Posted on: Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Duty calls for King's Guard
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| The King's Guard at the King's Village shopping center takes down and folds the Hawaiian flag during the changing-of-the-guard ceremony Friday. Several members of the King's Guard are in the military.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser |
By Carrie Ching
Advertiser Staff Writer
The rifle-twirling King's Guard in Waikiki is changing for real this year, as several members of the drill team leave for active duty overseas.
Every evening at sunset, the shouts and rhythmic stomping of the King's Guard Drill Team echo through the halls of the King's Village Shopping Center on Ka'iulani Avenue. The Changing of the King's Guard, a free performance modeled after the early 19th century guards of Hawaiian monarchs, has been a Waikiki attraction since 1972.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser "These guys are the best at what they do," Soon said.
Soon was recruited to join the King's Guard as a freshman at Kamehameha Schools, where he was a member of the JROTC. His love for military protocol then prompted him to join the Army National Guard three years ago.
Now Soon's military training in both guards will be put to the test when he is sent to Afghanistan for active duty in August. About 2,000 of Hawai'i's Army National Guard soldiers were put on alert status last week for possible deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan early next year.
"I feel adequately prepared," said Soon, a specialist in the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade MP platoon. "9/11 happened five months after I enlisted, so I knew it was only a matter of time."
Soon is the eighth member of the King's Guard to be deployed overseas in the past three years, said Paul Naki, director of the King's Guard. Four more are still waiting for their orders.
"We've been saying a lot of goodbyes," Naki said.
Although the King's Guard is a commercial drill team — a part-time job to most of its members — many members are also enlisted in the Army National Guard and Air Force Reserves.
"We feel very proud of them," Naki said. "But we're also really concerned. We want them to come back."
As his team of 20 shrinks, Naki is looking to fill the holes in his lineup by recruiting about six new members for the King's Guard.
Naki said some training in a drill team helps, but it is not a requirement that guards be enlisted in the military. "You have to come with some basic talent," he said.
He requested that anyone interested in joining the King's Guard come down and talk to him after the 6:15 p.m. performances at King's Village.
"We'll give you a rifle and see what you can do with it," he said.
The rifles may be antique Springfields, and the uniforms may be all for show, but Soon said his training in the King's Guard was valuable preparation for his real-life duties in the Army National Guard.
"The King's Guard is more exhibition, but the discipline level is the same," Soon said.
Leadership, teamwork and being able to think quickly on your feet are the skills Naki hopes to instill in his guards. The same skills that any soldier in the field might need, he said.
"A lot of these guys are leaving for troubled areas of the world," Naki said. "Hopefully these skills will help them out."
Reach Carrie Ching at 525-8054 or cching@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Marching with the King's Guard was a lifelong dream for 20-year-old Ryan Soon of Kailua. When he was 5 years old, his grandmother took him to Waikiki to see the guards perform in their crisp navy jackets and white helmets. He was immediately hooked.
National Guard Spc. Ryan Soon will be deployed to Afghanistan next month.
