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Honolulu’s Kompira-San Training Hall today.

It should be noted that even though aikido was now the primary focus of Suenaka’s study, in 1955 he somehow managed to find time to begin the study of kendo under Shuji Mikami, at the time the highest-ranking kendo master in the Western world. Suenaka studied under him for just short of three years. And a year earlier, in 1954, Suenaka also became involved in amateur boxing, and fought competitively until 1958.

By the age of eighteen, Suenaka Sensei had already received dan (black belt) ranking in three arts. His high school graduation, though, as it does with anyone, marked yet another turning point in his life. While he could have found a job and remained at home in Hawaii, continuing his martial studies as before, Suenaka opted instead to see the world. Accordingly, on September 26, 1958, Roy Suenaka enlisted in the United States Air Force.

CHAPTER THREE

Airman Suenaka

We all have a point where our earliest memories begin. For most, it is perhaps our third or fourth year; for others, it might be earlier, recollection triggered by some momentous event that burns itself into our consciousness. For Suenaka, his earliest memories are of December 8, 1941, when he and his family were returning home from an outing and suddenly the skies over Honolulu were filled with Japanese Zero fighter planes dancing with American aircraft during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Though just eighteen months old, his memories sketchy at best, Suenaka can recall the day. One image stands out in his mind—the sound of machine gun fire as he watched from a bunker two planes engaged in a dogfight overhead. “For some reason, I remember seeing fireballs. It’s something a person doesn’t forget.”