USNS Pililaau visits namesakes' home.

A lot of water has gone under the keel of the USNS Pililaau since it was launched in New Orleans in January 2000.

The journey of the ship to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December to move equipment of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) to Iraq had special significance.

Relatives of the Hawaiian Medal of Honor winner were able to visit the vessel first hand.

A convoy of 13 vehicles carrying 31 Pililaau family members drove on to the Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-On/Roll Off vessel where they got a windshield tour of the vessel's cargo spaces.

The Pililaau extended family, most of whom live in Hawaii, then walked the decks and climbed the ladders of the nearly 950-foot long vessel and were treated to lunch by the ship's 30 member crew.

By the end of the following week, nearly 2,000 pieces of equipment and cargo were loaded onto the vessel to support 4,500 Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) headed for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pililaau was named for Army Pfc. Herbert Pililaau who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of his heroism Sept. 17, 1951, in the Korean Conflict.

Abigail Hauolinaninohea Chase, a niece, remembered her uncle as a soft-spoken man who enjoyed playing the ukulele.

The Pililaau family was ecstatic when Military Sealift Command extended an invitation for a shipboard tour at Pearl Harbor.

"I was surprised and really happy that our family would not only see the amazing ship, but actually step aboard," said Chase, one of about 15 family members who attended the ship's christening on Jan. 8, 2000, in New Orleans, La. The christening was a special tribute to her uncle's selfless actions, said Chase

The ship and its crew proudly carries on the tradition of its namesake, said Capt. Frank Reed, the ship's commanding officer. In a brief shipboard ceremony, Reed presented the flag flown aboard the ship as it entered Pearl Harbor to 69-year-old Edward Pililaau, one of nine brothers and four sisters in the family.

From the ship's top deck, the visitors got a bird's-eye view of staged equipment that would soon be enroute to Iraq.

"You could say that the ship's mission is in line with what my uncle gave his life for," said Chase. "He died fighting for our freedom, and now the Soldiers will have the equipment and supplies to do their job."

For Chase, the family's name held special significance to the ship's mission. "The Hawaiian word 'pililaau' means to stick together," said Chase.

"Sticking together" was a watchword as Army and Navy port operators worked around-the-clock Dec. 14-18 to scan, record, position, lash, and secure the vessel's cargo.

"The load out was definitely a joint effort between several Army and Navy units," said Col. Tom Harvey, 599th commander.

In the Korean conflict, Pililaau voluntarily remained behind to cover his platoon's withdrawal when the unit's ammunition was almost exhausted, according to the Medal of Honor citation presented to his parents by President Harry Truman.

The citation read: "Private 1st Class Pililaau fired his automatic weapon into the ranks of the assailants, threw all his grenades and, with ammunition exhausted, closed with the foe in hand-to-hand combat, courageously fighting with his trench knife and bare fists until finally overcome and mortally wounded. When the position was subsequently retaken, more than 40 enemy dead were counted in the area he had so valiantly defended."

By Terri Kojima, Command Affairs Officer, 599th Transportation Group