• ‘Turk’ Fukushima 1930-2004 ‘Turk’ Fukushima 1930-2004 James “Turk” Fukushima was a Kaua‘i icon up until his recent death. Known by some as the “Mayor of Kapa‘a,” Turk was seen by more Eastside residents on a daily basis then probably
• ‘Turk’ Fukushima 1930-2004
‘Turk’ Fukushima 1930-2004
James “Turk” Fukushima was a Kaua‘i icon up until his recent death. Known by some as the “Mayor of Kapa‘a,” Turk was seen by more Eastside residents on a daily basis then probably anyone else in the area. The decorated Korean War vet shuffled around Kapa‘a into his old age, sometimes traveling on the Kaua‘i Bus to Lihu‘e.
Few knew of his story, beyond that he was a wounded veteran. On the front page of The Garden Island today his life history is told by his brother Richard, and his image is recalled in a wonderful photo taken by longtime master Kaua‘i photographer Diane Ferry.
Looking beyond the surface, Turk was a symbol of the sacrifice made, and still being made, by Kaua‘i veterans. His war wounds wounded his soul as well as his body. What happend on a battlefield in faraway Korea changed his destiny. Who knows what direction his life might have taken if fate hadn’t stepped in back in the early 1950s; Turk might have been a successful businessman, a doctor, or who knows what. This clearly showed what veterans who are wounded or die in defense of our nation give up for all of us.
Turk also served a unique purpose in Kaua‘i’s community, for he was a man who brought out the best in those who interacted with him. He was known to stop in too see regular customers at restaurants on a daily basis to be given a dollar or two to help fund his day of wandering the streets. These regular donations to Turk brought out love and caring in the givers, the aloha Kaua‘i is famous for; in these transactions his friends gained as well for they were giving not to gain but to honor and love this shaggy vet.
Turk’s habit of making his rounds through Kapa‘a, night and day, presented an etheral image in the daily lives of local residents. He broke the mold of the normalacy of life that most of us follow day in, day out.
Ultimately, for us, his death has ended this ongoing vision of life on the street, of Turk shuffling along with or without his slippers on.
Turk will long be remembered in Kapa‘a and on Kaua‘i, a pilgrim who finally ended his journey up and down the streets of the Island on the way to heaven.
