by Kyle Chun
I always knew that both sides of my family had some very interesting and historical stories to tell about their lives and how they “had to walk six miles in the snow every day to get to school,” but I did not know how these stories would have an impact on my life. I remember asking my parents how did Grandpa ever meet Grandma or how did our family end up in Wahiawa? They would answer me but I would never trust them because after all, I was still pretty young, and I still believed that my dad was a ninja! When this project first came up, I thought that it was just going to get in the way but as I thought about it, I realized that this was a great opportunity to get to know my grandfather, Michael Chun. I knew nothing about my grandfather’s history and life; all I knew was that he was one of the most honest and caring people that I have known and I wanted to learn more about him.
What I found throughout this search was why I am the way I am today. My grandfather instilled values in my dad which my dad instilled in me. One thing I feel very bad about is the fact that my grandpa and dad have led very difficult lives and I have it so easy. I think that everyone has it very easy compared to 50 years ago. I want to change my way of looking at things so I appreciate everyday things a whole lot more. And I will definitely try to instill honesty and respect in my children.
My grandfather’s name is Michael Heurn Soon Chun. He was born on June 22, 1924, in Waipahu, to Soo Young Yoon, born October 29, 1899, and Sung Kun Chun, born February 5, 1883, in Seoul, Korea. My great-grandmother, Soo Young Yoon, was a picture bride brought over from Korea for my great-grandfather, Sung Kun Chun, who worked in a plantation camp. My grandfather was born in Waipahu and moved to camp K-1 when he was less that one year old. I had no idea where this camp K-1 was located so I made a trip down to the Wahiawa Museum to see if they had any type of map of the camps. It turned out they did and I found camp K-1 on the map. Camp K-1 is in Kipapa, where my great-grandmother prepared three meals a day for the plantation workers. In 1929, at about age 4, my grandfather’s family—including six children—moved to Wahiawa, where they would spend the rest of their lives.
My grandpa’s child life was a very hard and challenging one. Their family was very poor and all of the children had to work from a very young age. My grandpa said that he “had no time” for hobbies, games, or anything of the sort. His family owned a laundry business that did all the laundry for the military bases in the area. He worked there from age 8 until age 13, when they closed the business. He was a delivery boy for the business and had been driving since age 11 until he could get his license at age 13. He also had a second job as the soda fountain boy at the old Wahiawa Theater.
At this point of the interview, I was feeling kind of sorry for my grandpa. Their family was so poor that the only thing they could afford to wear (it happened to be the most comfortable too) was a white T-shirt, shorts or khaki pants, and no shoes. On the other hand, it was a totally different story when it came to school or any other type of occasion that called for more formal wear. Great-grandma always wanted them to be well presented when in public. My grandpa hardly ever went out to eat because, for one, there was no money to be thrown around, and two, both great-grandma and great-grandpa were excellent cooks. Great-grandpa was a cook for a prince in Korea and my great-grandma was a cook for the plantations. My grandpa said that almost everything that his parents cooked was very good but his father’s chow fun stood out in his mind. I asked if he could make some so I could bring some to class, but he said, “No one can cook chow fun like my dad did.” My grandpa’s family wasn’t too strong on religion or customs from back in Korea, but they celebrated all of the “usual” holidays.
Anyway, my grandpa’s schooling up until college was the same as mine, as well as all of my uncles’ and aunties.’ We all went to Wahiawa Elementary School, Wahiawa Intermediate, and Leilehua High School. Throughout school, my grandpa was a Junior Police Officer (JPO) every single year until he graduated. (Yes, they had JPO in high school back then.) My grandpa was in the class of ’42. I don’t know if many of you know what the class of ’42 went through and did. For one, the 1940 football team was the state champs. What made history was that this is the only team in the state of Hawaii that went unbeaten and unscored upon the entire season. My grandpa, as well as my uncle Stan and uncle Harry, played on that team. My uncle Archie was the assistant coach. Another thing about the class of ’42 was that this was the only class who didn’t have a yearbook or commencement exercises. The reason for this was that during my grandfather’s senior year, World War II was raging on, and on December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Wheeler AFB, Schofield, Ford Island, and Kaneohe Air Station. At that time, Leilehua High School was located where Wheeler Intermediate is now. After the bombing, “the Army immediately took over the high school lock, stock, and barrel and began signing up senious for defense jobs,” said one of my grandpa’s friends. Classes were moved to three Japanese language schools in the community, one being where Zippy’s is located now. Sometime later, all the seniors received their diplomas at a local restaurant.
After he was out of high school, he felt he had a knack for gadgets so he went to Hawaiian Electrical School to become a radio technician. After finishing school, he worked on a boat as a seaman from ’45 to ’46. In ’46, he started working for the government on a military boat. At the ending of ’46, his travels took him to Korea. One of his friends back in the islands asked him if he could deliver a box of candy to his auntie who was a teacher at a private school. My grandpa found one of his cousins that attended the school and asked her to help him find this teacher’s house. So, the day that they were going to go to the teacher’s house, his cousin brought along a friend who turned out to be my grandmother. Her name is Young Sil Chun, born on September 15, 1925, in Seoul, Korea. They stayed a while in Korea and were married November 8, 1947. My grandma’s family was in Los Angeles at the time, so she went there and my grandpa came home. Shortly after, he went to Los Angeles to get her and bring her home.
Their first child was my uncle Nathan, who was born in 1948. My dad was the second, born in 1949. Next came my auntie Christine, born in 1956. Last was my uncle Calvin, born in 1959. I ragard my grandpa as one of the most honest people that I know. This was what he tried to instill in his children. He expected his children to work for everything they wanted and for them to get an education and start a career.
My grandma was kind of being trained by my great-grandmother to be a housewife, as most wives were trained to do. My grandma didn’t want to be a housewife all her life and started the original Seoul Inn in the early sixties.
My grandpa always liked being in charge. As you know, he was a JPO, and in those days, JPO was like being the boss on campus. It wasn’t just traffic control; it was like the ROTC, with authority over students. Anyway, he decided he wanted to be a police officer. He joined the police dapartment in 1949. While in the department, he had some very exciting encounters. This one time he was in a gunfight in the middle of the pineapple fields. An escapee from prison had hidden in the fields and my grandpa had to go look for him. Another time, he was chasing a young kid down Farrington Highway until they got to the old Kukanikoko Road. The car flipped over and my grandpa didn’t think that the driver had any type of weapon, being that the driver was 12 years old. He approached the car with caution and the kid, with a rifle pointed at point blank range, pulled the trigger but the bullet jammed in the chamber. That was my grandpa’s closest call.
He retired in June of 1982 with 34 years in the force. During the time he was working, my dad became a police officer and was working side-by-side my grandpa until he retired. From ’85 till ’89 my grandpa worked at the Leilehua Golf Course. He never took a vacation until both he and grandma retired. Ever since then, they have been making regular trips to Las Vegas every couple of months. He has seen things that I can never imagine. He has done things I would never do in a million years. He led an incredible life.
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