Howard S. and Yukiko Okada Endowed Student Support Fund at UH Manoa Army ROTC
| History: |
REASON FOR THE GIFT
Mr. Howard S. Okada was first and foremost a consummate Army professional. Throughout his military career he demonstrated excellence as an administrative and protocol officer with exceptional organizational and Japanese language skills. To honor her father, his love for the Army, the mission and his wife, her mother, and the veterans, Marian J. Okada has established this endowment to provide scholarship support to students enrolled in the Army ROTC program at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Ideally the successful cadet(s) will have an interest in Far East Asian languages and culture with the desire to contribute to promoting friendly bilateral relations and seek to make the Army their career.
ABOUT THE HONOREE
Howard S. Okada Chief Warrant Officer (W-4), U.S. Army Retired, was born on December 17th, 1928 at Watsonville, California.
Following the outbreak of World War II, in October 1942 the Okada family was incarcerated at Jerome Relocation Center until June 1944. In December 1945, the Okada family finally returned to their home in Fresno, California. After graduating from high school, Mr. Okada was drafted into the United States Army at the onset of the Korean War. Following his tour with the 25th Infantry Division in Korea, Mr. Okada served in Japan and the United States. He served in various infantry and medical units in Tokyo, Sendai, and Osaka, Japan. During an assignment in Tokyo, Japan, he met and married Yukiko Hamada. Yukiko accompanied him on tour assignments that ranged from Japan to the U.S., Germany, and Thailand, following the long tradition of supportive military spouses. While in Korea, Mr. Okada’s exceptional administrative skills set the stage for his subsequent military career as an administrative assistant and protocol officer to several general officers.
In September 1960, Mr. Okada was ordered to active duty due to the Berlin Crisis. He initially served at Fort Lewis, Washington as a Personnel Officer followed by a 3 year tour in the Federal Republic of Germany. From 1966 to 1967, Mr. Okada served as a Personnel Officer at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. In August 1967, he transferred to the Republic of Vietnam where he served as an Administrative Assistant to senior general officers until March 1969. From March 1969 to August 1970, he served as Personnel Officer in Bangkok, Thailand. He returned to the Republic of Vietnam in August 1970 to serve a second tour until March 1973 as Administrative Assistant to the Deputy and later Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam in Saigon. With the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement, Mr. Okada left the Republic of Vietnam in March 1973 for a short assignment as Administrative Assistant to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, Hawai‘i.
In Washington, D.C. from August 1973 to July 1974, he served as Administrative Assistant to the Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. In July 1974, he returned to Fort Shafter, Hawai‘i to serve as an Administrative Assistant to successive Commanding Generals of the U.S. Army Pacific. In June 1979 Mr. Okada was reassigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Japan where he served as an Administrative Assistant to successive Commanding Generals, U.S. Army Japan. After serving more than 30 years, he retired from Active military service in August 1985.
Continuing to serve in the U.S. Army in a civilian capacity, he served from August 1985 to December 1991 as Chief of Protocol, Headquarters, U.S. Army Japan. In December 1991, Mr. Okada returned to Hawai‘i to serve as Deputy Chief of Protocol, U.S. Army Pacific until March 1995. Post retirement he served concurrently as administrative assistant to General Fred C. Weyand, U.S. Army, Retired, a Trustee of the Damon Estate, and as Executive Director, Hawai‘i Army Museum Society.
Mr. Okada is survived by Marian J. Okada, his daughter, a Federal Employee who retired after serving as a Japanese linguist with the United States Army in Japan and resides in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
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| Description: |
The purpose of this Fund is to provide scholarship support to students enrolled in an Army ROTC program while pursuing a degree at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (“UH Manoa”). Funds shall be used for costs associated with attendance (e.g. tuition, books, fees, etc.). Funds may also be used to provide awards to deserving contracted cadets in an Army ROTC program at UH Manoa who have demonstrated outstanding achievement. |
| Level: |
N/A |
| High School: |
Preference to graduate of a high school in the State of Hawai'i. |
| Residency: |
N/A |
| GPA: |
Academic merit as determined by the Army ROTC committee. |
| Enrollment Status: |
N/A |
| Contact Person: |
Student Services |
| Contact Department: |
Military Science |
| Contact Address: |
1311 Lower Campus Road
Honolulu, HI 96822 |
| Contact Website: |
http://www.hawaii.edu/armyrotc/index.html |
| Contact Phone: |
(808) 956-7766 |
| Contact Email: |
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| Application Info: |
http://www.hawaii.edu/armyrotc/index.html |
| Press Release: |
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