[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 150 (Wednesday, December 10, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1772-E1774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               FA'AFETAI

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american samoa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 10, 2014

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, last October 2013, because of 
complications due to Agent Orange exposure during my service in 
Vietnam, I was airlifted from American Samoa to Hawaii where I was not 
expected to live. Thanks to the prayers offered and the assistance 
provided on my behalf at a time when I needed it most, I am here today. 
And so, for historical purposes, I rise to express my gratitude for all 
those involved in making my evacuation and recovery possible, and to 
say thank you to the people of American Samoa for giving me the 
opportunity to serve them in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 
time they first elected me in 1988 until 2014.
  At about 2:30 p.m. Washington, DC time (7:30 a.m. in Pago Pago), on 
October 24, 2013, my staff in Washington, DC released an official 
statement informing the people of American Samoa that I had been 
hospitalized at the LBJ Tropical Medical Center (LBJ) on October 22, 
2013. My Washington team learned of my hospitalization on October 23, 
2013 through Fili Sagapolutele, a local reporter in American Samoa. 
Upon learning of my hospitalization, my staff in Washington, DC 
immediately sought a first-hand assessment of my condition and 
facilitated a conference call on October 23, 2013 between Dr. Rahim 
Remtulla of the Office of Attending Physician at the U.S. House of 
Representatives and medical officer (M.O.) Jerome Amoa who was 
supervising my care at LBJ. In American Samoa, medical officers are 
spoken of as doctors and, out of respect and appreciation for the care 
he provided me, I also use the local terminology when referring to Dr. 
Amoa, who recently passed away. Dr. Amoa was a true servant of our 
people and I am forever thankful for him. During his conference call 
with my staff, Dr. Amoa reported that LBJ did not have the equipment 
necessary to provide further evaluation of my condition and that a 
medical evacuation (medevac) was needed. He also reported that I was 
stable for travel and was not in a life-threatening situation. Because 
commercial flights from American Samoa only fly to and from Hawaii 
twice a week, Dr. Amoa stated that he had requested medevac services 
through the American Samoa Government (ASG) and the local Veterans 
Administration (VA) in the Territory but that no action had yet been 
taken due to some confusion about whether or not ASG should request the 
medevac or if the local VA should since I am a Vietnam veteran. Due to 
these delays, my Washington staff contacted General Robert Lee, former 
Adjutant General of the State of Hawaii, who contacted Major General 
Darryll Wong, the Adjutant General for the State of Hawaii who oversees 
the Hawaii Air National Guard and who provides direct support to the 
Office of Veterans Affairs. Based on letters my office obtained from 
Dr. Amoa and the Office

[[Page E1773]]

