Aloha Troops
A tribute to the people in the military with Hawai'i ties
serving our country in the Persian Gulf.
[ Recent photos ]
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 Patricia L. Bautista |
Spc. Patricia L. Bautista, U.S. Army 890th Engineer Battalion, is serving in Balad, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Bautista is formerly of Waipahu and now lives in Mississippi.
She is the daughter of Basilio, a retired Army man, and Petra Bautista of Waipahu. Her friends in Mississippi are proud of Spc. Bautista's deep commitment to her country, as well as her great strength of character. We send her our warmest aloha and prayers for her safe return. 'Ohana means family and family means no one is left behind or forgotten. Aloha nui loa from Pastor Julie Two Suess, Cindi, John and the congregation of Cornerstone Metropolitan Community Church in Mobile, Ala. |
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 Sonny Jay Balcobero |
When Sonny Jay, our only son in a brood of three, decided to join the Marines, we felt a mixture of disbelief, apprehension and relief. Because of his valor and gallantry, we cannot overemphasize how proud we are of him.
Sonny Jay graduated from Waipahu High School in 1996 and after attending Leeward Community College and DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, he joined the U.S. Marines and is presently assigned with the H & S Co., 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Comm. at Twentynine Palms, Calif. He is deep in the heart of Iraq serving our country, and for this we are proud of him. Cpl. Balcobero, we all miss you. We are proud of you, and we always pray for your safety as well as that of all members of the coalition. Come home soon — the pupus are waiting. Semper Fi! Ooo-rah! — Sonny and Shirley Balcobero |
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 Army Pfc. Dustin Broyard, who graduated from Waipahu High School in 1997, is serving in Baghdad. Broyard family photo |
We are the proud family of Army Pfc. Dustin Broyard, now serving in Baghdad. Dustin is a 1997 graduate of Waipahu High School. He and his wife and two children live in Fort Story, Va.
He loves his animals and low-rider cars. He left his friends and family in Hawai'i to make his career in the Army. He carries his aloha wherever he goes; he tries to spread aloha in the Army by telling them about our myths and legends. We all love him and pray for his safety. — The Broyard family |
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 Sgt. 1st Class Robin Paul Bacon |
This is my brother, Sgt. 1st Class Robin Paul Bacon, aka "The Flying Hawaiian," of the 62nd Medical Unit stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash. He graduated from Pearl City High School in 1981 and enlisted in the Army shortly after.
He is loved by everyone. Whenever he comes home on leave, everyone would come over to see him. That's just the kind of guy he is. You want to be wherever he is going to be. He's also a very caring and loving father, son and brother and has a great sense of humor. He is my best friend. I miss him a lot. We all do. So stay safe, be strong, and hurry home. We're all very proud of him. We love you, Robin. — Donna Rosa |
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We, the family of a special "G.I. Joe" deployed in the Middle East, proudly introduce you to Kevin Hawea Kenji Brown, a captain in the U.S. Army, currently on staff with the 3rd Brigade, which is attached to the 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga.
Kevin grew up in Kane'ohe, graduating from Kamehameha Schools, class of 1988. He began his military career in the JROTC program at Kamehameha. After graduating from Colorado College, he earned his commission in 1992. He was based in California and deployed to Korea, Egypt and Kosovo. Currently, he is stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., where Margi, his wife, is a teacher at the elementary school. In addition to Hawai'i and Georgia, Kevin's 'ohana is in Wisconsin, Texas, Oregon and Nevada. We regularly send care packages to him, everything from socks to eye drops. There's always a package or two of local- kine goodies — dried cuttlefish, ginger, dried mango and dried marlin — which he offers to others. Kevin wrote "they stay away from the smelly stuff — Oh well, more for me." We are touched by and grateful for everyone's prayers. These have helped us to keep our faith for Kevin's safe return. He is one of many sons and daughters who accept their duty without a doubt, serve our country with courage and do so in the name of freedom for all. We are honored to have our son, an officer and gentleman, a part of our family. — Barbara and John H. Brown |
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From left, Airman 1st Class Kristin Theineman, Master Sgt. Don Pigg, Staff Sgt. Greg Brannan and Master Sgt. Mark Gusky give the shaka sign in this photo taken just before the war started. All four are stationed with the 15th Civil Engineering Squadron and are nuclear, biological and chemical warfare specialists from Hickam Air Force Base.
— Greg Brannan and Nicole Gust-Brannan |
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 Sgt. Sonald A. Bartlett |
I would love for you to put this picture of my son-in-law Sgt. Donald A. Bartlett in the paper. Donald and my daughter, Jennifer, have been married for about 19 months. They met when Jennifer went to Hawai'i for a vacation.
He is in Kuwait making all of us so proud. He is such a wonderful person, I couldn't ask for a more wonderful son-in-law. Because of him and the others, we here in our great country are able to live such good lives. I hope Donald will be home in time for Jennifer's birthday in May. To all our guys, you make us all so proud. Thank you. — Terry Lynn Haynes |
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 Francisco Bool |
"My daddy's name is PNC Francisco Z. Bool of the USS Paul Hamilton stationed in Pearl Harbor. He was away from home since August 2002. We communicate through e-mail and sometimes he calls me. One thing I'm proud of my dad is because he is in the service for 17 years and he enjoyed his job. He is responsible for the personnel files of all the people on the ship. Although he is a chief petty officer, he sometimes likes to serve food to the sailors like in this picture. He is a hero to me because he is in the Persian Gulf defending our country. I'm 12 years old from Saint Louis Catholic School and I'm his only child. I miss him."
— Patrick V. Bool |
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If you know someone in the military from or based in Hawai'i serving our country in the Persian Gulf, please send us a photo and a few words about him or her to: alohatroops@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Submissions may be published or distributed in print, electronic and other forms.
