Agno gets Hawai‘i Medal of Honor

LIHU‘E — There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the shooting in Iraq of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Randy S. Agno, said his widow, Kaua‘i native and Kapa‘a resident Marvelyn Garasi-Agno.

She was told he was shot in Iraq in April 2009, and died 11 days later at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital in Washington, D.C.

The incident is still under investigation. It is considered a non-combat death, and once a month Army investigators summon Garasi-Agno to Schofield Barracks on O‘ahu for an update, she said.

Although Agno was a food-service specialist, he was still tasked to go outside the secure walls of Forward Operating Base Olsen in Samarra, Iraq, on patrol, Garasi-Agno said during ceremonies Friday at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center where the four members of the Kaua‘i state legislative delegation gave her and her sons the Hawai‘i Medal of Honor in her husband’s memory.

Official word from the Army is that he suffered the fatal wound while inside the base.

The award is given to families of those with Hawai‘i ties who have died in combat or combat zones.

There were around 15 representatives of various Kaua‘i veterans’ organizations and around a dozen Garasi family members in attendance at the hastily scheduled event. Friday was the only day all four state lawmakers were going to be on the island, said state Rep. Mina Morita, D-Kapa‘a-Hanalei, who organized the ceremony with help from Aida Cruz, Kaua‘i Veterans Center manager.

Agno was on his fourth overseas tour of duty and his third in Iraq at the time of the incident. He also served in Afghanistan, had over 10 years of service and planned to serve a total of 20 years before retiring with intent to join the U.S. Postal Service, Garasi-Agno said.

He was given an assignment in North Carolina, but his wife wanted to stay in Hawai‘i, so the only way that could happen was for him to accept an overseas assignment, said Garasi-Agno.

Agno, an O‘ahu native and a 1997 Pearl City High School graduate, is buried at the Hawai‘i State Veterans Cemetery on O‘ahu.

Garasi-Agno is a Kaua‘i High School graduate. She has two sons, Jensen Jay Agno, 4, and Jarren Lee Agno, 6.

Morita said state Rep. K. Mark Takai, D-Pearl City-‘Aiea, who coordinated the Tuesday joint session of the state House and Senate where 28 fallen soldiers were honored with the Hawai‘i Medal of Honor, asked Morita to bring the medal to Garasi-Agno’s home.

Garasi-Agno, unable to attend the Honolulu ceremony, said her sons would like to receive the medal on behalf of their father, so the Friday event was quickly organized, said Morita.

Since 2003, some 268 service members with Hawai‘i ties have died in combat or combat zones, Morita said.

“I know I speak for my Kaua‘i legislative colleagues seated here and our other colleges throughout the state that we all hope soon for the day when awarding the Hawai‘i Medal of Honor is no longer necessary, that aloha and democracy will prevail and children like Jarren and Jensen throughout the world can live assured that their civil liberties and freedom will be protected and guaranteed without bloodshed,” Morita said during the Kaua‘i ceremony.

“However, until that day comes, we in Hawai‘i know that ‘‘ohana’ also means ‘community,’ that we are inextricably linked to one another, especially in times of courageous action and heartfelt sorrow when one of our own, keiki o ka ‘aina, while serving our country, perishes,” said Morita, who, like many of the veterans and Garasi family members, was moved to tears during the ceremony.

Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, D-Wailua-Lihu‘e-Koloa, read a brief biography of Agno. Rep. Roland Sagum, D-Po‘ipu-Waimea-Ni‘ihau, explained the medal’s design. Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kaua‘i-Ni‘ihau, read the joint certificate signed by all members of the Legislature.

After the ceremony, most of the representatives of the Kaua‘i veterans organizations offered words of support for and condolences to the family, specifically addressing the Agno children before greeting Garasi-Agno.

“As a father, I’m proud of you too,” said Kenneth Takenaka, of Kapa‘a Post 54 of the American Legion.

“Take care of your mom too,” said John Iwamoto, of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, representing those wounded in combat.

Juan Rabasa, a U.S. Army veteran with the Kaua‘i Veterans Council, served in Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Okinawa, Germany, Taiwan, North Africa, Germany, and Bolivia in South America, said the event is significant for veterans for a number of reasons.

“We came back” from foreign wars, and veterans know how hard it is for families to lose loved ones to war, said Rabasa. When he returned from one of his deployments, he had sons the same ages as the Agno boys, he said.

State House Concurrent Resolution 3 passed by both houses this session recognizes Agno among 28 Hawai‘i residents killed in action in 2009, and most of them had family members or representatives at the March 23 joint session of the Legislature to accept the Hawai‘i Medal of Honor.

In 2005 the Legislature passed and Gov. Linda Lingle signed into law a bill to provide for a Hawai‘i Medal of Honor to express deep appreciation and gratitude of the people of the state to the loved ones of members of the military who sacrificed their lives in defense of the nation and its freedoms, said Morita.

Agno in 2006 was named Junior Army Chef of the Year at the Army’s 31st Annual Culinary Arts Competition, and earned numerous other awards in his career.

He was “professional, devoted, compassionate, always putting his soldiers first, and someone who always accomplished the mission,” said Lt. Col. Samuel Whitehurst, 2nd Battalion commander.

“He always put his soldiers out front and ensured that they were the ones recognized. As a leader he personified the qualities that we all aspire to possess,” Whitehurst said.

“He was a man who served his country both in Afghanistan and Iraq, a leader who always gave 100 percent of himself to his unit and his soldiers, someone who always went the extra mile for his family and his friends,” Whitehurst said.