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INDEX
VOL. 47, NO. 138
14 PAGES
HONOLULU — Amphibious
military capabilities are on the
agenda as the U.S. Marine Corps
and Navy host defense leaders
from around the Pacific in Hawaii
this week.
The first-of-its kind meeting
comes as territorial disputes over
islands are growing more heated in
the region.
U.S. treaty allies Japan and the
Philippines are expected to attend
along with U.S. partners like
Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
Altogether, 23 nations will join the
meeting.
China wasn’t invited, even
though it has one of the region’s
fastest-growing militaries. A U.S.
law restricting the types of mili-
tary exercises the U.S. and China
may engage in together prevented
China’s inclusion, Marine Corps
Col. Nathan Nastase said.
Organizers aim to discuss
how the militaries may develop
amphibious capabilities and oper-
ate together, Nastase said. They
hope to find out what each coun-
try’s amphibious needs are and
learn how each nation might be
able to help others.
“How can that potentially com-
plement us or your neighbors or
a group of like-minded nations to
help each other out? In times of
crisis, in times of humanitarian
disaster?” Nastase told reporters
last week.
Participants will also have an
opportunity to watch U.S. Marines
and sailors demonstrate landing
forces on a Hawaii beach.
Nastase, the director of plans
and policies at U.S. Marine Corps
Forces Pacific, said participants
range from South Korea, which
has a large and capable marine
corps, to Malaysia, which aspires
to develop amphibious capabilities.
Japan’s forces are in between:
It has been training soldiers in
amphibious warfare during the
past few years as it seeks to be
able to defend small islands to its
south in the East China Sea. Japan
controls the rocky islets it calls
Senkaku, but Beijing also claims
them. China calls the islands
Diaoyu.
Territorial disputes like this
and another over a different set of
Military
leaders
gather in
Hawaii to talk
amphibious
skills
BYAUDREY MCAVOY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Service will remember those lost in 1960 tsunami
The tall green clock at the
edge of Banyan Golf Course
stopped at 1:04 in the morn-
ing on May 23, 1960. Its gears
don’t move anymore, but the
clock keeps time in a differ-
ent way. It’s now a monument
commemorating the lives of
those lost the day the clock
stopped, when a tsunami
swept through Hilo, killing
61 people, leveling homes
and shops, and destroying the
waterfront area.
On Saturday, the Waiakea
Pirates Athletic Club will hold
a memorial service at the
clock in honor of the 55th
anniversary of the 1960 tsu-
nami. The event begins at 10
a.m. and continues at 10:30
with a lunch at Coqui’s Diner.
Gloria Kobayashi, co-author
of The Yashijima Story, a his-
tory of the club, will speak at
the lunch.
The athletics club was first
organized in 1924 with the
goal of encouraging local kids
to participate in sports and
in their community. After the
tsunami, its members added
another aim.
“They’ve taken the role as
stewards of the clock,” said
George Yoshida, one of the
event organizers. Yoshida’s
son played for the athletics
club as a boy.
Yoshida himself was a soph-
omore at Hilo High when the
tsunami hit.
His father worked in one
BY IVYASHE
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
M
ore than 120 keiki age
14 and younger rode the
waves at Kohanaiki for
the 20th annual Keiki Surf for the
Earth on Saturday and Sunday.
This special two-day event included
T-shirts for all entrants, prizes, meals, live
music, a talent show and a slide show doc-
umenting 20 years of family fun.
The beach was filled with second genera-
tion surfers catching waves at this popular
surf spot. This year’s special anniversary
was dedicated to Leon Sterling.
EVENT CELEBRATES 20 YEARS, HONORS LEON STERLING
TOP TO BOTTOM: A keiki rides a wave in the 8-and-under Bodyboard Mixed Division at the 20th annual Keiki Surf
for the Earth event Saturday at Kohanaiki Beach Park; Surfers in the Boys Longboard Open Division ride waves; A
surfer in the Boys Longboard Open Division catches a wave.
PHOTOS BY LAURA SHIMABUKU/
WEST HAWAII TODAY
BY LAURA SHIMABUKU
WEST HAWAII TODAY
SEE
MILITARY
PAGE 6A
Members of the Waiakea Pirates Athletic Club
make final preparations for the 1960 tsunami 55th
anniversary memorial.
COURTESY PHOTO
SEE
TSUNAMI
PAGE 6A
