Renaming of Captain Cook Post Office in honor of fallen soldier observed at Vietnam War memorial service

More than 50 years after U.S. troops departed Vietnam, the post office in Captain Cook is being named after 1st Lt. John Kuulei Kauhaihao of Hōnaunau, who was killed in action during the war.

Before leaving office this year, President Joe Biden signed U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda’s bill into law on Jan. 4, naming the Captain Cook post office on Hawaiʻi Island the “Army 1st Lt. John Kuulei Kauhaihao Post Office Building.”

Tokuda introduced the bill to the House of Representatives last year to honor Kauhaihao in the community where generations of his ʻohana still live. Kauhaihao is survived by his widow and Konawaena High School sweetheart, Shirley, and other family.

Last Friday, Delbert Nishimoto, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Vietnam War veteran, announced the official name change during the third annual Vietnam War Veterans’ Day Memorial Service at the Keaukaha Military Reservation in Hilo.

This is the first post office in Hawaiʻi designated in honor of a Vietnam War veteran or an individual of Native Hawaiian descent.

“Naming the post office in the community where generations of Lt. [Kauhaihao’s] family lived and still live is more than just honoring and celebrating a fallen kamaʻāina warrior who gave his life for our nation,” Tokuda said on the House floor. “It is a tribute to an entire generation of men and women who served in Vietnam and who came back to a country that took far too long to honor their service and that is still trying to make this right.”

On Sept. 5, 1969, at the age of 27, Kauhaihao was fatally injured during a reconnaissance-in-force operation in Tay Ninh Province. When his platoon came under enemy fire, Kauhaihao launched more than 30 grenades in 15 minutes at enemy bunkers while drawing fire on himself so his men could sight enemy gunners.

For his sacrifice, Kauhaihao was posthumously awarded the U.S. Army’s second-highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

“We can never repay those who served like Kauhaihao, but we can honor them and ensure their sacrifices are never forgotten,” Tokuda said.

The Vietnam War Veterans’ Day Memorial Service was hosted by the Big Island National Guard Retirees’ Association. It was held on March 29, the day of the year designated in 2017 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. On that day in 1973, the United States Military Assistance Command in Vietnam was disestablished and the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam.

“This felt like the perfect day to honor these men and all who gave their lives for freedom,” Nishimoto said. “It was also exciting to be able to announce that name change of the post office. Vietnam veterans have been overlooked and they deserve to be honored for their sacrifice.”

The service honored members of the Hawaiʻi National Guard 29th Infantry Brigade who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War in 1968 and 1969.

They include: 1st Lt. John Kauhaihao; Sgt. 1st Class Edward Loo Jr.; Sgt. Wilfredo Andrada; Spec. 4 Rodney Fukunaga; Spec. 4 Larry Leopoldino; Spec. 4 Frank Longakit; Spec. 4 Alberto Milar Jr.; Pfc. Dennis Panis; Pfc. Glenn Shibata; and Pfc. Dennis Silveri.

Their names are engraved in a memorial outside the Lt. Col. Henry S. Hara Complex Building at the Keaukaha Military Reserve.

Former U.S. Army captain and Vietnam War veteran Richard Ha gave the keynote address and discussed the lessons he learned when he was drafted at 27-years old and served as an officer in the Vietnam War.

“There was an unwritten rule of we all come back, or no one comes back,” Ha said. “The only thing that mattered was taking care of each other and that just came from the circumstances we were in.

“When we came back, the soldiers weren’t concerned with the politics at the time. We were just trying to survive day to day. It was difficult, but since that time, I have experienced the treatment that we missed out on after returning to the U.S. from Vietnam.”

Since starting the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Service in 2023, Nishimoto has made it an annual event and is thankful that veterans and their families continue to come to honor Hawaiʻi Island soldiers.

“Every time I passed this memorial, I thought about putting a ceremony together to honor them,” Nishimoto said. “These Gold Star families deserve to be acknowledged too because they were the ones directly impacted by the enormous loss.”

There has not been a date set for the official renaming of the Captain Cook Post Office. The bill can be read here.