For a Holualoa mother, her 11-year-old son’s final act overshadowed all the other reasons he made her proud.
"He never ceased to amaze me," Adrenne Matsuyama told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser by phone Friday afternoon.
"From Day 1 everything he did, he made me proud. Up until he died he made me proud.
"He didn’t come out of the fire because he tried to save his little brother," she said, her voice breaking. "He died a hero."
The fatal early morning fire Thursday took the lives of 11-year-old Dexen and 6-year-old Kaeden Matsuyama at their Holualoa home on Old Mamalahoa Highway.
After sharing those thoughts, Matsuyama was unable to continue the interview as the tragedy of the day before was too fresh, too painful.
The family had a blessing for the boys late Friday afternoon before their remains were cremated.
Firefighters arrived at the scene of the house fire 13 minutes after the initial alarm at 1:57 a.m.
The Matsuyamas told firefighters the two boys were still inside the house.
Police said after the fire broke out, Matsuyama and her husband, Dexter, scrambled get the children out through the windows of their burning home.
They managed to get their two daughters, ages 3 and 16, out safely, but flames quickly engulfed the house, police said. Then the roof and walls began collapsing, and firefighters could not enter the burning home, fire officials said.
As soon as they could make entry, firefighters found the children.
Their bodies were discovered in a bedroom, police said.
The brothers were students at nearby Holualoa Elementary School.
The boys’ aunt Rebecca Kauwe said in a written message: "The boys were full of life. They loved life, family and God.
"Their smiles and generous hearts will be deeply missed," she said. "We will treasure and hold their memories always and forever, and look forward to being with them again in heaven."
The base yard of the family-owned Matsuyama Brothers Trucking, founded by Dexter Matsuyama’s father, Dwight, was the scene Thursday of an outpouring of generosity by family, friends and the Kona coast community, including many in the trucking and construction industry.
Hundreds came to offer their condolences to the family, bringing food, clothing and generous donations to the family.
