Marketers have promoted Hawaii’s natural beauty and culture for decades: erupting volcanoes, rainbows, luau, surfing, tradewinds, music, hula, aloha shirts and li’dat.

Boiled down, I think we are seen as the “hang loose capital of the world.” It’s probably true. But we are so much more than that. Writing this column, I have found well over 100 instances of Hawaii’s oversize impact on the world.

Iolani Palace had electric lighting before the White House. In 1840 we were the most literate nation in the world. Hawaii had schools before any state west of the Mississippi.

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team became the most highly decorated regiment in the history of the United States armed forces. Cryptanalysts at Pearl Harbor deciphered the Japanese code and used it to win the pivotal Battle of Midway six months into World War II.

Recently, I found two more items to add to Hawaii’s scorecard. The first is that the field of biotechnology and genetic engineering was born in Hawaii.

The second is about a local man whose bravery during the Korean War was turned into a Hollywood movie starring Gregory Peck.

Shalom

In November 1972, Stan Cohen, Herb Boyer, Stanley Falkow and Charles and Ginger Brinton were attending a conference in Hawaii on molecular biology.

They found themselves walking down Kalakaua Avenue one evening, looking for a bite to eat. They came across a delicatessen with a sign in the window that read “Shalom” (Hebrew for “aloha”).

Over corned beef sandwiches, Cohen and Boyer planned experiments that would lead to the development of recombinant DNA.

Their experiments were successful, and the following year they were named as co-inventors of a precedent-setting patent that would shape the field of biotechnology.

As gene editing, cloning and biotechnology grew in importance, the location of its birth became significant, Luis A. Campos wrote in “DNA and deli sandwiches” (Science magazine, November 2024).

“Over the years, many came looking for the legendary delicatessen where genetic engineering was born. But by then, The Deli had been knocked down and a shopping mall was in its place.

“They’ve obliterated a piece of history and they don’t even know it,” Cetus Corp. President Ronald Cape said. “There’s not even a plaque on the sidewalk.”

University of California, San Francisco, Chancellor J. Michael Bishop said in 1988 that he had searched for it in vain. “How is it that a place so distinctive could be lost in the sands of time?”

The Deli

In 1988, Honolulu Advertiser journalist Bob Krauss went looking for that humble deli. No one seemed to know about it.

“The theory of evolution was born on an island in the Pacific,” Krauss wrote. “The theory of heredity was born in a pea patch in Czechoslovakia. The theory of relativity was born in a physics lab in Germany.

“So, it seems only fitting that the most recent revolution in science, artificial reproduction of a human gene component, was born in a kosher delicatessen in Waikiki.”

Buck Buchwach, editor in chief of the Advertiser, began hunting with Krauss. In the 1974 Oahu phone book, they found a listing: “The Deli. Kosher Style Pastrami — Corned Beef, Lox & Bagels.” It was located at 2232 Kalakaua Ave.

Krauss said, “We have found the home of the cutting edge of modern science. The least we can do is put up a Hawaii Visitors Bureau sign.”

Chinese-owned

He should have talked to amateur historian Linda Louie. She and her father had a business on the corner of Royal Hawaiian and Kalakaua avenues: Waikiki A-1 Liquors & Superette (2228 Kalakaua Ave.). The Deli was their next-door neighbor and tenant.

Today the Waikiki Shopping Plaza is on that corner. Victoria’s Secret occupies The Deli’s location.

Kenneth and Vera Choy owned The Deli, Linda said. Kenneth noticed there were no kosher restaurants in Honolulu and decided to open one.

“When I lived on the mainland, I just loved kosher food. When I got back to Hono­lulu, I searched everywhere, but the only thing kosher on this island was a disk jockey named Hal ‘Aku’ Lewis,” he joked, “so, I had to open up my own delicatessen.”

Their first Kosher Style Deli was at Ala Moana Center in the early 1960s. This is not the same as Lyn’s Deli, which opened in 1970.

In 1964 the Choys moved it to Kalakaua Avenue as The Deli. Hot pastrami or corned beef sandwiches were 95 cents. Lox and bagels were $1.30.

The Deli relocated to Heeia Kea Pier when the rents in Waikiki became too high, around 1980. It changed hands several times and is now part of the He‘eia Pier General Store & Deli.

A $1.5 trillion industry

Physicist Freeman Dyson said the field of genetic engineering and biotechnology has had a greater impact on civilization than the industrial revolution.

“Thousands of products have been developed on the basis of their work, including human growth hormone, the hepatitis B vaccine and synthetic insulin,” said immunologist Hugh McDevitt.

“Cohen’s DNA cloning technology has helped biologists in virtually every field. Without it, the face of biomedicine and biotechnology would look totally different.”

Today, companies in this field, such as Herbert Boyer’s Genentech, have annual sales of nearly $1.5 trillion.

Pork Chop Hill

Our second story today is about the heroism of a Kauai man during the Korean War. His name was Tsugio “Eddie” Ohashi. He was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army at the time.

“It was April of 1953,” Ohashi said, “and a bitter winter, especially for an island boy used to balmy breezes.

“Our company was ordered to take Pork Chop Hill, so-named because of its shape. The communists had overrun it, giving them an advantage at the Panmunjom peace talks. We were ordered to regain the hill. Our battalion was already down to half-strength.

“Lt. Joe Clemons led the first and second platoon up the hill, and immediately was pinned down under a barrage of gunfire. They were trapped.

“We lost radio contact with them, and our battalion commander asked me to go up there to find out what was going on. On the way up, I saw where the Chinese fire was coming from, and suggested a way to take the hill by attacking their flank.”

Longest battle of the Korean War

“Clemons was our company commander (played by Peck in the movie). He agreed and we worked out a plan.

“I took our last platoon around the others and attacked the flank,” Ohashi recalled. “We pinned down the Chinese, and Lt. Clemons was able to move up. Then we attacked together.

“We had started out with about 120 men. We had to take the last few feet with bayonets. We drove the commies off the high ground and when we got to the top, there were only 16 of us left.

“We were shelled by continuous mortar and artillery fire for nine hours. Much of the fighting was at close quarters.”

Ohashi made it to the top of the hill without a scratch. It wasn’t until reinforcements arrived that his luck ran out. A grenade exploded nearby, sending shrapnel through his shoulder and upper arm. A flak jacket he was wearing saved his life.

Peace talks brought an end to the hostilities three weeks after the Battle of Pork Chop Hill in July 1953. It was the longest battle of the Korean War.

Ohashi returned to Hawaii. His wife, May Kawakami, was also from Kauai. They had four children, and he became a middle school principal on Oahu.

In 1958, United Artists made a movie about the battle of Pork Chop Hill. Ohashi’s wife and friends said he never told them about it. “He’s so modest. He never wants to talk about himself.”

“I felt it was just a part of my job,” Ohashi said, “and I tried to do the best I could. Even my buddies who tell me their war stories don’t know. I’d rather listen to their tales because I find them more interesting.”

Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com or sign up for his free email newsletter at RearviewMirrorInsider.com.