Battleship rite recalls formal end of WWII
The Battleship Missouri Memorial marked the 67th anniversary of the end of World War II with a ceremony Sunday at Pearl Harbor.
The ceremony was held on the deck of the decommissioned battleship on the anniversary of the day Japanese officials came aboard to formally surrender.
The USS Missouri was anchored in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945, when Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Army Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu boarded and signed the documents.
Several Allied leaders, including Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Adm. Chester Nimitz, were present at the time.
The vessel is now a museum called the Battleship Missouri Memorial. It’s been moored in Pearl Harbor for the past decade, overlooking the spot where the USS Arizona sank during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
7 Iao Valley hikers rescued
Maui crews rescued seven hikers stranded on a ridge in Iao Valley Sunday morning, county officials said.
The men, ranging from 26 to 69 years old, called for help just after 4 a.m., a Fire Department spokesman said.
The hikers told rescue crews that a 69-year-old member of the group complained of possible leg and rib injuries.
Rain, strong winds and heavy cloud cover delayed helicopter rescue operations until about 9:30 a.m.
The Fire Department helicopter airlifted the men off the ridge at an elevation of about 2,000 feet and brought them to the Iao Valley parking lot by 11:30 a.m.
None of the men required medical attention.
Robber is fined and sent to jail
A Kailua-Kona man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail and probation for two robberies in January.
West Hawaii Today reports that James Kekai Hao, 22, was sentenced last week by Circuit Judge Elizabeth Strance to five years’ probation with a condition he serve 18 months in jail.
Hao, who pleaded guilty June 27 to six felony offenses, must also pay fines and fees totaling $1,280 and restitution of $1,080 to the victims, and write apology letters.
He was immediately jailed at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in Hilo.
On Jan. 5, a 63-year-old Kailua-Kona woman reported to police that a man entered the Double Dare store and confronted her with scissors before he took an undisclosed amount of money from the register. On Jan. 12, a 34-year-old cashier at the Keauhou Store reported a man had entered the store and forcibly removed an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. She suffered minor injuries.
