Glenn Nawa'a:
CLASS OF 1964
Roosevelt High SchoolClass of 1964
Honolulu, HI
Glenn's Story
Life
I'm not an "alpha" and maybe that has been a good thing over the decades since graduation day.I've lived,loved,laughed,cried,enjoyed just about everyday and everyplace I have been. I'm in good health, have a fine family,friends,retired w/a 31+yr.career w/U.S. Postal Service,continuing to work to earn more retirement/ soc.sec.credits, look forward to waking up each day, know that I'm going to win the lottery one day and finally "retire" to a beach property somewhere in the islands. All of my kids are not in jail, on welfare or social services;employed,pay taxes,have ethics, and taught me how to use the computer and the internet. Best of all, except for my high schooler, they're not living at home with Mom & Dad, and I'm totally in love with my wife!!
School
That would be "W..... L...." but I doubt that she ever knew it!
Military
My military service began in Japan of all places, 'cause I went there w/my family as a military dependent after graduation from RHS in '64. After about 1 1/2 years of babysitting siblings and odd jobs around the army base my dad was stationed at, I made a big decision (very unusual for me) to enlist then instead of waiting to return to HI and possibly being 'drafted' during the Vietnam era. I thought at least I could have a choice of what kind of job I'd be doing while I served. My basic training was at Ft. ORD, CA. I had a blast for those 8 weeks. It seemed to me like being at boy scout camp, I had so much fun and never did anything like that as a kid growing up in Hono. w/6 sisters! It was my first eye opener to the rest of the country and the difference between people who came from different regions. I did have a good contingent from the islands w/me, but the education I reaped from the rest of the group of haoles, black americans is still w/me today! It was there on the PT field that I first witnessed what prejudice is, not just knowing how to spell the word.I had previous military exposure in that my dad was a career army veteran; I was in ROTC at Roosevelt for 2 years, reaching the rank of corporal. I remember helping my dad prepare his dress uniform and of course I learned to spit polish his boots/shoes! I gained so much self confidence during those 8 weeks, so much different than my first few nights in the induction center, sleeping on the top bunk about 18 inches from the ceiling, w/a shaved head, thinking "what the hell did I get my...Expand for more
self into!" I got to fire rifles, bazooka, machine gun, auto-pistol, fight,throw grenades, crawl thru dirt & mud,go camping(bivouac), 3-mile hikes, mile runs,all the horizontal ladders & pushups you could do,wake up early,drink chocolate milk/eat as much as you wanted,learn to march and parade! I had no idea so many people didn't know left from right! I was amazed to find myself grouped in the top 1/3 of my company,and now "trained to kill!" My 2nd 8 weeks was at USAADS, Ft.Bliss, TX where I studied and trained to be a HAWK missile systems technician/crew member. Still continuing all the military regimen, I also learned electronic testing & diagnostics,hydraulics,how to drive a variety of vehicles pertinent to the deployment of a mobile missile battery,and of course,maintain proficiency in shooting skill, and now got to "shoot" a missile(unarmed)!! I visited El Paso & Juarez many times, and met many pretty senioritas at the downtown plaza. My first assignment was an 18 month 'overseas' tour in Panama, Canal Zone at Ft.Amador on the west(Pacific)side. It wasn't too long after the riots that occured in the U.S. zone in the city of Balboa,C.Z. I saw bullet holes still in some of the buildings on my visits into town from my duty station on a small island about 3 miles away, connected to the mainland by man-made, two lane causeway. I bought my 1st motorcycle there, a Honda 305cc "Dream." That machine took me all over the place! How it got me home one night with bent handlebar, broken mirror&taillight, footshift stuck in first gear, or that I didn't wind up in the ocean is still a mystery to me. I made good friends while there, ate iguana(or claimed to be), attended military jungle school w/honors, attained the rank of E-5, reminisced about Hawai'i(really humid). I left there and returned to Ft.Bliss, TX to finish out my enlistment in Nov. '69, assigned as cadre w/the air defense school. I bought my 1st car, a '66 Ford Fairlane 500,V-8 289c.i., 2-dr, champagne gold in color. Why I ever drove it across the border into Juarez is chalked up to 'youthful exuberance'.There were "police" on that side, after all. And I'd swear that car had a homing device on board to get me to Anthony, N.M. and back to the barracks! Ah, yes, I'll always remember "L.J". Kept that car for the next 17 years through moves to CA and AZ. It is my favorite of all the cars I've owned. Left the army for new life in CA.
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