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Punahou Class of '56 Index Page

Vern Hiu, August 27, 1938 - Jan. 9, 2003

This page is dedicated to my best friend, Vern Hiu, who died peacefully in his sleep on Jan. 9, 2003 following his decision to "pull the plug" of his dialysis machine on Dec. 27, 2002. Both Vern and his mother, Hana, 97, have diabetes. However, Hana adheres to strict dietary rules which most probably accounts for her longievity. Unfortunately Vern hasn't always had good dietary habits. The 30-minute regulation military ceremony at the Punchbowl National Cemetary of the Pacific on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003, led by Vern's eldest son, Matt Hiu, started on time at 2 p.m. and went off without a hitch, as Vern would have liked. Matt also received an American flag on behalf of the family from the air force color guard. Anson recited a message to Vern, and passed out copies to the over 50 people in attendance. A beautiful, fresh maile lei from Francis Iwamoto, was presented to Vern's Mom, Hana. Sisters Annette and Mariette gave touching vignette's of Vern's life, as did Matt. John Corboy, delivered a moving remembrance from the heart. The family invited friends to dim-sum meal at Hee Hing restaurant in Kapahulu following the ceremony. Click Here for photos of Vern taken by John Corboy in mid-December 2002, relaxing and at the controls of John's helicopter.

Postcript: Vern told several classmate to keep an eye out for a black dog which would wander in to various households, stay a few days, then quietly leave. This, he noted, would a signal to us that he made it to the other side and all is well.
At 7 a.m., on Feb. 9, 2003, exactly a month after Vern went into the light, I opened my cabin door to go to the kitchen, and there, looking me straight in the face with tail wagging, was a black dog, alongside one of our pooches, Bumpfy!
We fed Black Dog, and put a red collar on him. Three days later, he disappeared. We later found out that Black Dog belonged to a neighbor a half-mile away. The neighbor is once again caring for Black Dog who undoubtedly had broken away from his usual domicile to deliver Vern's message to us before returning home. (smile)

Roots

Vern and I have Big Island roots. He is from the A Hoy (a.k.a. akana) family of Kona, which morphed to its present "Hiu" name upon moving to Honolulu. My grandfather, Ahnee of Kohala, was a konohiki on the household staff of the late Rev. Bond in the 19th century. Ahnee began using the Chong name when the clan moved to Honolulu in the early 1920s.

Vern and I were born in the same month and year on Oahu, played trombone together in the Punahou band which included performing in the pit band for the Punahou Carnivals, the circus band at an Atherton YMCA carnival and the Junior Symphony. We also hawked the Star Bulletin on the sidewalks of Waikiki, hiked behind Maunalani Heights many times, belonged to the Saturday Porky Pig club at Kaimuki Theater (9 cents to get in and you got a free coke), went night spear fishing at the Aina Hina reefs, did gigs with the Nocturns, a dance band, and lived on Sierra Drive, Kaimuki. When my parents got divorced and I became wayward and had a "Mohawk" hairstyle (which got me suspended) (I was ahead of my time), Vern dragged me to his house and got his Mom to cut the Mohawk off. We didn't do drugs, smoke pot or drink alcohol. Heck, we probably were the last generation NOT to have done it while in high school. I was present at his marriage to his first wife, Susan Bell, on July 21, 1959, and he was present at my marriage to Ann Gleason on Dec. 27, 1983.

Air Combat

At age 19, Vern was one of the youngest commissioned officers in the United States Air Force and the first and only Hawaii "local-boy" member of our nation's elite "top gun" fighter pilot fraternity. In September 1961, Vern experienced his first air combat (dog fight). While flying the Air Force's top-of-the-line, most advanced fighter, at the time, the F-101 "Voodoo," he was ambushed by three MIG fighters which attacked him from the rear. During the harrowing encounter, he successfully executed the rarely used Immelman Maneuver, * destroyed one MIG and briefly went after the other two before breaking-off the engagement and returning to base in Japan, unscathed. The episode is still not recognized by the U.S. or the country whose MIG was downed, most probably because the two countries involved were not officially at war. Suffice to note that at the time, the New York Times did report that a certain country complained loudly to the United States about overflights into its air space (without admitting that it had lost a MIG) with no comment coming from the U.S. side. It should be noted that Vern may have broken rules of engagement orders which may have included directives not to fire on hostile planes. Four decades later, details of this (and other) alleged overflights remain classified and the U.S. still does not confirm or deny these events.

Vern's other experiences flying extremely dangerous night missions throughout SE Asia are still highly classified. Suffice to note that he was called to the White House by JFK to serve on Jackie Kennedy's protocol staff.

Vern becomes Widower, Returns to Hawaii

When his lovely wife, Susan, a Catholic, died of bone cancer in the mid-60s, Jackie Kennedy quietly flew to Hawaii to attend the funeral at St. Patrick's Church in Kaimuki, the same church where he and Susan had been married only a few short years before. During their short marriage, Susan and Vern had three sons, noted below.

