BVA National Headquarters was saddened to learn this week of the death of Past National President Dr. Roy W. Kekahuna. He passed away on July 1 in Las Vegas. Roy served BVA in numerous regional group capacities and national offices, culminating with his election in 2009 as National President at the 64th National Convention in Portland, Oregon. Roy and his wife, Laurel, were also the impetus behind the selection and execution of the 66th National Convention in Las Vegas in 2011.
Roy lived a distinguished life filled with a long list of continuous educational and professional achievements, all while overcoming multiple combat disabilities and years of intensive rehabilitation during several paths to physical recovery, earning for him BVA’s highest honor, the Melvin J. Maas Award for Professional Achievement at the same convention at which he was elected National President.
Roy was a native Hawaiian, born in Honolulu. At age 18, he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Private E-1. While in the military, Roy spent most of his time with the Special Forces (Green Berets). He also had tours with the 82d Airborne Division, the STRAC Army Sky Diving Team, the 101st Airborne Division, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade, compiling more than 6,000 static line and free fall jumps with those outfits.
As an Army Major, Roy was injured by a booby trap in June 1967 that resulted in multiple wounds, including loss of the use of his left arm and near total loss of vision. He also experienced multiple fragment wounds to the stomach, groin, chest, right arm, and face. He was medically retired in 1971 with five tours in Vietnam and five Purple Hearts after spending four years in physical rehabilitation and undergoing 43 surgical procedures.
Using the skills and determination he learned in the Army, Roy moved forward as he blazed a trail of personal achievements, including completion of a blind rehabilitation course at the Hawaii State Rehabilitation Center, VA blind rehabilitation at Hines, two bachelor’s degrees, two master’s degrees, and two doctorates. He was the Chief of Voluntary Services with the VA Southern Nevada Health Care System. Roy also worked for the Department of Defense for 15 years and for five years as a Sales Trainer with Sun Life of Canada. As a volunteer, he spent 39 years with Veterans Helping Veterans, six years as a BVA District Director, and a year at a BVA volunteer office.
Roy first learned about BVA in 1993 when he moved from Hawaii to San Diego. VIST Coordinator Bob Kozel invited him to attend a San Diego Regional Group meeting shortly after his move. It was there that he discovered that he was not the only blinded veteran seeking assistance from VA. He was also a life member of six additional Veterans Service Organizations.
Longtime BVA members remember Roy’s willingness to do anything that demonstrated his independence. One especially memorable event for many occurred during the Las Vegas convention which he chaired in 2011. Roy hopped in a van for a quick trip to the nearby Stratosphere Hotel with a group of 11 other convention attendees, all of them younger than he at the time. The group was prepped and attired in the Stratosphere’s custom jump suits. Shortly thereafter, they received a safety lesson and then rode on an elevator the equivalent of 108 stories upward. Roy and the other jumpers were then connected to a high-speed “descender” and led to the edge of the platform, where they took the final step prior to plummeting 855 feet to the ground in approximately 15 seconds.
