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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Monday, December 20, 2004

Parents proud, worried as sons do their duty

By Frank Oliveri
Gannett News Service

For most parents, it's an honor for a child to attend one of the nation's elite military academies. For all of them, there's concern about the danger that could come after graduation in time of war.

Alan Kawaguchi of Maui is proud of his two sons but fears both could eventually find themselves in harm's way in this time of war.

Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser

That's the way it is with Alan Kawaguchi of Lahaina, Maui, and Neaulani Kuamo'o-Peck of Kapolei.

Kawaguchi, 60, a soft-spoken man who served two tours in Vietnam with the Army's 1st Cavalry Division, said his immigrant parents taught him to be thankful to be in America.

Today he is proud of his son, Bryce — a 2001 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point — who is a captain fighting in Iraq. And he is equally proud of his younger son, Casey, who entered the U.S. Air Force Academy this year.

"Whatever little part my two kids can do, I'm happy," he said.

But that doesn't mean he's not worried.

Kawaguchi is well aware Casey entered a military academy in a time of war and that at some point he could find himself in harm's way. And although he is confident that Bryce is exceedingly well trained as an Army Ranger, he knows that "training won't stop a bullet."

"We are worried about Bryce," Kawaguchi said. "There is no doubt if he could come back tomorrow, I would say, 'Yes, come back."'

It's the same with Casey. "I'm very proud and worried because of the war," he said.

Kuamo'o-Peck, 55, felt the same way when her son, Kekoa, applied to the Air Force Academy last year.

"I am worried that he may end up in some war zone somewhere," she said.

But Kekoa had wanted to fly since seventh grade, and she and her husband realized that one of the best ways for him to become a pilot would be through the military. She also liked the idea that Kekoa could retire after 20 years and perhaps fly commercial aircraft.

For now, however, she recognizes that the longer Kekoa is in the Air Force, the more likely it is that he'll see combat.

And that makes watching the news difficult. Every time she hears about an American being killed in Iraq, she thinks "that could be my son."

"But in the back of my mind," she said, "I hope that won't happen to him. It will be a continuous worry until he successfully retires."