Japanese Cultural Center to get Onizuka memorabilia

History knows Hawaii’s first astronaut, Ellison Onizuka, as one of seven crew members killed in the space shuttle Challenger disaster, but those who personally knew him say he is best remembered for the way he lived.

Onizuka was just 39 when he died on Jan. 28, 1986, but the opening Saturday of the Onizuka Remembrance Collection at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i ensures his inspirational story will live on for generations to come. The collection continues Onizuka’s greatest mission — the desire to inspire others to reach for their dreams, too.

“He touched so many people during his short life,” said his younger brother Claude, who spoke Saturday morning during a private center ceremony on what would have been his older brother’s 71st birthday. “This exhibit is all about teaching people, especially the youngsters, what the ancestors did — what people like Ellison did. It’s about encouraging people to set goals and never give up and don’t forget who got you there.”

Onizuka became the first astronaut of Japanese ancestry when NASA selected him as one of 35 astronauts from 8,000 applicants, said Claude Onizuka, chairman of the Onizuka Memorial Committee. Before that, he was just an Eagle Scout from Keopu, Kona. His parents, whose roots went back to Fukuoka, Japan, ran a general store.

Onizuka joined the Air Force in 1970 after receiving his commission through the University of Colorado’s four-year ROTC program. He became the Challenger’s mission specialist, which also was his role on the space shuttle Discovery, where he logged 74 hours in space. He was posthumously promoted to colonel.

NASA astronaut Col. E. Michael Fincke, who spoke at the opening, said he was inspired by Onizuka’s sense of humor, perseverance and ability to bring people together.

Onizuka, who was Fincke’s senior by 21 years, also helped break barriers that made it possible for a broader group of astronaut applicants to qualify.

“I didn’t make astronaut through pilot training. Thanks to the path he paved, I was able to make it as a flight test engineer,” said Fincke, who was on the last flight of the space shuttle Endeavour, built to replace Challenger.

Claude Onizuka said his brother always urged people, especially youth, not to set limits. A line from remarks Ellison Onizuka made to students at his alma mater, Konawaena High School, in 1980 still graces every U.S. passport. It reads, “Every generation has the obligation to free men’s minds for a look at new worlds … to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation.”

Former Gov. George Ariyoshi, who attended the ceremony, said he recalls visiting many schools with Onizuka, who became his personal friend. The two were so close that Onizuka brought a picture of the Ariyoshi family, Hawaii’s first family from 1974 to 1986, aboard the space shuttle Challenger. He also carried Kona coffee and macadamia nuts.

“You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy,” Ariyoshi said. “I think this exhibit will be very important to a lot of people. He was very inspirational.”

The family photo and a monk’s prayer were recovered from the ocean where Onizuka’s effects were floating, Ariyoshi said. NASA had the undamaged photo framed for Ariyoshi, who brought it to the private ceremony to share with guests.

The center’s historical gallery, at 2454 S. Beretania St., will showcase other Onizuka photos and personal memorabilia. The collection is based on the Ellison Onizuka Space Center exhibition, which closed in March 2015 after a 25-year run to make way for expansion at what is now called the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole.

Also on display are a spacesuit from astronaut Fred W. Haise Jr. of Apollo 13, a 9-foot model of the space shuttle Challenger and a moon rock. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Carole Hayashino, the center’s president and executive director, said the historical exhibits attract some 6,000 students and teachers annually.

“It is our hope that the exhibit will inspire all of us to make the world a better place,” Hayashino said.