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The Ihe Award

In ancient Hawai’i, a warrior in service to the Chief kept himself in readiness to meet every challenge.  Perfect physical condition and mental alertness were essential to his quick response to meet any demand.  One symbol of this readiness was the spear, or Ihe, which was always at the warrior’s side.

Each year the Hawai’i Army Museum Society (HAMS) recognizes a member of our community for their contributions to both the military and civilian communities as well as their dedicated service to the people of Hawai’i.  Our Ihe Award was commissioned with these concepts in mind.  A warrior within our community always ready and quick to respond to the needs of both the military, civilian and local people of Hawai’i.

The design of the award characterizes and embodies the spear essential to a warrior’s readiness.   The award is constructed of koa wood and is supported by a block of ‘ohi’a wood, both unique to Hawai’i. They are strong and solid, and appropriate for the recognition of Hawai’i’s warriors, also known as koa. The base is of specially selected rock to indicate the solid foundation of the ever-ready warrior.  The artist Umi Kai enhanced the concept of preparedness by adding the essence of the ‘o’o, the ancient tool utilized by farmers, symbolizing the care and nurturing of the ‘aina, the land and its people.

Throughout the years we’ve honored a number of warriors and are happy to provide this video library of our more recent recipients.  We hope you will enjoy and choose to participate in November when we celebrate our next Ihe Award recipient.

Previous Recipients

1998 Hawai’i National Guard

1999 Reserve Forces of the Pacific

2000 Dr. Richard Kelley, Outrigger Hotels

2001 Peter Schall, Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel

2002 William W. Paty, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, Pacific Region

2003 GEN Fred C. Weyand, USA, Retired, Former Chief of Staff of the Army

2004 Governor Linda L. Lingle, Governor, State of Hawaii

2005 Michael J. Fisch, President & Publisher, Honolulu Advertiser

2006 MG Herbert E. Wolff, USA, Retired, President Emeritus, HAMS

2007 Christina Kemmer, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, Hawaii

2008 COL David M. Peters, USA, Retired

2009 Dr. Lawrence K.W. Tseu, DDS, FADG

2010 Linda Coble & Kirk Matthews

2011 Mildred M. Courtney, Vice President, Outrigger Enterprises

2012 Karl S. Kiyokawa, VP of Hawaii Operations, TriWest Healthcare Alliance

2013 Alan S. Hayashi, Dir. of Public Relations & Policy Advocacy BAE, Hawaii

2014 The Military Affairs Council (MAC) of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

2015 Senator Daniel K. Akaka

2016 Carole Kai Onouye, Carole Kai Charities, Inc., Great Aloha Run

2017 Allan K. Hoe

2018 MG Robert G. F. Lee

2019 John Henry Felix, PhD