When we graduated on June 3, 1963, the males in our class were all eligible for the military draft. We did not think seriously about being drafted because there were no armed conflicts in which our country was involved (that we knew of), but that situation changed very quickly in a short time. The males in the class faced the prospect of being drafted into the armed services and that reality forced many of us to make life decisions they would not otherwise have made. Still, some volunteered, while others were drafted. Some made their decision into a career while others completed their obligation and moved on into other segments of their lives. Many continued serving in the reserve forces after completion of their initial service.
The class had 10 classmates who served in Viet Nam or served in support of our mission in Vietnam. Ken Chun was with the Air Force and served in Vietnam. There were five in the Army who served in Vietnam: Ron Sakimura, James McDonald, Dwight Miyauchi, Jerry Park and Vernon Kajikawa. Lastly, we had four in the Navy who served in support of our mission in Viet Nam: Roy Kanno, Steve Murakami, Fred Witt and Walt Fong; and only Roy served in-country. The other three were assigned to ships/submarine (Steve Murakami was in a sub) supporting our mission.
This page is dedicated to the members of our class who served in some capacity in the armed forces or the Peace Corps of the United States after our graduation in 1963.
The slide show below are the Senior Class pictures of the twenty-seven members of the class who served in the military and/or Peace Corps. Below the slide show are the individual members denoting their branch of service and other information known about their service.
The class had 10 classmates who served in Viet Nam or served in support of our mission in Vietnam. Ken Chun was with the Air Force and served in Vietnam. There were five in the Army who served in Vietnam: Ron Sakimura, James McDonald, Dwight Miyauchi, Jerry Park and Vernon Kajikawa. Lastly, we had four in the Navy who served in support of our mission in Viet Nam: Roy Kanno, Steve Murakami, Fred Witt and Walt Fong; and only Roy served in-country. The other three were assigned to ships/submarine (Steve Murakami was in a sub) supporting our mission.
This page is dedicated to the members of our class who served in some capacity in the armed forces or the Peace Corps of the United States after our graduation in 1963.
The slide show below are the Senior Class pictures of the twenty-seven members of the class who served in the military and/or Peace Corps. Below the slide show are the individual members denoting their branch of service and other information known about their service.
Richert AuHoy
* Army
* Commissioned U.S. Army Signal Corps, June 1970
* Active Duty - Jan 1971 to Jan 1973
* Army Reserve - Jan 1973 to Jun 2000
* Retired in 2000
* 30 years of service (branch qualified in Signal Corps, Combat Engineer and Civil Affairs)
* Several trips to Japan (Sapporo, Sendai & Roppongi) and Korea (Wonju, Yongsan & Taegu) for exercises with Army counterparts
* Army Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Legion of Merit
* Army War College graduate, 1993
* Army
* Commissioned U.S. Army Signal Corps, June 1970
* Active Duty - Jan 1971 to Jan 1973
* Army Reserve - Jan 1973 to Jun 2000
* Retired in 2000
* 30 years of service (branch qualified in Signal Corps, Combat Engineer and Civil Affairs)
* Several trips to Japan (Sapporo, Sendai & Roppongi) and Korea (Wonju, Yongsan & Taegu) for exercises with Army counterparts
* Army Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Legion of Merit
* Army War College graduate, 1993
Dayton Auyong
* Air Force
* 21-year career and retired in 1989
* Logistician
* Advisor to Royal Saudi AF, Riyadh SA. Royal Australian AF (1985).
* Air Force
* 21-year career and retired in 1989
* Logistician
* Advisor to Royal Saudi AF, Riyadh SA. Royal Australian AF (1985).
Glenn Bauer
* Navy
* Joined August 1969 - My first wife became ill, and the Navy gave me a hardship discharge under honorable conditions. I was out in 6 months. I went in as an E3 and left as an E3.
* Navy
* Joined August 1969 - My first wife became ill, and the Navy gave me a hardship discharge under honorable conditions. I was out in 6 months. I went in as an E3 and left as an E3.
Thomas Byrnes
* Air Force
* Stationed at Travis Air Force Base for two plus years.
* Air Force
* Stationed at Travis Air Force Base for two plus years.
