Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 4, 1 April 1988 — Tribute Paid to Samuel Solomon [ARTICLE]

Tribute Paid to Samuel Solomon

Nestled close to the Waianae range on the grounds of Schofield Barracks Army post in Wahiawa is the Samuel K. Solomon Elementary School named for a Hawaiian soldier from Kohala, Hawaii. Solomon was born near the birth plaee of King Kamehameha I, a quiet corner of the world far from the fatal hell of Dau Tring, Vietnam, where he lost his life Nov. 3, 1966.

In her "Tribute to a Fallen Hawaiian," Kupuna Resource Teacher Malia Doo of Solomon Elementary wrote in the Oahu Central District's "Ka Leo O Na Kupuna" newsletter that "the irony of his death in the remote jungle of Vietnam was he didn't have to go; he volunteered to stay with his men." First Sergeant Samuel K. Solomon Jr. is today a living legend. Before going to Vietnam, Sgt. Solomon was with the 8th Infantry Division where his helmet still hands in the orderly room, a silent homage to his memory.

Solomon Elementary School on Veterans' Day, 1969, was dedicated to the Kohala Hawaiian's honor, a rare tribute to an equally and excellent rare human being. A stone monument with a plaque was erected on the school grounds four years later on Nov. 2, 1973. A 1946 graduate of Kohala High School, Sgt. Solomon is the only Hawaiian so honored with a school named after him in the Central District, according to Kupuna Doo. She writes in the newsletter:

"Salute and honor Sgt. Samuel Solomon, a hero. And through him, salute and honor all of Hawaii's Vietnam War dead, all brave, all heroes, all a part of you and me forever. "Rugged, full of raw courage, he was a soldier's man. He was a hell of a man. He was a Hawaiian." Sgt. Solomon earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Kupuna Doo further noted that Sgt. Solomon "was an excellent athlete, devoted church worker, a lover of children" who helped raise funds for a children's orphanage whieh the 27th Infantry Division Wolfhounds adopted. "No one could be more proud to be a Hawaiian and a Hawaiian at heart and loved all over the world than Samuel K. Solomon. Salute and honor a hero and through him salute and honor all of Hawaii's Vietnam War dead — all brave, all heroes, all a part of you and me forever," Kupuna Doo further wrote.

Kupuna Doo has been in her current position for four years after working at the school as a security aide. What made her go into the kupuna program? "I love to sing and dance and work with children," she briefly explained. She sings for Kumu Hula Leialoha Lee and Her Na Lei Ali'i Halau of Wahiawa. Kupuna Doo's husband, Henry, is a crane operator for Hawaiian Western Steel. They are the parents of four children and five grandchildren.