32nd Anniversary—The Night I will never forget!

I remember many incidents where I came close to death, but never like the night of

January 6, 1978.  At age 4 and 6, I almost drowned;  at age 8, I fell from a mango tree onto a two-

story garage, rolled down to a chicken coop, then fell onto the sidewalk;  in 1963, I almost got

shot in the head while hunting;  in 1964, while going to school, we rear ended a school bus; in

1967, the Navy helicopter I was in crashed in the South China Sea, Vietnam.

On Friday, January 6, 1978, driving down Mt. Haleakala, after putting in a day's work at the

Hawaiian Telephone Microwave Relay Station, I could see the rough north shore waves.  Nothing

unusual for this time of the year, 15 to 25 foot waves, normal.

That evening, I received a call from Albert Soon an experience fisherman.  He asked if I could go

akule bottom fishing and trolling with him that night because his regular fishing partner went to

the Hula Bowl. I told him the water looked pretty rough, but he mentioned checking with the

weather service and it was okay.  I agreed to go, not feeling comfortable about it.

My brothers Paul and Vince ( Vincent visiting from CA) came over to see if I would go out

drinking with them. Told them sorry, had to go fishing.  As they were leaving, I jokingly told them

not to get too drunk, in the event they needed to look for me.  We laughed about it but I later

learned it created an air of uneasiness for Paul.

I met Albert at his house in Wailuku (10:00 p.m.).  I parked my car on the side of the road, and for

some reason, I left my wallet in the glove compartment, not wanting my wallet to get wet.  We

towed Albert's 18-foot homemade boat, with his Jeep, down to Kahului Harbor.

Launching the boat was difficult because of the rough surges, but we finally got it sailing. Read

the news article for the story.  I credit my Navy water survival training and that good physical

condition I had in those days. I ran six to nine miles daily, played tennis, and practiced Karate in

surviving the seven-and-one-half hour ordeal.  If it wasn't for the Japan Maru finding me in the

morning, who knows! We weren't expected back until Saturday evening.

While at the Harbor Security Office, I called 911,  my wife Fay (three months pregnant), and

Albert's wife Mary. My son Chris  (6) didn't want to leave his cartoon shows to pickup daddy.

I was 32 years old, 32 years ago. I was chosen from the Man above, to witness Albert's departure.

I believe it was destiny, as no matter how much I tried convincing him that the weather condition

wasn't good, his mind was set.  Later, Albert was declared dead on the night of Jan. 6 due to

my statements in court.  The family didn't have to wait for six years (statute of limitation) to

finalize necessary legal matters..

Albert Soon's Tennis Tournament  Nov. 1977

Mens Final: Howard (Champ)-Albert-Stan Nagamatsu (Runner-up)