honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Sunday, May 8, 2005

OUR HONOLULU

A care home for war heroes

By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

The Center for Aging Disabled Veterans at Tripler Medical Center is loaded with wall-to-wall war heroes. But it's one place where you seldom hear a war story. "We don't talk about it," said Ray Russell, a former Marine who was blasted out of a gun turret in a naval battle during World War II.

"Please don't blow us out of proportion," said Billie Allen, wife of Bob Allen, who was in Navy intelligence. They met while prisoners of the Japanese in the notorious Los Banos prison camp in the Philippines. Army combat photographer Al Chang, who was awarded a Bronze Star for heroism, can't talk about it. He lost his voice from a stroke.

But their stories are the best way to introduce a unique care home for the elderly in Hawai'i. I want to tell you that the veterans in that 60-bed facility wouldn't have it better if they paid $500,000 for a suite in a ritzy private retirement home. Allan Chang, who served in the National Guard during World War II and is recovering from an amputated leg, said it best: "We are privileged to be here."

The Center for Aging is for veterans who have medical problems they can no longer handle at home. Some are permanent residents, others are there for rehabilitation. The veterans are screened before being accepted, and there's a long waiting list. Each has his own TV and telephone. They receive the best medical treatment money can buy.

Take Ray Russell from 'Aiea. As a Marine, he served in World War II, the Korean War and the war in Vietnam. He was manning a gun turret aboard the USS Boise during a battle with a Japanese fleet when an enemy shell hit the turret. Russell woke up on the deck, his ribs smashed.

After recovery, he became a military court reporter in Korea and later in Vietnam. Although Marines were forbidden to associate with the locals, Russell married a Korean assistant to the chaplain. They ended up in 'Aiea after 28 years in the Marine Corps. As a civilian court reporter, Russell worked with federal judges Sam King and Martin Pence.

He was admitted to the Center for Aging when his medical condition deteriorated. But he sometimes goes home on weekends and attends University of Hawai'i football and baseball games in his wheelchair.

Bob Allen, formerly head of the Hawaii Visitor's Bureau, came to the Center for Aging to cope with medical complications that stemmed from spending more than three years in two Japanese prison camps. He has been through two amputations. He and his wife, Billie, were rescued by a mission sent in by Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

"We were lined up at roll call in the morning when we saw the white puffs of parachutes in the sky," said Billie Allen. She said the U.S. paratroopers took out the guards while an amphibious assault team carried the prisoners to safety. Every year, the couple celebrates their day of liberation on Feb. 23, 1945.

"The people here are absolutely wonderful," said Billie.