Navy names destroyers after Hawaii men
HONOLULU - The Navy is naming two guided missile destroyers after Hawaii military men awarded the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross.
The Navy said Wednesday one ship is being named the USS John Finn, after a sailor who received the Medal of Honor for displaying "magnificent courage in the face of almost certain death" as Japanese planes attacked Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay on Dec. 7, 1941.
Despite head wounds and other injuries, Finn fired a machine gun from an exposed position. He died last year at age 100.
Another ship is being named the USS Rafael Peralta after a Hawaii-based Marine Corps staff sergeant who selflessly covered a grenade with his body to save fellow Marines from the blast in Iraq. Peralta was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
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Flags to fly at half-staff in honor of Lee
HONOLULU - Hawaii flags will fly at half-staff Saturday in honor of late state Rep. Samuel Lee.
Lee, who served in the state House of Representatives from 1986 to 1996, died Feb. 10.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie ordered that all flags at state offices and agencies fly at half-staff, and also issued a proclamation honoring Lee.
The proclamation honors Lee as a diplomat who served in the U.S. Foreign Service for 26 years, chairman of the Mililani Neighborhood Board and community leader. As a community organizer, Lee led a campaign that forced developers to correct pesticide contamination in Mililani.
Abercrombie also expressed condolences for Lee's family. Lee is survived by his wife, state Rep. Marilyn Lee; his daughter Kammy; and sons John, Tom and Andrew.
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Life term in murder of 25-year-old tourist
HONOLULU - A man convicted of murdering a New Mexico tourist whose nude body was found on a Waikiki beach has been sentenced to life in prison.
A judge on Wednesday sentenced Aaron Susa to a life term with the possibility of parole. He must spend at least 10 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.
Susa was arrested three days after Bryanna Antone of Rio Rancho, N.M., was found dead on the beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 2009. She was in Waikiki to celebrate her 25th birthday and join her family at an American Dental Association convention.
The medical examiner's office concluded she drowned but had strangulation neck injuries.
The judge also ordered Susa to pay Antone's family for her funeral costs.