After receiving an honorable discharge in the late 60s, Vern returned to Hawaii, founded Nui-Nui tours and built it into a thriving operation before selling it and moving on to other interesting ventures including a stint as President and CEO of a corporation that created the Gold Spike Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas in the late '70s and early 80s. He then moved on to ventures in SE Asia (creating, organizing and leading exclusive treks to remote areas in Nepal)+, the south (gaming industry in Louisiana) and the mid-west (Exec. Assistant to owner of shopping-mall and ranching empire), before returning to Hawai'i for good three years ago.

Vern's Ohana includes three sons, John Hiu, Matthew Hiu and Scott Hiu, two brothers, Roland (Hen Min) Hiu and Fred Hiu, two sisters, Mariette Newcomb Lipsky and Annette Hee and his mother, Hana Hiu. Roland and Fred saw combat in 'Nam, Roland as a forward air controller and Fred as an infantry officer. For his heroic actions under fire in 'Nam, Roland earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, several Purple Hearts and the Air Medal (with 8 oak leaf clusters), and Fred holds the CIB (Combat Infantryman's Badge) which any 'Nam vet would understand and appreciate. Vern's ohana also includes many grandchildren, nephews, nieces, the brotherhood of American warriors who have seen combat in defense of the United States and the Class of '56, Punahou (see our ongoing class photo album, below).

Vern risked his life for the ideals of this nation. This keiki o ka aina died, as he lived, a very, very, courageous American warrior of the first rank.

Anson Chong, Class of '56
Updated Feb. 23, 2003, Big Island, Hawai'i

* Mahalo to Lt. Col. George "Buck" Buchanan, USAF, RET, a member of our Class of '56 and a former Air Force fighter pilot/RIO for the correct spelling and explanation of the "Immelman Maneuver." Buck flew F-89s, F-4s and EC-131s in the mid- to late '60s and logged 1,300 hours of air combat time during the 'Nam era war which Vern technically "missed" because the U.S. was not at war in the early '60s.

+ Vern's Nepal Treks: A year before China's main invasion of Tibet in 1959, the U.S. began to train Tibetan freedom fighters at Camp Hale in Colorado. Mustang, in western Nepal, eventually became the base of operations for Tibetan's fighting to free their country from Chinese occupation. At one time, the Mustang base fielded 30,000 armed Tibetans inside occupied Tibet. It was said to have been closed down by the CIA in '72. To the extent that the close-down happened, Vern's Nepal treks, a decade later, were very probably civilian in nature. (smile)

Disclaimer

Star Named for Vern

Vern's Star: Buck, has registered a star in Vern's name. The "Vernon Hiu" star coordinates, for those of you scientifically inclined, is: Orion RA 5h 25m 39s 11° 51'. The star is located in the Constellation Orion, "The Hunter," located by three bright stars in a straight line which form the "Belt of Orion." Vern's star can be seen at all latitudes from the Earth because it is almost exactly on the "celestial equator."
Anyone interested in sharing the $58 or so cost may mail him $1 (not required). Any excess received above the $58 will be donated to the Punahou Living Endowment fund (see address below), at Vern's request. Buck's address is: George S. Buchanan, 330 Vine St., Vacaville, CA 95688-8703. You may also send funds directly to Punahou in Vern's name. Just send me a note so that I can post your name here (see below). My e-mail address is: ansonchong@pobox.com. Buck also suggests that we light a candle for Vern as he moves on to his latest adventure.

The following Class of '56 members and friends of Vern have made a donation to the Punahou Living Endowment (see address below) fund and/or supported registering the "Vernon Hiu" star. Those wishing to support these little ad hoc efforts, kindly send a note to ansonchong@pobox.com for inclusion here. Mahalo! Initiated 12/16/02, most recent update 1/4/02): Sue Auchinbaugh Tetmeyer, George "Buck" Buchanan, Anson Chong, John Corboy, Barbara Bush Doenecke, Penny Foster Garrity, David Law, Myra Akerman Purdom, Eadean Stark Scribner . . .

Your tax-deductible checks should be made out to Punahou Living Endowment Fund and mailed to: Punahou School, 1601 Punahou St., Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822. Kindly send an e-mail note to: ansonchong@pobox.com for inclusion in the above list. Mahalo!

PROOF THAT WE ALL WERE ONCE YOUNG, BEAUTIFUL, HANDSOME AND SLIM !

Check out Sally Pasch's main Punahou Snapshots site

Click Here for Sally Pasch's outstanding 45th Reunion Photo Album of 2001 !

Suggestion department: Copy this and all photo-page links you like for your own scrap book. No telling when the free Yahoo/Geocities and blogger servers will go commercial and start charging money. Also, I've noticed that stuff mysteriously disappears occasionally - as happened to a few of my original pages. (sigh)

Here's a fast-links page

The names (not in alphabetical order) that appear on the designated page are here. All you need to do to go to that page is click on it. I've used maiden names since those were in my album. If anyone REALLY wants married names added, send me an e-mail note and I'll begin to compile a maiden-name/married-name list (if time permits). In the meantime, enjoy! Not copyrighted. Copy, duplicate, show your grandkids, etc. No credits necessary. Also, if anyone wants their photo removed, I'll try to do it but really can't imagine why anyone would want to do it since this is proof that we ALL were once young, beautiful, handsome, slim and had hair ! And, if anyone else in our class has Class of '56 photos, first destroy the ones that make us look bad, then send the good ones off to Sarah Pasch who continues to expand our class photos album (bless her kind heart). A hui hou!