of Attending Physician, which stated that medevac services were 
essential, my Washington staff registered a request for medevac 
services through Colonel Ronald Han, Director of the State of Hawaii's 
Office of Veterans Services. Colonel Han, General Wong and Governor 
Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii acted with urgency and immediacy. Within 30 
minutes of receiving the request, General Wong and his team put a crew 
into crew rest to prepare for the medevac flight. In less than 2 hours, 
General Wong informed my Washington staff that an aircraft would leave 
Honolulu (HNL) at approximately 8 a.m. on Thursday, October 24, 2013, 
with a doctor, nurse and aero-medical evacuation team in place. My 
Washington office then began the process of linking the Office of 
Attending Physician to the aero-medical evacuation team as well as to 
physicians at Tripler Army Medical Center (Tripler) so that I could be 
treated in the air and upon arrival at Tripler without delay. After 
taking these actions on October 23, 2013 and October 24, it was then 
that my office issued a press release on October 24, 2013 at about 2:30 
p.m. Washington, DC time (7:30 a.m. in Pago Pago) announcing that a 
medevac team would depart from Hawaii at about 8 a.m. Honolulu time on 
Thursday, October 24, 2013, with scheduled landing in American Samoa 
the same day at about 1:00 p.m. Pago Pago time. On October 24, 2013, at 
approximately 5 p.m. DC time (10 a.m. in Pago Pago), while the medevac 
was already en route to American Samoa, my Washington staff learned in 
another conference call between Dr. Amoa and Dr. Remtulla that my 
condition had worsened and that my situation was now critical. When the 
medevac team reached me, they did not know if I would make it to 
Tripler alive, but I did and, on behalf of my family, I want to thank 
everyone involved in my rescue. I thank Governor Lolo Moliga and 
Lieutenant Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga for the measures they 
instituted to provide me with the best chance for evacuation and 
recovery. I also thank the local police department in American Samoa 
for their fine work, and the late Dr. Amoa and his staff for the care 
they provided. I also express appreciation to the Office of Attending 
Physician, including Dr. Brian Monahan and Dr. Rahim Remtulla, who 
offered extraordinary assistance and support. I thank the Pacific Air 
Force's 613th Air Operations Center/Air Mobility Division and all its 
components and especially its Aero-medical Evacuation Team, Theatre 
Patient Movement Requirements Center, and Joint Patient Liaison Office, 
and the Hawaii Air National Guard maintenance and flight crew for their 
professionalism and expertise. These heroic men and women went for 
broke to rescue me. From the planning, execution, coordination down to 
the aircrew and maintenance personnel and everyone involved, they 
delivered me to Tripler in better condition than they found me. Upon my 
arrival at the HNL airport, a true Joint Force team of Army, Navy, and 
Air Force personnel was on the tarmac ready to transfer me from the 
airport to Tripler. Even after I was offloaded, the aircraft 
maintenance men and women worked into the night to offload equipment 
and bed down the jet. Neither my office nor I expected or requested 
this kind of outpouring of support. But given the care and love shown 
for me by our military men and women, I salute the service of all 
involved. Although words can never express how grateful I am, I would 
like to honor those who assisted by including their names in the 
Congressional Record: 613 Air Operations Center/Air Mobility Division 
Aero-Medical Evacuation Team: Lt Col Christine Thrasher, MSgt Gregory 
Moore, TSgt Christine Hill, TSgt Eric Hammerstrom, SSgt Jerry Marquez, 
SSgt Brittani McClure; 613 Air Operations Center/Air Mobility Division: 
Senior Director Lt Col Henry Fairtlough, Major John Lewis, Mr. Paul 
McDaniel, Major Patrick McClintock; Theater Patient Movement 
Requirements Center: Col Michael Martin, Maj Joseph Reno, Maj Cynthia 
Mandac-Clark, Maj Jacob Smith, Capt Amy Sivils, Lt Stephen Meyers, SSgt 
Maria Velasquez, Sgt Johnny Reynolds, Maj Ryan Gibbons, Maj Kirk Smith, 
Maj Jacob Smith; JPLO/Joint Patient Liaison Office (members that met 
the aircraft and transferred me into the ambulance and then to 
Tripler): HM2 Morgan Orton, Capt Michael Bringas, HM2 Isaac Kargbo, 
TSgt Delbert Smith; 613 Air Operations Center/Air Mobility Division 
Mission: Mangers MS. Mary Ann Chock, Mr. David Avigdor, Mr. Jeffrey 
Frye; 613 Air Operations Center/Air Mobility Division Airlift: Mr. Mark 
Salondaka, Mr. Matt Mustafaga; 613 Air Operations Center/Air Mobility 
Division Flight Managers: Mr. Myron Jones, Ms. Eileen Aina, Mr. Stephen 
Mather, Mr. Rick Dittmer; 613 Air Operations Center/Air Mobility 
Division Logistics: Mr. Paul Pang, Mr. Walter You, Mr. Ricky Davis; 
Hawaii Air National Guard: Major General Darryll Wong, Col Rob Hoffman 
(109th Air Operations Group Commander), Col Duke A. Pirak (154th 
Operations Group Commander), flight crew members: Capt Kellen Brede, 
Capt Liliukekulakamaile ``Kula'' Cummings, Capt William Kealaiki, MSgt 
Kevin Kalani, MSgt Denny Yoshikawa, TSgt Bronson Abellanida, TSgt 
Callen Cordeiro, TSgt Sterling Nakamura. I also thank Col Paul A. 
Friedrichs, Pacific Air Forces Command Surgeon and the medical 
personnel at Pacific Regional Medical Command and Tripler; including 
Dr. Osborn, Dr. Donald Helman, Dr. Jone Geimer-Flanders and the many 
other doctors, nurses and personnel who attended to my well-being. I 
pay special tribute to General Wong who coordinated every detail of my 
evacuation. I thank him for his leadership, kindness, expertise, for 
his calm in the eye of a storm, for his compassion, commitment, and 
faith. Through emails and phone calls, General Wong stayed in direct 
contact with my Washington staff every step of the way. He worked 
around the clock, and I publicly express my appreciation to him. I also 
publicly thank General Robert Lee, former Adjutant General for the 
State of Hawaii, whose quick action led to my rescue. Bob Lee is my 
brother and always will be. I also thank General Dennis Doyle, 
Commanding General of Tripler; Colonel Ronald Han; M. John Condello, 
Veterans Services Coordinator for the State of Hawaii; and members of 
their staff. I also thank Hawaii VA Director Wayne L. Pfeffer for the 
quality service he provides our veterans in Hawaii and American Samoa. 
I also thank Protocol Officer Joel Jenkins who cared for my family and 
worked with my staff on my behalf. I thank Tracey A. Betts, Director of 
the Honolulu VA Regional Office, for her tireless efforts. I also thank 
Captain Findley and those involved in my medical evacuation from 
Tripler to Travis Air Force Base in California, including the flight 
crew, and the doctors and nurses and medical personnel at the VA 
Medical Center in Palo Alto who also aided in my recovery. I recognize 
Mr. Scott Skiles who served as Liaison for my Congressional office and 
family while I was at the VA Palo Alto. I pay special tribute to my 
dear friends, Chairman Li Ka Shing and Ms. Solina Chau, for their 
visionary philanthropy that includes the Li Ka Shing Center for 
Learning and Knowledge at the Stanford School of Medicine, which 
provides services for our veterans at the VA Palo Alto. I thank 
Chairman Li and Ms. Chau for caring about America's veterans and for 
the quiet service they offered on my behalf, which strengthened my 
family and me during difficult days. I also thank the Stanford Medical 
team that worked with me. I am also appreciative of the medical staff 
and personnel at Walter Reed.

