Note: This entry is edited from a blog entry I originally posted on my xanga on April 6, 2004, right after MSgt. Fiske passed away.

MSgt. Richard “Dick” Fiske (born 1922) passed away on Friday, April 2, 2004 at the age of 82.

Mr. Fiske was a veteran of World War II, having enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1940. He was present during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, aboard the ship USS West Virginia (BB-48). During the attack, the commanding officer of the ship, Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, died before his eyes. Captain Bennion’s dying orders was to abandon ship, so Fiske jumped off the West Virginia and swam to Ford Island.

After Pearl Harbor, he fought in the battle for Iwo Jima, which he described as “36 straight days of Pearl Harbor.” After World War II, he served in the newly created U.S. Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. From 1982 until his death, he served as a volunteer at the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor’s Center.

Just a couple of years before his death, I had the honor of meeting this man at the USS Arizona Memorial, just a few weeks after the 60th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.  We talked for a long while, during which he told me the story of how he met the very man who had bombed the USS West Virginia, Zenji Abe (that’s surname Abe, first name Zenji). After placing immense hatred towards the Japanese for decades following the attack, he reconciled with the very man who bombed his ship. He told me that upon meeting Abe, he understood finally that, “we were both in the military, we were both just doing our jobs.” He showed me a picture of Mr. Abe and showed me pictures of a tree that he and Mr. Abe had planted in Japan several years before, with the hope that the tree would grow with their friendship.

Following their meeting, Abe would send Fiske $500 annually, and each month Fiske would use the money to lay two roses (one for Abe, one for Fiske) on the Arizona Memorial and play taps. This tradition continued until earlier this year when cancer began to take a toll on this great man’s strength.

Mr. Fiske also showed me pictures and other memorabilia he had saved from the 1940s.  I found the pictures to be especially extraordinary, second only to his sense of humor (at one point, he began bragging to me about how the USS West Virginia had bigger guns than the USS Arizona did!).

Fiske reminded me to never hold hatred towards enemies. This was definitely something he practiced as wholeheartedly as he preached. In his narrations at the Memorial, he often emphasized the strong relationship between the United States and Japan, something that was unthinkable while the two were sworn enemies during the 1940s.

Fiske’s showing of friendship between the U.S. and Japan drew accolades at home and abroad. In 1996 he received the Order of the Rising Sun with Silver Rays from His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito of Japan. This was well deserved, as his friendship with Mr. Zenji Abe was an amazing symbol of the virtues of forgiveness and friendship. (I should note that Mr. Abe died in 2007).

I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet this great man–it was an experience that I will never forget.

Links:

• Richard Fiske – USSWestVirginia.org
• Bonds of War – Honolulu Star-Bulletin (December 6, 2004)
• Model maker scales the past – Honolulu Star-Bulletin (January 26, 1999)
• Zenji Abe, the enemy who became a friend – The Honolulu Advertiser (April 12, 2007)

I “graduated” from law school today (or yesterday, as the case may be).

We all got to the law school around noon…I was a bit lost at first and when I saw the list of “to-dos” on the blackboard, I was momentarily afraid that I missed some sort of registration requirements and wouldn’t be eligible to walk! Luckily, I bumped into my classmate Leah Nahele (truly one of the most hardworking, talented human beings that I know) who helped set me straight. This was the start of a long afternoon. We took our class photos at Andrews Amphitheater, and it’s a good thing we took our class pictures when we did because we missed the rain. I was also lucky enough to be able to take a photo with the members of my 2010 entering cohort. My classmates are truly amazing, extraordinary people who I have been blessed with the opportunity to become friends with. And indeed, they have become some of my closest friends. That’s why it was really nice to be able to spend the afternoon after the picture taking with them, going shopping and eating sushi and just talking story in general. I’ve seen these faces several times a week for the last four years and it’s sad that I won’t get to see them regularly anymore.

As for the ceremony itself…let me say first that today was a very frustrating day for all of us, given the uncooperative weather. Our ceremony was supposed to start at 4:30…but twenty minutes before the stop time, the decision was made to switch venues due to the pouring rain outside. Instead of Andrews Amphitheater, we were initially told that we would do the ceremony in the law school’s Classroom #2. Thankfully, this wasn’t to be (because if it was, it would have been a huge disaster, given that there were so few seats that most of the law students didn’t even have a place to sit, since some little kids and their parents rudely took over whatever seats they could get, and no matter what was said to them, no one wanted to move!). We spent time speculating among ourselves where we would be sent, with most people thinking that the ceremony would either take place in the law library or the law school courtyard. Then came the announcement that we would move to Orvis Auditorium across the street…so onward everyone marched to Orvis. Once we go there, though, we did a lot of waiting outside. By this point, however, the rain had eased up and the decision (and I firmly believe this was the right decision) was made to move the ceremony back to Andrews Amphitheater.

And, what a ceremony it was. Ken Lawson gave an amazing speech, as did Mr. Matt Cohen (another simply amazing and spectacular human being), and the others as well.

Thank you to everyone who came out to see me, and those who wanted to but couldn’t. And thank you to the classmates who made today awesome, especially Andrew Lee (who let me borrow his regalia at the very last minute), Stephen Downes (yet another super hero classmate who go this degree while facing inspiring adversity), Leah Nahele (to repeat the praise above, simply the most amazing and talented human in the world), Roxanne Kwong (another amazingly smart classmate who truly always has the most insightful things to say), Neil Okuna (one of my closest classmates who is WAY smarter than he gives himself credit for…he simply astounding), Paul Koftinow (who actually finished up his credits last December but I would not have made it through this semester without his guidance), and everyone else that I didn’t mention.

It’s been an amazing ride and I look forward to working with all of you as we embark on our professional careers together.

There is truthfully not a lot I miss about high school, but of course there are exceptions worth noting. Two that I can think of right now are: 1) “Mortal Combat” during football games and 2) playing “The Victors” during football games (especially during Homecoming in the pouring rain!). It was an amazing feeling of being one with your school, something I haven’t felt anywhere since. Go Na Ali’i!!