Congressional Gold Medal (Week 12: March 17-23)

Since I am the archivist in charge of the Japanese American Veterans Collection at the University of Hawaii, I felt it was my duty to attend the opening ceremony and a few of the panel discussions at Bishop Museum for their new exhibit of the Congressional Gold Medal, given to the Americans of Japanese Ancestry who fought during World War II. The medal, made of pure gold, will be here in Honolulu for a few months and then continue on to its next location as it's a traveling exhibit.

Front of the Gold Medal

Back of the Gold Medal

The military medals of Hawaii's Congressman, Senator Daniel Inouye, who recently passed away.

Medal of Honor given to Former Senator Daniel Inouye who had his hand shot off while in combat.

My friend, and a donor to the Japanese American Veterans Collection, Ted Tsukiyama (on the left) with two other Varsity Victory Volunteer members.

Rain and Waterfalls (Week 11: March 10-16)

The other day we were on the Windward side, which typically gets more rain than Honolulu. As we were driving home, we saw that the rain had caused some small waterfalls along the Koolau mountains. We drove up into the neighborhood, getting as close to the mountains as possible to get a better picture (we just had our iPhones with us but not a good camera that zooms well). I've seen these waterfalls much fuller, but this is what we got.

Bugs at Bishop Museum (Week 10: March 3-9)

Yesterday, Romney and I went to Bishop Museum to attend the opening ceremony of the new exhibit for the Congressional Gold Medal given to the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Military Intelligence Service. The museum's other exhibit is about bugs. Admittance to the museum is free for the next few Saturdays if you are Kamaaina.

Click to see larger image.

Golden Bumble Bee (Week 9: February 24-March 2)

Romney and I were leaving our apartment for work in the morning and found this guy hanging around on our steps. Usually they are huge black bumble bees so this was the first time we'd seen a golden-colored one.