  I thank my colleagues--both Republicans and Democrats--in the House 
and Senate for their prayers. We have worked together in close 
cooperation for many years and I will always be grateful for their 
steadfast friendship as well as their constant support of the 
initiatives I put forward for the benefit of the people of American 
Samoa. I particularly thank Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. We came to 
know each other through Congressman Phil Burton, who was like a father 
to me. Leader Pelosi and I have been family since our Burton days, and 
I am grateful that she has been a part of my life for all these years. 
I am also very proud that she became the first woman in U.S. history to 
serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. To my friends 
from around the world, including leaders and diplomats from Vietnam, 
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Taiwan, Korea, China, 
India, Hong Kong and elsewhere, I also express my gratitude for their 
support and well wishes. I thank the pastors, priests, parishioners, 
and also those of my own faith who offered prayers and fasted on my 
behalf, including Elder Paul Pieper and Elder Gerrit Gong of the First 
Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
Saints. Above all, I thank God. I know God loves us. We are His 
children. From the place of His habitation, He looks down from heaven 
upon all the inhabitants of the earth (Psalms 33:14), and He hears and 
answers our prayers. He does so in His own way and in His own time, as 
the object of prayer ``is not to change the will of God but to secure 
blessings for ourselves or others that God is already willing to grant 
but are made conditional on our asking for them.'' I know I am alive 
today because of prayer and because my appointed days are not yet (Job 
14:5). But when my appointed time does come, I will return home to the 
God who made me with gratitude for the many blessings--especially my 
family, friends and associates--that He so richly bestowed upon me in 
this life. I will go, knowing that if a man die he shall live again 
according to the promise of our Lord (Job 14:14). Whether I go soon or 
stay for a while, I hope, like Gandhi, my life will be my message. 
Having grown up in the small village of Vailoatai in American Samoa and 
having graduated from Kahuku High School in Hawaii, I will always be 
grateful to the people of American Samoa for the opportunity they gave 
me to serve them. I thank the late Paramount Chief A.U. Fuimaono, who 
served as American Samoa's first elected Representative to Washington, 
DC, for giving me the opportunity to serve as his Chief of Staff from 
1973 to 1975. I will always be thankful for all that he taught me. I am 
also

