LIHUE — Aki Matsuyama, whose son Takeshi is one of Kauai’s five Missing In Action soldiers, came to work Sunday at the Kauai Veterans Museum.
“I came right straight from church,” Matsuyama said. “I don’t know what I can do, but I’m sure they’ll find something I can help with.”
Matsuyama was one of the handful of volunteers, many from the veterans’ organizations, who turned out to help gut the Kauai
Veterans Museum, the first step in renovating the termite-riddled displays.
“My father was a veteran. My grandfather was a veteran,” said Derek Kawakami. “Monica’s grandfather has an exhibit in this place along with the late Sen. Daniel Inouye who was like family to us. Monica’s grandfather, we lost him last year. To see his exhibits and all of his accomplishments is very special.”
Mike Johnson, chair of the Kauai Veterans Center Management Committee, said they need a lot of help to re-do the museum.
“We want to create another jewel in the crown of Kauai,” Johnson said. “But we need help to do this. We estimate that when completed, it will cost up to $500,000. We have about $50,000 now so the work will be done in phases. We have fundraising events planned to help with the costs, including the annual Night at The Museum fundraiser in September. This is our big one, and the work is dependent on how much funds we can raise.”
In the meantime, volunteers worked on dismantling exhibit cases and panels to free up the carpeting so it can be removed.
“These cases are made of wood,” Johnson said. “The termites love them and are eating them up. The new displays will be made of metal so we won’t have to worry about the termites, or the salt air. The carpets will be changed out so, according to the architect’s plans, we will have tile floors to eliminate the need of cleaning them out. We need help with the tiles, too. Anyone have a connection for tiles?”
The long-range plan for the museum include the possible expansion as the proposed community-based veterans outpatient building takes shape on the Kauai Veterans Center campus.
“Once things get put back, we want to modernize the displays with possible media,” Johnson said. “When the C-BOC goes up, Tony Elliott’s office will move into that building, and Aida Cruz can have an office in the front. That opens up area for the museum to expand. But that is all in the future. For now, today is a major work day, and just another step towards creating a jewel in the crown of Kauai.”
