Guardians,
During our recent visit to Brussels, we were made aware of a unique historical figure who was born in Belgium by Special Agent Kilohana Akim who is a native Hawaiian and serves on my security detail.
While Master Chief Bowen and I were at Mons visiting the Supreme NATO Command, our spouses (Pam and Jan) and S/A Akim visited a unique landmark near Brussels in the town of Louvain (Leuven is the local spelling), Belgium. At St. Anthony's Chapel there is a crypt and tomb of Father Damien who is also known as the Apostle of the Lepers and who was recently canonized by Pope Benedict XVI. Given the Coast Guard's close association with the Hawaiian Islands and the proud heritage of our Pacific Islanders, S/A Akim and I thought this would be a fitting remembrance during the Thanksgiving weekend.
Known as the patron Saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and Hawaii, Father Damien was born as Josef De Veuster in Belgium in 1840. He joined the priesthood and assumed the name of Damien. He volunteered for a mission to Hawaii and arrived in 1864. After being made aware of the conditions at the Kalawao leper colony on the island of Molokai, Father Damien elected to move their to care for the inhabitants from 1873 to 1884. Leprosy had traditionally been inaccurately associated with behavior rather than as a disease. As quarantine laws tightened, he was ordered quarantined as well. He became ill and by 1888 it became public that Father Damian had contracted the disease himself. He passed away from the disease on 15 April 1889, a date that is celebrated in Hawaii. A statue of Father Damien has been placed on the steps of the state capitol in Hawaii and a replica is displayed in our National Capitol. On this Thanksgiving Weekend we give thanks today for Father Damien "who demanded the right for the sick to a human existence."
ADM A and S/A Akim
