honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, January 31, 2009

IT'S THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY SINCE THE MEMORIAL OPENED
Mighty chef

Photo gallery: Lt. Dan Band

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Photos courtesy of the Battleship Missouri Memoria

spacer spacer

Can one of Hawai'i's civilian chefs stand up against the Navy's best and brightest cooks to earn the title "Hawai'i's mightiest chef?"

You can find out today during a public festival celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Battleship Missouri Memorial, when acclaimed local chefs like D.K. Kodama and Glenn Chu will square off against some of the Navy's finest ship and station cooks.

More than just a cook-off, the free event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. has entertainment for kama'aina and military alike. Drive over and park on Ford Island, then hear local musicians such as the Royal Hawaiian Band, Ho'okena and Melveen Leed, buy samples of the cook-off entries and tour the famed battleship. The music starts at 10:30 and ends at 2:30, when cook-off winners are crowned.

While it's been a decade since the Mighty Mo retired to Hawai'i to serve as a memorial, it's also the 65th anniversary of the legendary battleship's launch from the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the midst of World War II (and eventually becoming the site where the war formally ended).

The battleship also served in the Korean War and again in Operation Desert Storm. It was decommissioned in 1992 and eventually found a permanent home at Pearl Harbor.

For more information, visit www.ussmissouri.org or call 877-644-4896 (877-MIGHTYM).

LT. DAN IN CONCERT

Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band will perform a free concert for active-duty military and their families tonight at Hickam Air Force Base.

Sinise, part of the "CSI: NY" cast, has been a longtime supporter of the U.S. military and was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his ongoing support of active-duty troops and wounded veterans.

This is his second USO visit to Hawai'i.

Sinise has been in more than 20 films, but is best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of wounded war veteran Lt. Dan in "Forrest Gump," which is how his band got its name.

The 7 p.m. concert is free for military personnel from all branches with current ID cards.

• • •