Lt. Gen. Allen Kenji Ono, the first three-star Asian American general in the U.S. Army, was buried with military honors last week at the National Cemetery of the Pacific located at the Punchbowl Crater in Hawaii.
The retired Ono had 35 years of service under his name when he died Aug. 1. He was 82.
Ono, known as both the first Asian American to hold the position of lieutenant general, held the position of Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel at the Army Headquarters from 1986 to 1990. He began his military career in 1955, and would go on to complete assignments in foreign nations such as Korea, Europe, Panama and Vietnam.
As his wife, Evelyn, holds the Bible, Lieutenant General Allen K. Ono, right, is sworn in as Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel by Major General Hugh R. Overholt, Army Judge Advocate General, during a ceremony at the Pentagon. (National Archives)
“Every minute of my career, I was reminded of my obligation to bring honor to my parents, the Japanese American community and to the Japanese American soldiers of World War II who paved my way,” Ono said in a 2005 speech. “In the 1980s I returned to Hawaii on leave after seven years away. We made numerous house visits. I was the object of curiosity and attention as my mother proudly showed me off as if to say that we can move from immigrant status to three-star generals in one generation, despite the color of our skin and shape of our eyes.”
In 2010, Ono, who was the chair of the United States Army Retiree Council in Hawaii, was inducted into the Adjutant General’s Corps Hall of Fame alongside 10 other military personnel, according to Hawaii Army Weekly.
“It’s a high honor, and I’m very appreciative being in the first group to be recognized,” Ono told the Hawaii Army Weekly in 2010.
After retirement, Ono came back to Hawaii, where he served as the executive vice president and board member of directors at American Savings Bank, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
