Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabrielle Joyner | 170517-N-WC566-0087 PEARL HARBOR (May 17, 2017) Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Walter...... read more read more
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The Joint Force Diversity Committee hosted an Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month event at the Hickam Memorial Theater on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), May 15.
Service members and their families came out to celebrate cultural traditions, ancestry, native languages, and unique experiences represented among more than 50 ethnic groups, speaking more than 100 languages, from Asia and the Pacific Islands who live in the United States.
“I love these diversity events, because first of all I love learning and I think that as an organization, as a military force and as a community, we should all want to learn about one another,” said Capt. Stanley Keeve Jr., commander of JBPHH, a “It makes us better when we know our neighbor as we know our shipmate. Today we recognize that the strength, dignity resilience and fortitude of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have definitely made us better as an organization.”
The celebration began with a family-oriented event, with interactive displays set up by the Japanese Cultural Society and the Polynesian Voyage Society, to engage guests in learning and play. This year’s event focused on the Federal Asian Pacific American Council’s 2017 theme: “Unite Our Voices by Speaking Together”, which provided an opportunity to learn from others, through sharing stories and experiences that connect different people and cultures.
The event also highlighted the homecoming of the Hokule’a, a full-scale replica of an ancient Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe that is about to complete its three-year tour around the world in June. Members of the Polynesian Voyaging Society were invited to speak about the theme of the Hokule’a tour, Malama Honua, which means “to care for the earth”. The message of Malama Honua is to “honor our connectedness as people, all united together on one planet earth,” which paralleled the theme of this years AAPIHM event.
“Next month, military service members will be pier-side as we welcome home the sea-farers from the Hawaiian Vessel, Hokule’a, who are coming back from their worldwide voyage, said Keeve. “Here in Hawaii, we have a true melting pot of cultures and traditions. Behind all the different languages, it’s the true spirit of aloha that makes Hawaii unique. Here on JBPHH, we get to celebrate AAPI culture not just in the month of May, but all throughout the year in very different ways.
The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7,1843, and to mark the anniversary of the transcontinental railroad completion on May 10,1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks on of that nation-unifying railway were Chinese immigrants.
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Walter Kaneakua, the guest keynote speaker at the event, spoke of the vision of his ancestors, to make a better life for their children, and their children’s, children, and how their legacy relates to American society today.
“The work ethic, endurance and ability to survive adversity is the legacy that brings me to this place as a man of faith, an Airman, a public servant, a storyteller, a teacher, a mentor and an American,” said Kaneakua. “Living up to heritage brings much responsibility and obligation to reflect well on our families that paid any price and vanquished hardships to bring opportunity to us. That’s how we arrived at this theater, on this base, in these uniforms, in the service of our nation, supporting our families and building a tomorrow for others who accomplished similar feats.”
Staff Sgt. Christian Pak, one of the Masters of Ceremonies of the event, is also a part of this legacy and said he was inspired to join the service after growing up seeing his uncle in the military.
“I’m from South Korea originally, and I moved to Hawaii about 10 years ago,” said Pak. “It means a lot to me, being Asian-American, to be part of this event. It makes me feel that what I do daily really means something to the country, and that motivates me.”
After recounting several stories of the different sides of his culturally diverse family, Kaneahua left the audience with a message about the reason for their attendance at the event.
“You might be asking yourself, what does this have to do with me in the audience, and why should I care that membership in the strongest military team in the world brings me to this venue,” said Kaneahua. “Here’s what matters: in all the challenge, joy, and excitement, in telling the story of my immigrant ancestors is that among all my ethnicities the common thread is being an American. Being a Hawaiian, Japanese, Filipino, Chinese-Irishman, is a legacy. So what is our legacy, and what do you give back? Do your duty to the best of your ability, raise your family the best you can, love your country, be a part of our democratic process, build a community, love, live and learn. Do this for those who came before you. That’s why we come here, that is what we are interested in, and that is the ‘so what’.”
| Date Taken: | 05.18.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.18.2017 18:59 |
| Story ID: | 234372 |
| Location: | PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 61 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, JBPHH Celebrates the Legacy of AAPI Heritage, by PO2 Gabrielle Joyner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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