Clayton Ching
* Navy
* Attended Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, followed by Civil Engineer Corps Officer School at Port Hueneme, California
* First duty station --- Orlando, Florida!
* Two tours in Japan, one in the Bay Area and two more in Hawaii at various stages of my career.
* Assignment to the Pentagon.
* Retired from Navy.
* In Clay’s own words: "After attending OCS in Newport, I was commissioned in Aug 1969. I received specialized training for 4 months at the Civil Engineering Corps Officer School (CECOS) before being assigned to the then little-known naval base in Orlando, Florida. It was during my tour there that Disney announced plans to develop Disney World! If only I had the money to buy real estate back then --- it was so cheap that it was being sold by the acre! My civil engineer duties were primarily to oversee the design and construction of a completely new Naval Recruit Training Center from the ground up. The job was so rewarding that I decided to stay in the Corps and make it a career. While in Orlando, I met Gayle and her 3 kids and we got married in a little chapel on the base shortly before I was about to be reassigned elsewhere (turned out to be Japan). Ironically, I started my career building that base and ended my career closing it (administratively) when I headed up the Navy’s Base Closure efforts from the Pentagon at the end of my career.""I was fortunate to avoid getting stationed in any areas of conflict during my career and enjoyed 2 wonderful tours in Japan and 2 tours in Hawaii, among others, before retiring in Aug 1994 --- 25 years of active duty. Midway in my career, the Navy assigned me to the NROTC unit at University of Washington so that I could obtain my graduate degree in Urban Planning. So, I enjoyed a civilian lifestyle for 18 months while earning military pay! I can’t complain about my experience with the Navy. I received a Navy Commendation Medal and 2 Meritorious Service Medals for my efforts. The toughest tour I had was at the Pentagon because of the long hours, including weekends, and the pervasive atmosphere that everything was critical. I swear, you’d think we were at war --- and it was still peacetime! I still have vivid memories of the line of pizza trucks lined up outside the Pentagon at about 10 pm making deliveries to those still working inside."
* Navy
* Attended Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, followed by Civil Engineer Corps Officer School at Port Hueneme, California
* First duty station --- Orlando, Florida!
* Two tours in Japan, one in the Bay Area and two more in Hawaii at various stages of my career.
* Assignment to the Pentagon.
* Retired from Navy.
* In Clay’s own words: "After attending OCS in Newport, I was commissioned in Aug 1969. I received specialized training for 4 months at the Civil Engineering Corps Officer School (CECOS) before being assigned to the then little-known naval base in Orlando, Florida. It was during my tour there that Disney announced plans to develop Disney World! If only I had the money to buy real estate back then --- it was so cheap that it was being sold by the acre! My civil engineer duties were primarily to oversee the design and construction of a completely new Naval Recruit Training Center from the ground up. The job was so rewarding that I decided to stay in the Corps and make it a career. While in Orlando, I met Gayle and her 3 kids and we got married in a little chapel on the base shortly before I was about to be reassigned elsewhere (turned out to be Japan). Ironically, I started my career building that base and ended my career closing it (administratively) when I headed up the Navy’s Base Closure efforts from the Pentagon at the end of my career.""I was fortunate to avoid getting stationed in any areas of conflict during my career and enjoyed 2 wonderful tours in Japan and 2 tours in Hawaii, among others, before retiring in Aug 1994 --- 25 years of active duty. Midway in my career, the Navy assigned me to the NROTC unit at University of Washington so that I could obtain my graduate degree in Urban Planning. So, I enjoyed a civilian lifestyle for 18 months while earning military pay! I can’t complain about my experience with the Navy. I received a Navy Commendation Medal and 2 Meritorious Service Medals for my efforts. The toughest tour I had was at the Pentagon because of the long hours, including weekends, and the pervasive atmosphere that everything was critical. I swear, you’d think we were at war --- and it was still peacetime! I still have vivid memories of the line of pizza trucks lined up outside the Pentagon at about 10 pm making deliveries to those still working inside."
Ken Chun
* Air Force
* 1945-2022
* Graduated from Virginia Military Institute (VMI) - commissioned in the Air Force
* One tour in Vietnam attached to Naval Intelligence in Saigon.