[[Page E1774]]

thankful for the late Congressman Phil Burton, former Chairman of the 
House Subcommittee on Territorial and Insular Affairs, who I served 
with from 1975 to 1981. During my service as his Staff Counsel, he 
tasked me with drafting legislation providing for an elected Governor 
and Lieutenant Governor in American Samoa. Congressman Burton 
introduced the legislation on June 10, 1976, which the U.S. House of 
Representatives passed by a landslide vote of 377 to 1. The historical 
proceedings and debates of the 94th Congress, Second Session related to 
this legislation were made part of the Congressional Record in Volume 
122-Part 18, July 1, 1976 to July 21, 1976 (Pages 21785 to 23276). 
After the legislation passed the House, instead of sending the bill to 
the Senate for a vote, Chairman Burton consulted with Secretary of the 
Interior Rogers C.B. Morton and the two agreed that a Secretariat Order 
should be issued authorizing the American Samoa Government to pass 
enabling legislation to provide for an elected Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor. Secretariat Order No. 3009 was issued on September 13, 1977 
in accordance with the will of the majority of voters in American Samoa 
who voted in favor of electing their own Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor in a plebiscite that was held on August 31, 1976. Chairman 
Burton also tasked me with drafting legislation providing for American 
Samoa to be represented in the U.S. Congress by a Delegate to the House 
of Representatives. Chairman Burton introduced this legislation, which 
later became Public Law 95-556, Oct. 31, 1978-92 Stat. 2078. The 
historical proceedings and debates of the 95th Congress, Second Session 
related to this legislation were made part of the Congressional Record 
in Volume 124-Part 25, October 3, 1978 to October 6, 1978 (Pages 33129 
to 34486). I will always be thankful for the opportunity I had to 
participate in such an historic undertaking for and on behalf of the 
people of American Samoa.
  After I completed my service with Congressman Phil Burton, the late 
Senate President Paramount Chief Letuli Toloa encouraged me to come 
home and ``eat the dust and walk on the rocks'' or, as he put it, ai le 
pefu ma savali le ma'ama'a, meaning come home and more fully feel the 
suffering and pain of our people so that I might serve them more 
completely. I followed his advice and served the people of American 
Samoa as Deputy Attorney General from 1981 to 1984, and as Lieutenant 
Governor from 1985 to 1988. As I look back over my life, had I not 
returned to American Samoa to live and serve among our people, it would 
have been impossible for the people to have entrusted me to represent 
their interests for nearly four decades. Because of their faith in me, 
I became the first Asian Pacific American in U.S. history to serve as 
Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs 
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. This was an unexpected honor and 
an honor that belongs only to the people of American Samoa, not to me. 
When I left for Vietnam in 1967, I was uncertain if I would return 
alive. By the grace of God, I did return and went on to serve in the 
Army Reserve as a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's 
Corps and as a proud member of the 100 Battalion 442 Infantry Reserve 
Unit, Honolulu, Hawaii. By God's grace, I returned to Vietnam in 2007, 
for the first time in nearly 40 years after having served in Nha Trang 
as a young soldier at the height of the Tet Offensive. I returned in my 
official capacity as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs' 
Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment and, in 
returning, I found a people I love. This is why I have repeatedly 
called for the United States to clean up the mess it left behind and do 
right by the victims of Agent Orange. I was not aware of the many side 
effects caused by Agent Orange exposure but, now that I know, I urge 
anyone exposed to seek treatment. Agent Orange is a silent killer. From 
1961 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed more than 11 million gallons of 
Agent Orange in Vietnam, exposing millions of civilians and soldiers to 
dioxin, a toxic contaminant known to be one of the deadliest chemicals 
made by man. I was exposed during my service in Nha Trang. Like 
hundreds of thousands of veterans in the U.S. and Vietnam, I suffer 
from the side effects of Agent Orange, including heart and kidney 
disease. Sadly, many veterans and civilians have lost their lives 
because of Agent Orange exposure, and many more continue to suffer from 
its debilitating effects. Before it is too late, it is my sincere hope 
that the U.S. government will do its part to rectify this problem, and 
I hope that my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives will 
lead the way.

