For many years, U.S. Rep. Ed Case has been a staunch advocate for veterans. He speaks with his friend and constituent Allen Hoe about Allen's experiences as a combat medical officer in the Army. Originally, Hoe began his service in Hawaiʻi. He requested and received a transfer to Vietnam.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Allen Hoe: It began to weigh on me that here I was (in Hawaiʻi), trained as a combat medic but unable to fulfill my training obligations, so I volunteered to go to Vietnam. I thought that my time would be best served as a soldier in combat. I wound up with the infantry brigade in the northern sector of Vietnam called “Eye Corps“ (I-Corps) where I served with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. Being a young kid from Hawaiʻi, being familiar with and accepting my role and my contributions to my society as a soldier — it meant being in combat.
Ed Case: When you went into the Army, I was 14 years old on Hawaiʻi Island. Vietnam was a long way away. There was no connection to my everyday life until one day, the brother of one of my classmates died in Vietnam. I guess my question is, has your life really been that defined by your Vietnam experience? Did that really demarcate the boundaries of your life? Does the experience make you feel different in some way?
AH: For me, my service in combat in Vietnam is probably the singular event or experience I had that put me on the path to where I am today. I've tried to live my life in accordance with all of the important things that I was raised with. But one of the things that has totally affected my life was my experience in combat, especially with the young men whom I served with in combat — those of us who survived and those who did not. Over the years I have maintained that connection with the men that survived and I have also established and made very deep connections with the families of the young men who did not come home.
Allen’s two sons followed him into military service. Nakoa, a staff sergeant, served for more than 20 years. His other son, Nainoa, died in combat in the Iraq War.
AH: The most tragic or difficult emotion that I had to go through was the day we learned that Nainoa had been killed in combat. For me, it was like, whoa, that was a shocking reality that I never anticipated — that his luck would run out. Over the years, it has become dramatically more clear to me that surviving combat is truly a matter of pure luck. You can be the most highly skilled, the most highly trained and have all the resources behind you, but if “Lady Luck” is not on your side, then that's going to be a consequence of war.
The full interview will be preserved in the Library of Congress. Access the full interview between Allen and Ed at the StoryCorps Archive.
In June 2022, HPR teamed up with StoryCorps to gather audio conversations from Hawai‘i residents about their military experiences. The Military Voices Initiative provides a platform for veterans, service members, and military families to share their stories. In doing so, we honor their voices, amplify their experiences, and let them know that we — as a nation — are listening. These interviews were facilitated by Hazel Diaz, Isabella Gonzalez, Cole Johnston and Franchesca Peña.
The audio segments were produced for Morning Edition and All Things Considered by John Kalani Zak. He shares his perspective on working with the Military Voices Initiative segments in his producer's notes. HPR and StoryCorps encourage our community to tell their own stories using the StoryCorps app. Learn more at StoryCorps.org.
Local support for this series comes from Hawai‘i Pacific University.