* Next assigned as a Rocket Propulsion Test Engineer at Edwards AFB, CA.
* Air Force
* 1945-2022
* Graduated from Virginia Military Institute (VMI) - commissioned in the Air Force
* One tour in Vietnam attached to Naval Intelligence in Saigon.
* Next assigned as a Rocket Propulsion Test Engineer at Edwards AFB, CA.
Walter Fong
* Navy
* WestPac cruise in the Gulf of Tonkin (Viet Nam)
* Navy
* WestPac cruise in the Gulf of Tonkin (Viet Nam)
Carolyn Fukunaga
* U.S. Navy Reserve
* 1963 -1965
- From Vivian Lee Fong : “I was one of perhaps 10 or 12 females recruited in August 1963 while I was working at UH by LCDR Emmett Collins to be part of the Telecommunications Division of the U.S. Navy. The pitch was "How would you like to earn extra money by attending a class at night?" I don’t know how we were selected as we were all about the same age with a 2-3 year variance and seemed to come from different high schools…Roosevelt, McKinley, etc.
I would love to hear from other participants regarding their memories then...it's been more than 60 years now.”
* From Carolyn: “We might have met once a month (?) during our freshman and sophomore years and did two weeks of active duty training at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland the first summer and Treasure Island in California the next summer.”
Vernon Kajikawa
* Army
* Commissioned from UH ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate
* RVN
* Also served as an Army lieutenant and civilian employee, with tours in Detroit, MI; Okinawa, Japan; Camp Zama, Japan; & Los Angeles, CA.
* Army
* Commissioned from UH ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate
* RVN
* Also served as an Army lieutenant and civilian employee, with tours in Detroit, MI; Okinawa, Japan; Camp Zama, Japan; & Los Angeles, CA.
Roy Kanno
* Navy
* 1945-2016
* Navy
* 1945-2016
John Lee
* Army Reserve
* Army Reserve
Larry Lim
* Army Reserve
* Army Reserve
James MacDonald
* Army
* 1965 - 1967 (3 years)
* RVN - 1967
* Special Forces Green Beret
* SGT E-5
* MOS - 91B4S (MEDIC)
* Awarded BRONZE STAR (without the V)
* Army
* 1965 - 1967 (3 years)
* RVN - 1967
* Special Forces Green Beret
* SGT E-5
* MOS - 91B4S (MEDIC)
* Awarded BRONZE STAR (without the V)
Janice Mitsuzawa
* U.S. Navy Reserve - she was in the same Navy Reserve Unit as Carolyn
* 1963 - 1965
* See description under Carolyn Fukunaga
Dwight Miyauchi
* Army
* 1945-1976
* U.S. Army - SP 5
* RVN
* Buried in National Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) - Section II Site 24
* Army
* 1945-1976
* U.S. Army - SP 5
* RVN
* Buried in National Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) - Section II Site 24
Stephen Murakami
* Navy
* 1945-2023
* Served on nuclear submarines
* From Ricky AuHoy: "Steve Murakami was the Electrical Operator for the nuclear submarine USS ASPRO (SSN 648). This was one of the most critical jobs onboard a nuclear submarine (the Reactor Operator controlled the generation of nuclear power but needed the Electrical Operator to safely manage the generation and distribution of electrical power throughout the ship)."
* Navy
* 1945-2023
* Served on nuclear submarines
* From Ricky AuHoy: "Steve Murakami was the Electrical Operator for the nuclear submarine USS ASPRO (SSN 648). This was one of the most critical jobs onboard a nuclear submarine (the Reactor Operator controlled the generation of nuclear power but needed the Electrical Operator to safely manage the generation and distribution of electrical power throughout the ship)."