Page A:. Betsy Perkins, Sue Crommelin, Roddy Hill, Mel Lemon, George Chun, Douglas Wall, Gloria King, Richard Silva, David Law, Erin Thistle, Sarah Pasch, Lomeala Plunkett, Carolyn Hefty, Linda Southgate, Gilman Budar, Jerry Cadagan, Francis Lyman, John Corboy, Anson Chong, Bob Young, Dick Davis, Lanric "Ricki" Hyland, Tom Fink, Russell Stratton, Jim Turner, Evelyn Plate, Leona Lee, Nancy Wynn, Rita Rhodes, Marietta Hunt, Barbara Kong.

Page B: Mrs. Bohart's (Jo Lou's Mom) drama class: Gwenn Schlife ('57), Greg Jackson, Carolyn Hefty, Mrs. Dunstan, Jo An Linczer, Linda Southgate, Sue Aughinbaugh, Neva Aki, Leona Lee (dancing with Steve Chun), Erin Thistle, Sand Waterhouse, Tom Conger and Francis Lyman.

Page C: Dick Davis, Carolyn Hefty Whorff, Russ Stratton, Rita Rhodes, Marietta Hunt, Sue Crommellan, Patsy Gaskill, Myra Akerman, Jo Lou Bohart, and Bob Russell.

Page D: The original Page D got lost in cyberspace (sigh). While I search for it, here's Patsy Gaskill's photos of our 8th Grade Class, taken around 1952 on the steps of the old Castle Hall. Links from the two photos go directly to Sarah Pasch's superb Class of '56 album: Most of the us are identified, as follows: Diane Larsgaard, Mary Lou Johnson, Carol Ackerman, Janice Rush, Jo-Al Linzer, Karen Klabau, Erin Thistle, Camille Thiele, Mary Margaret Holmes, Roger Bockus, Willie Harano, Cliff Silverstein, Anson Chong, Sandy Waterhouse, Vern Hiu, Roger McCloskey, Mr. Law, Aileen Bobo, Leilani Nobriga, Patsy Gaskall, Sarah Kepner, Judi Thurston, Shirley Townsend, Lillian Chung, Eva Miyahara, Paula McLaughlin, Diane Williams, Ronald Mtthews, Ken West, Bobby Sheffield, Scott May, Richard Wong, Roger Cornell and Rickie Reinalter.

Page E: Bill Fairbanks, Cyrus Faryar Murphy, Ellie Burger, Judy Thurston, and Tom Fink.

Page F Russell Stratton, Mr. Bradford, Bob Russell, Mr. Brownlee, Mr. Bailey, Tom Conger ('57) & Guy Piltz. NOTE: The link has mysteriously disappeared. Standby while I look for it! (12/27/02). (Sorry.)

Page G Vern Hiu, Mel Lemon, Evelyn Plate, Rita Rhodes, Barbara Kong, Roddy Hill, Sue Crommelin, Linda Southgate, Dick Davis & Ricki Hyland.

Page H Crowd shot at Honolulu Stadium, Punahou St. Louis game. Vern Hiu hitting a homer at St. Louis High School varsity baseball game.

Page I Miss Elizabeth Sinclair, Anne Warne, Donna Kang, Janice Rush, John Barry, Mr. Pratt, Mrs. Gall & Sally Pasch. NOTE: This link mysteriously disappeared. Standby while I look for it! (sigh) (12/27/02)

Page J: Ginny Frazier, Eadeen Stark, Sally Pasch, Penny Foster, Mrs. Gall and Vern Hiu.

Page L -- Reunion 2001 Photo taken at Punahou, June 2001

Page M -- Diane Laarsgard, Joan Chock Sarah Kepner Matthews, Joan Andrade Brown, Vern Hiu, Penny Foster, Leilani Nobriga, Johnny Anderson, Bonnie Frazier Andrew and Gordon Beaton.

Page N -- Scott May, Patty Soule Anderson, Bonnie Frazier Andrew, Geri Iwanaga Lambert, Eve Glover, Jim Turner, Barbara Kong Vlachos, Penny Foster, Patti Soule Anderson and Vern Hiu.

Page O -- Ginny Frazier, Rob Warner, Eve Glover, Leilani Nobriga Bush, Ulu Boyle, Paul Nagano, John Corboy and Jim Turner.

Page P -- Vern Hiu at Junior Symphony practice with his trombone, Jan. 14, 1952. Also,Vern in Punahou student band leader uniform, Nov. 1953, and Vern on new bicycle, Nov. 1951.

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