  After serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for all these 
years, I now go forward with faith. In doing so, I again express my 
love for the people of American Samoa. I thank them for the opportunity 
they gave me to wear out my life in their service, and I hope I will be 
remembered for doing my best. As I begin a new chapter, I thank my 
staff in American Samoa, especially Faiivae Alex Godinet, as well as my 
Washington, DC staff, including Dr. Lisa Williams, Vili Le'i, Tavita 
Richmond, Leilani Pimentel, Ta'afili Sagapolutele and Jennifer Elliott. 
I thank them for their loyalty and dedication to me, to this 
institution and to the people of American Samoa. I also thank other 
members of my staff who served with me in the past and present, and I 
also recognize Cari Schemm and Cathy Barnhardt whose work I have relied 
on and appreciated. At this time, I pay special tribute to my wife, 
Antonina Hinanui Cave Hunkin. I am forever grateful that Hina is my 
companion in this life and in the life to come. I thank her for 
standing by my side during my recovery and throughout my many years of 
service. I love and appreciate her, and I always will. Hina and I 
express our profound love for our children and their spouses: Temanuata 
Jessie Tuilua'ai Hunkin and her husband Michael Laussen, 
Taualaitufanuaimeaatamali'i O'rereao Hunkin and her husband Fredrick 
Kolotau Vaitu'ulala, Nifae Ra'imana David Hunkin and his wife Malia Ana 
Jacqueline Rivera, Vaimoana Kealoha Hunkin, Leonne Lia'ina Hunkin and 
her husband Taufui-e-valu Vakapuna. We also express our love for our 
grandchildren: Tutehau Jeremiah Torres Hunkin, Leonne 
Kilisitinakolokiholeva Leigoanaimanuifa'alava Vaitu'ulala, Tamatoa Eni 
Nakita Vaitu'ulala, Feletiliki Kolotau Sebastiani Vaitu'ulala, Kenzo 
Kiyozo Nagashima Banno Vaitu'ulala, Taimana Kenese Rivera Hunkin, 
Taiatea Hinanui Rivera Hunkin, Maiana Vei Hina Taimalietane Vakapuna, 
and those yet to come. We pay tribute to our late parents, Eni Fa'auaa 
Hunkin and Taualaitufanuaimeaatamali'i Manu, and David Montague Cave 
and Georgina Popoua Bambridge. We also extend our love to my sisters, 
Dr. Salusalumalomamealeleimoleatunu'u Hunkin-Finau, Masinaatoa Magalei, 
my brother Albert, as well as my siblings Tuilua'ai, Arlene, and 
Taulauniumaituitagata who have since passed away. We also express our 
love for my sister Diane, my late sister Suzie, my late brother Felise, 
and Hina's brothers--Victor Dwight Cave and the late Dexter Buton 
Cave--as well as our extended families on this side and the other side 
of the veil. Hina and I believe that the best is yet to come. Until we 
meet again, Fa'afetai ma ia Soifua.

                          ____________________