Stan Naguwa
* Air Force
* 1963-1967 Air Force Academy graduate
* 1967-1969 Wright Patterson Medical Labs
* 1969-1973 Univ of Hawaii-Univ of Washington MD
* 1973-1976 DMGC Residency
* 1976-1978 March Air Force Base Hospital Staff
* 1978-1981 Univ of California-Davis Rheumatology-Allergy-Immunology fellowship
* 1981-1987 DGMC-Travis AFB faculty-staff
* Retired from Air Force
* Air Force
* 1963-1967 Air Force Academy graduate
* 1967-1969 Wright Patterson Medical Labs
* 1969-1973 Univ of Hawaii-Univ of Washington MD
* 1973-1976 DMGC Residency
* 1976-1978 March Air Force Base Hospital Staff
* 1978-1981 Univ of California-Davis Rheumatology-Allergy-Immunology fellowship
* 1981-1987 DGMC-Travis AFB faculty-staff
* Retired from Air Force
Miles Nakashima
* Army
* Commissioned from University of Missouri ROTC in 1969
* Retired from Army in 1990
* Served assignments in 1st Infantry Division; 2d Infantry Division; 5th & 6th Army; Army Recruiting Command; and U.S. Army Infantry School; in command and staff positions.
* 1969 and 1982 served in South Korea on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
* Army
* Commissioned from University of Missouri ROTC in 1969
* Retired from Army in 1990
* Served assignments in 1st Infantry Division; 2d Infantry Division; 5th & 6th Army; Army Recruiting Command; and U.S. Army Infantry School; in command and staff positions.
* 1969 and 1982 served in South Korea on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
James Oda
* Army Reserve
* Army Reserve
Jerry Park
* Army
* 1945-2021
* RVN
* Army
* 1945-2021
* RVN
Ron Sakimura
* Army
* RVN
* Army Ranger
* 1945-2021
* CPT
* Buried in National Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) - Section CT13R Row 400 Site 409
* Army
* RVN
* Army Ranger
* 1945-2021
* CPT
* Buried in National Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) - Section CT13R Row 400 Site 409
Dennis Sugihara
* Air National Guard
* Served 20 years and retired from the Air National guard.
* Air National Guard
* Served 20 years and retired from the Air National guard.
John Takasaki
* Army Reserve
* Army Reserve
Carolyn Watanabe
* Peace Corps
* 1967-1969
* Peace Corps
* 1967-1969
Fred Witt
* Navy
* 1967 -Navy Officer Candidate School
* !967-1970 served on destroyer; two deployments
* Stayed in Navy Reserve; retired in early 1990’s
* Navy
* 1967 -Navy Officer Candidate School
* !967-1970 served on destroyer; two deployments
* Stayed in Navy Reserve; retired in early 1990’s
Frank Yap
* Army Reserve
* Retired after twenty plus years in Army Reserve
* From Ricky AuHoy: "Frank Yap spent his entire career in the Army Reserve as a very highly respected JAG (Judge Advocate General) Officer."
* Army Reserve
* Retired after twenty plus years in Army Reserve
* From Ricky AuHoy: "Frank Yap spent his entire career in the Army Reserve as a very highly respected JAG (Judge Advocate General) Officer."
Howard Yoshiura
* Peace Corps
* Spent next 4 yrs in Micronesia as an agriculture volunteer; as well as TESL(Teaching English as Second Language)
* Peace Corps
* Spent next 4 yrs in Micronesia as an agriculture volunteer; as well as TESL(Teaching English as Second Language)
Longfellow Elementary School - Wheaton, Illinois
Longfellow Elementary School in Wheaton, Illinois conducts a program honoring veterans on November 11 of each year. Relatives of students who are currently serving, or have served, are invited to the ceremonies and recognized for their service by students and guests. Each grade level takes part in the program through song and speech. Recognition of a veteran's service is done during the program when the elementary student is called upon to come forth and get a red rose which he/she then presents to their relative. Veterans can then go to their child’s classroom where they answer questions from the children. In the six years I have been attending this program, I notice the questions from the children become more “grown-up” as the grade levels increase. I remember being asked at the first program I attended six years ago being asked if I was ever wounded and whether it hurt - the most recent question I received was about the most difficult “mission” I had while serving. A breakfast provided by PTA members preceded the start of the program. I always get “chicken skin” when TAPS is played by a student during the program. My only regret is that I only have one more Veteran’s Day program to attend at Longfellow Elementary because my grandson will be moving on to Middle School. The video below is from the November 11, 2025 program.
Miles
Miles