Flags to Fly at Half Staff in Honor of Kato

By Wendy Osher

File photo by Wendy Osher.

Flags will fly at half staff on Saturday, May 28, 2011, to honor the memory of Hiroshi Kato, a former legislator and circuit court judge in Hawaii.  Kato was first elected to the state House in 1959 and served seven terms before retiring in 1974.

Following his retirement from the legislature, Kato was appointed by then Governor John Burns to the Circuit Court bench, where he served as a judge for eight years.

Kato also served with the famed 442 regimental combat team during World War II.

Governor Neil Abercrombie ordered that all Hawai’i flags at all State offices and agencies as well as the Hawai’i National Guard are to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday.