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Kalaeloa, Hawai‘i – Soldiers, Airman, DoD civilians and family members of the Hawaiʻi National Guard (HING) attended the combined cultural, spousal appreciation and family day celebration in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Month, at the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s assembly hall on May 25.
May marked the beginning of AAPI Heritage Month; Thirty-one days dedicated to celebrating and honoring Asian Americans and Pacific Islands heritage; their cultures, history and accomplishments.
The celebration began with a traditional Chinese Lion dance performed by the Hawaiʻi Lion Dance Association, followed Filipino Folk dance performed by Tekniqilingz, and a martial arts demonstration performed by the Hawaiʻi Defense Academy.
Cadets from HawaiʻiYouth Challenge Academy, Kalaeloa campus, treated the audience to three traditional performances of Samoan, Hawaiian and Tahitian dances, which held the crowd in awe!
“The performances were outstanding, and the Youth Challenge team was fantastic,” said Staff Sgt. Angie Sunio, Instructor of 2nd Battalion, 298th Regiment, Multi-functional Training Regiment HIARNG. “Loved it! Wish we did something quarterly, but annually works.”
Retired Brig. Gen. Bruce Oliveira, director Civilian-Military programs, said that the Hawaiʻi Youth Challenge Academy saw AAPI Heritage Month as an opportunity to share their diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander identities through unique dances and songs that represent our cultures.
“Our cadets were honored to join the celebration in recognition of the cultural contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders in our community and across the country,” said Oliveira.
Sunio said this celebration was a great opportunity to see friends and co-workers and learn about other cultures through friendship and camaraderie, while building rapport.
The Yellow Ribbon and Family programs presented HING spouses Mrs. Malia Soares-Gualdarama, Mrs. Desiree Ching, Mrs. Leticia Kukona, Mrs. Nicole Fuertes, Mrs. Jessica Nagatani and Sharon Ganir, with certificates of appreciation signed by Brig. Gen. Stephen Logan, Deputy Adjutant General, gift bags from Aloha Pacific Credit Union, gift cards, HING swag and earrings from Chloe clay shoppe.
Sgt. 1st Class Celeste Lewi, Yellow Ribbon Coordinator, said it is extremely important to recognize military spouses, because they are the backbone of the family.
“When service members are activated or deployed, spouses are left to handle things on the home front,” said Lewi. “We are so thankful for our military spouses who are resilient and go above and beyond for our organization.”
Lewi said the families’ well-being, for better or worse, affects military member’s well-being, which could divert their attention from the mission.
Service members and their families enjoyed the different cultural display booths and mouthwatering food samples and desserts from the varies AAPI countries being highlighted.
The 111th HIARNG Band’s “Na Koa” ensemble, played music throughout the event. Master of Ceremony, “JP” Paraoan, grabbed his acoustic guitar and joined the band on stage, where he belted-out requests to the enjoyment of the crowd.
“I really appreciated the photos that were displayed in the front entrance, especially Captain Kuhinapuitetamalai Naki and Captain Shao Yu Lin Leeʻs photos, where it shows their culture and how they look in uniform,” said Sgt. 1st Class Charifel Mateo, 111th HIARNG Band. “It was nice to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month.”
Deborah Gier, State Equal Employment Manager for the HING, said the purpose of the event was to educate the force on the many different cultures within the organization and throughout the communities we serve and recruit from.
“The month of May, being AAPI Heritage Month, this is the best representation of the Hawaiʻi National Guard,” said Gier. “We wanted to do our best to represent every Asian and Pacific Islander ethnicity instead of grouping them all together.”
AAPI heritage month originated in 1977 by former congressional staffer Jeanie Jew, who proposed the concept of establishing an entire month to honor Asian and Pacific Americans.
She initially spoke with Rep. Frank Horton about the proposal. A proposal to declare the first 10 days of May as Asian Pacific Heritage Week and was submitted in the U.S. House of Representatives by Horton and Rep. Norman Mineta in June 1977. A month later, former senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga both from Hawaiʻi, proposed a comparable bill in the Senate.
On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter approved a joint resolution recognizing the occasion. In 1990, President H.W. Bush signed a bill passed by Congress to extend AAPI Heritage Week to a month.
On May 14, 1991, a public law was passed unanimously by congress and then signed by Bush, proclaiming May as Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month. In 1992 it was officially designated as AAPI Heritage Month.
The HING’s first annual cultural and spouse appreciation day, a part of the AAPI Heritage month observance, ended with the announcement of best cultural display booth, which was awarded to the HIARNG medical detachment for their “all-out assault on the senses” display of the Chinese culture.
Mateo said being able to celebrate the diversity of the HING was a welcome change from the daily grind and she wish it was over a weekend, so more traditional Soldiers and Airmen could’ve attended this amazing event.
| Date Taken: | 05.25.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2023 20:00 |
| Story ID: | 447331 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, HING Celebrates Diversity during AAPI Month, by Bernhard Lashleyleidner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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