Mayoral Candidates

[james weatherford]

H.O.P.E.
The point is, the statement "during the Vietnam War" seems to try to imply he served in the theater of conflict. And nothing else indicates that.
Not honest.

[leilanidude]

Maybe that's the key. A careful use of words...

"served in the Army as a medic at Schofield Barracks"

"Served in the U.S. Army as a medic during the Vietnam War."

Never says that he was in the Vietnam War.. Is he a member of the VFW?

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

James & leilanidude,
I agree, he's walking a tight wire act with his use of words. Although the statement may not say he was in Vietnam, it certainly implies that he served there. Yet, compared to other political fish stories, deceptions, and falsehoods, to me it's on the low end of the scale.

The moon kind of surprises me sometimes. I’ll be out at night and I’ll see a nice moon, and say, “Hey, that looks good.” Then I’ll say, “Oh sh-t, I went up there one time!” Kind of surprises me. It’s like there are two Moons, you know—the one that’s usually around, and then that one. - Michael Collins, Apollo 11 astronaut

[james weatherford]

It comes as no surprise that someone might see this as "low end of the scale." It is all about perspective.
Because I have had some up close interaction with Harry and seen how he operates, I am careful what I buy (and the same applies to too many other slick politicians).
More importantly for me, though, is because I know the difference in the nature of service between Schofield Barracks (at the end of my service I was stationed a few miles from there at the Naval Communications Station) and the nature of service in the theater of conflict (where I was on a minesweeper, locating down planes and pilots, and jettisoned munitions).
I also know it makes a difference to other veterans who served there.

[Obie]

Many served during the Vietnam conflict and never got close to Vietnam.I had a friend who served in Panama another in Germany and a cousin on a destroyer in the Med.

You floated around on a minesweeper.

It was all the luck of the draw.

[HiloPuna]

Harry's problem here is his over selling of his scruples. All the signs promising to restore trust in government, his constant assertions that he'll never be political or lie to the public and his repetitious claims that his integrity is beyond reproach. These claims and guarantees lead to a heightened awareness of his behavior to see if it correlates with his claims.

His real personality, his prejudices, and his prior prevarications all cause one to not provide him the benefit of the doubt here. He was implying something that is a hot button issue for many, service in vs not serving in Vietnam.

[james weatherford]

The matter is not whether Harry did or did not serve "in" the Vietnam War, recognizing that "during" is not the same as "in" but could be stated to imply as much.

Other major military actions "during" the same years as the "Vietnam War" (1961-1973) included the 1962 Naval blockade of Cuba and the 1967 seven-day war in the Middle East. There are specific service ribbons awarded to those who served in those actions. Nevertheless, it would be disinformation to describe a veteran of those engagements as having "served during the Vietnam War".

In the 2000 election, fresh-faced Harry Kim, the Hero of Kalapana, was reported in a Honolulu newspaper to have served at Schofield Barracks.

In the 2016 election, former Mayor Harry Kim's website -- almost certainly put together by someone else other than Harry -- refers only to the Vietnam War and nothing about Schofield Barracks.

The matter is: someone, to further Harry Kim's political agenda, put that disinformation on the website. That, to me, is not about building trust.

[Chunkster]

There are plenty of reasons to vote for someone other than Harry Kim, and I will not be voting for him. Whether or not his website semantics capture the precise details of his military service is not of enough significance to have influenced my choice. Frankly, dwelling on it seems like nitpicking when his previous record and current capabilities seem more in question and offer enough to give voters pause.

[ericlp]

I also won't be voting for him. It's funny if you go to his website, He pretty much states what he did from 02 on ward. I sometimes wonder wtf did he do when he was mayor?

No record of that or even mention of prior working as previous mayor, it's as if he wants us to forget he was mayor once before... One would think that would be a Plus........ Sigh. I like the guy, but he doesn't really have much going on....

[HiloPuna]

Anyone noticing the systematic defacing of Wally Lau's signs? I had to drive to Kona and saw the exact same "Snidley Whiplash" or "Guy Fawkes" mustache stenciled over Wallys face. Obviously coordinated by more than one person given the number of signs and the geographical range. You'd have to conclude for all the effort involved that they are supporting a particular candidate other than Wally. No other candidates signs are defaced. Logic would lend itself to suspecting Harry supporters, given their willingness to put signs up in public rights of way, on private property without asking, and their obvious familiarity with hand painting.....

Whoever they are, with all their smug superiority implying something dastardly about Wally, they lack a moral compass.