Teacher Organization will pay the postage of about $200.
"I got a phone call at 6:30 this morning from a woman who was crying. She was so touched," said Friel, who is organizing the care-package project.
On Monday, the school will hold an assembly in which all 275 students will receive ribbons to tie to the school's chain-link fence. A banner from the Kaunakakai School Student Council also will express support for the troops.
"We just want to make sure our kids are aware," said organizer Karen Brown, a special-education teacher.
A rally for the troops, sponsored by the Moloka'i Veterans' Caring for Veterans Center, is planned for 5 p.m. Friday at Moloka'i War Memorial Park in Kaunakakai. The event will include prayers and reading of the names of the island's warriors.
Larry Helm, a Vietnam veteran and commander of the Moloka'i Veterans' Caring for Veterans Center, said so many of Moloka'i's young people are involved in the war because economic conditions make the military a popular route to getting an education, earning decent money and carving out a career.
Moloka'i has a greater per capita number of Vietnam and Gulf War veterans than any other Hawaiian island, said Patti Bird, a Korean War veteran who founded the Moloka'i veterans center a year ago. Vietnam veterans make up 80 percent of the 290-member organization, she noted.
Albert Espaniola joined the Marine Corps a little more than three years ago in the proud tradition of his grandfather, a Green Beret, and other family members who served in the military.
"From when he was little, we knew he would be in some branch of the military service. We just didn't know which," Brenda Espaniola said.
Today, Albert Espaniola is a mechanic who is maintaining CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters in Kuwait, and his mother is anxiously monitoring the war from a half a world away.
"I'm so thankful for the Patriot missiles that are intercepting the missiles aimed at Kuwait," she said.
Meanwhile, the outpouring of love and support on Moloka'i is overwhelming, she said.
"This island is just so awesome. This happens any time there's something like this. That's how Moloka'i is."
Reach Timothy Hurley at (808) 244-4880 or thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com.
