biography
I grew up in Hawai’i, where I graduated from Punahou School. I won a nomination to West Point from Senator Hiram L. Fong.
On graduation in June 1966, I was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Armor Branch. After graduating from the ranger and airborne schools at Fort Benning Georgia, I reached my first troop duty assignment. It was a tank battalion in the 3rd Armored Division, part of NATO in Germany.
In 1968, I received orders for the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. On arrival at the replacement center in Vietnam, I learned that I would not be going to the cavalry unit. Instead, I was assigned to an infantry battalion of the 25th Infantry Division. The battalion was then just outside of Saigon in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive earlier that year.
I was later transferred to 4/23 Infantry (Mechanized), which operated near the Cambodian border in Tay Ninh Province. During that assignment, I commanded A Company.
I was later transferred to the general staff at 25th Infantry Division Headquarters in Cu Chi. I served as an assistant staff officer there.
Like others who served in Vietnam, I have awards and decorations from that service. They include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Bronze Star with “V” Device, and other decorations.
On leaving Vietnam in July 1969, I was assigned to the Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky. There, I served as an instructor. I resigned my commission in 1970 to attend law school.
I moved to the state of Washington, where I graduated from the University of Washington School of Law in 1973. That was followed by a 20-year career as a lawyer in a large Seattle firm.
I was elected to the Washington State Court of Appeals in 1994. I served on the court for over 23 years, retiring in 2018.
