Heroes of the Korean War: Private First Class Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano

Basic Information

• Name: Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano
• Born: Maui, Hawaii
• Battlefield: Battle of Chup’a-ri
• Date of Death: September 1, 1951
• Medal of Honor Ceremony: May 3, 2011

Private First Class Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano via Army.mil.

Introduction

The Korean War saw people from many countries come to the peninsula and fight and die to protect the Republic of Korea from communist aggression.  Some of those people who came to Korea to fight were Americans from the Hawaiian Islands.  In downtown Honolulu the Hawaii Korean War Memorial can be seen that lists the names of all 456 residents of Hawaii who died fighting in the Korean War.  The memorial is about a 100 feet in length, 6 feet high and made of polished granite and black lava rock.  On each of the rock squares is the name of each Hawaii resident that died during the war.

Early Life

One of the names on these blocks is Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano from the Hawaiian Island of Maui.  Kaho’ohanohano was born in 1930 to a family with 5 other brothers and a sister.  This large family lived in a two bedroom house in the village of Wailuku in Maui.  Anthony graduated in 1949 from St. Anthony High School where he played both football and basketball and was known as the “humble giant”.  After high school he like all of his other 5 brothers joined the military; three of his other brothers joined the active Army, one other brother served in the Marines, and the last brother served in the National Guard.  Anthony initially enlisted in the Hawaii National Guard, but later joined the active Army on February 5, 1951 to fight in the Korean War.

Picture of Kaho’ohanohano as a high school football player via Wikipedia.

Korean War Service

Anthony Kaho’ohanohano was later that year deployed to South Korea where UN forces were battling communist aggression against the Republic of Korea.  By 1951 the war had changed dramatically from what appeared was going to be a rout of the North Korean military by the UN forces after the successful Incheon Landing Operation.  With the North Korean forces largely defeated the Chinese military secretly infiltrated across the Yalu River into North Korea where they launched a massive surprise attack against the UN forces.  The effectiveness of the Chinese surprise attack caused a full scale UN forces retreat back across the 38th parallel into South Korea.  The retreat was only halted in February 1951 when soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division and their attached French Battalion under the command of two Heroes of the Korean War, Colonel Paul Freeman and Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Monclar stopped the Chinese advance at the Battle of Chipyong-ni.

The Chinese would attempt to regain their battle field momentum when they launched the “Chinese Spring Offensive” in April 1951.  However, United Nations units such as the British Gloucestershire Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James P. Carne, the Philippines Expeditionary Force To Korea (PEFTOK) commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Dionisio Ojeda, and the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J.R. Stone were able to stop the Chinese advance.  After the failed “Chinese Spring Offensive” the Korean War had largely turned into a stalemate near the 38th parallel where the opposing Army’s battled over hilltops that gave each side increased leverage during the Armistice Negotiations that had begun July 10, 1951 at Kaesong.

This is the war that Private First Class Anthony Kaho’ohanohano found himself entering in 1951when he was assigned to Company H, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.  In August, 1951 the 7th Infantry Division was deployed along the frontlines in the area north of Hwacheon which is an extremely mountainous region in the central area of the Korean peninsula.

This mountainous area made the control of high points extremely important in order to call for indirect fire and to better control the few roads in the area.  The 7th Infantry Division launched an operation on August 26, 1951 that would come to be known as the Battle of Chup’a-ri.  The small village  of Chup’a-ri was located in one of the main valleys in the area and the 7th Infantry was attempting to seize five key hills to the east of the village that would allow them to better control the valley and the  road that ran through it.  Additionally the control of these hills would put the UN forces in a better position tactically to reclaim the Kumsong River located two miles north of Chup’a-ri.

Map of the Chupa-ri area via the Korean War Project.

The 17th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Division that PFC Kaho’ohanohano was assigned to was tasked to secure three of these hills.  On August 26th the regiment began combat operations to secure Hill 461 that overlooked the valley and its access road, Hill 682 that was a mile to the east of 461, and Hill 851, which was one more mile east of 682.  For the next five days the regiment battled the Chinese 81st Division for control of these hills.  PFC Kaho’ohanohano’s company was part of the 2nd Battalion which was tasked to assault Hill 682.  By this point in the war, Anthony had found himself as the leader of a machine gun squad within his company.  On August 31, the unit was able to secure the hill, but the Chinese launched a massive counterattack against the 2nd battalion.  The fighting was ferocious with the Chinese blowing whistles to signal the next human wave attack against the American positions.  The overwhelming Chinese attacks eventually caused the 2nd Battalion soldiers to begin to withdraw off of Hill 682 the next day.

3D view of Hill 682 via the Korean War Project.

During the initial Chinese assault Kaho’ohanohano was wounded in the shoulder, but continued to fight on.  When his company began their withdrawal PFC Kaho’ohanohano ordered his squad to take up better positions lower down the hill while he provided covering fire for them.  Kaho’ohanohano gathered a satchel of grenades and extra ammunition to use against the on coming enemy.  His last words were reported to be “I’ve got your back” as he headed back to a position to hold off the Chinese attack.  The extra ammunition would not be enough though as Anthony eventually ran out of ammo and had to turn to his entrenching tool to fight off the enemy until he was killed.  He had fired so many rounds from his rifle that it had actually melted and was found bent.  Seeing his final stand against the Chinese, Kaho’ohanohano’s comrades charged back up the hill and defeated the Chinese onslaught.  When his unit re-secured the hill they found 11 dead Chinese bodies around Kaho’ohanohano’s position and two more found dead inside his position apparently killed by blunt force trauma to the head from Kaho’ohanohano’s entrenching tool.

By September 4th, the 7th Infantry Division had captured all 5 hills in the vicinity of Chup’a-ri, but PFC Kaho’ohanohano was far from being the only person killed during the battle.  In just his unit 17 other soldiers died defending Hill 682.  In total the 7th Infantry Division lost 175 soldiers with 594 more wounded in the Battle of Chup’a-ri.  What did the lives of all the soldiers gain the UN forces?  Well if you look at a map of South Korea it ultimately helped the UN forces consolidate about 10 square miles worth of territory.  Think how many more lives the Chinese lost trying to defend that territory?  Life was definitely cheap back then.

Kaho’ohanohano for his actions received the Army’s second highest decoration for combat, the Distinguished Service Cross in 1952.  However, his family believed that he deserved the nation’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Battle of Chup’a-ri.  Considering that another soldier in his battalion Corporal William F. Lyell was awarded the Medal of Honor for doing nearly the same thing as Kaho’ohanohano did during the battle, it would seem his family had a strong case.  However, it would take 60 years before the Kaho’ohanohano family would see Anthony be recognized with the Medal of Honor.  US Senator from Hawaii Daniel Akaka requested in 2004 that the Pentagon review Kaho’ohanohano Distinguished Service Cross documentation to see if it should be upgraded to a Medal of Honor.  Senator Akaka has long been an advocate for veterans from  Hawaii.  In 2000, he was able to get 22 veterans of Asian and Pacific ancestry to include 20 of them from the famed 442 Regimental Combat Team the Medal of Honor for combat actions during World War II.  Many advocates for these veterans believed that these minorities may have been overlooked for the Medal of Honor by commanders that were prejudice against minorities.

President Obama presents George Kaho`ohanohano, the nephew of Army Pfc. Anthony T. Kaho`ohanohano, a posthumous Medal of Honor during a White House ceremony.

The President of the United States Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii himself, must have agreed as he upgraded Kaho’ohanohano’s Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor.  On May 3rd, 2011 at a White House ceremony President Obama presented PFC Kaho’ohanohano’s family with the Medal of Honor.

George Kaho’ohanohano, a retired Maui Police Department captain, also said it was a relief that their hard work had come to fruition. He added that he had a “lump” in his throat when he received the medal from Obama.

“When I looked at the family when I got it from the president, I saw couple of the family members crying; I saw a couple of family members with a broad smile. It was a wide range of what the family was going through,” he said.  [Maui News]

Here is Private First Class Anthony Kaho’ohanohano’s Medal of Honor citation:

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to (Posthumously) to Private First Class Anthony T. Kahoohanohano (ASN: RA-29040479), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with Company H, 2d Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Private First Class Kahoohanohano distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Chup’a-ri, Korea, on 1 September 1951. On that date, Private Kahoohanohano was in charge of a machine-gun squad supporting the defensive positions of Company F when a numerically superior enemy force launched a fierce attack. Because of the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, it was necessary for the friendly troops to execute a limited withdrawal. As the men fell back, he ordered his squad to take up more tenable positions and provide covering fire for the friendly force. Then, although painfully wounded in the shoulder during the initial enemy assault, he gathered a supply of grenades and ammunition and returned to his original position to face the enemy alone. As the hostile troops concentrated their strength against his emplacement in an effort to overrun it, Private Kahoohanohano fought fiercely and courageously, delivering deadly accurate fire into the ranks of the onrushing enemy. When his ammunition was depleted, he engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat until he was killed. His heroic stand so inspired his comrades that they launched a counterattack that completely repulse the enemy. Coming upon Private Kahoohanohano’s position, the friendly troops found eleven enemy soldiers lying dead before it and two in the emplacement itself, beaten to death with an entrenching shovel.

Pfc. Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano [KA ho OH hano hano]
– Killed in Action Sept. 1, 1951 in Chupa-ri, Korea
– Age: 21 years, 2 months
– Unit: Company H, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division
– Years of Service: 3 years, 3 months, prior service with Hawaii National Guard. Enlisted with the U.S. Army Feb. 5, 1951
– Awards: Purple Heart (posthumously), Army Good Conduct Medal (posthumously), National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with one Bronze Service Star, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korean-Korean War Service Medal, The Republic of Korea’s Wharang Distinguished Military Service Medal with Silver Star (posthumously), Combat Infantryman Badge, Republic of Korea-Presidential Unit Citation

Anthony Kaho’ohanohano’s headstone via Army.mil.

Anthony Kaho’ohanohano is buried at the Makawao Veterans Cemetery on the slopes of Maui’s gigantic volcano called Haleakala.  In February 2012 the US military replaced his headstone to signify that he is a Medal of Honor recipient.  This replacing the headstone was the ultimate closure for Private First Class Kaho’ohanohano’s family who had fought for so long to see that he received the recognition he deserved as a Hero of the Korean War.

Note: You can read more of the ROK Drop featured series Heroes of the Korean War at the below link: