Obituary of SGM Stanley J. Azevedo (US Army, J. Azevedo

Sergeant Major Stanley J. Azevedo, US Army (ret.) January 23,1922,• March 18, 2012 This week, the world lost a true American hero and a wonderful father. He has joined his beloved wife, Edna, in the arms of our Heavenly Father. Our dad was a great man,filled with the "Aloha Spirit." Everyone who met him liked him. He was born in Honolulu,Hawaii on Jan. 23, 1922. His parents were Maria DeFranco Azevedo and Joseph Vierra Azevedo. He was the youngest of 4 brothers and 2 sisters. He attended St. Louis School, graduating in the class of 1939. Seeing that war was looming, he joined the Hawaii National Guard in the summer of 1941 and trained at Schofield Barracks. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was on guard duty at the Sea Plane Hanger that is seen on the history films, trying to put out fires, When the government federalized the Hawaii National Guard, he was made part of the 25th Infantry (Tropical Lightning Division). He was then transferred to Guadalcanal on Nov. 25, 1942, where the Army relieved the Marines near Henderson Field. He participated in combat at the reduction of Mount Austen and was wounded by enemy rifle fire during the advance on Cape Esperance, which earned him his first purple heart. He fought at Bairoko Harbor in the New Georgia Campaign on Aug, 15, 1943. He was transferred to the mainland to be part of the War Bond Drive in December 1943 and was promoted to the rank of Technical Sergeant. He requested to be put on regular duty and was transferred in 1944 to Fort Gordon, GA as an infantry instructor. There, he met his wife of 65 years, Edna "Sandy" Sanders, who was attending college at Milledgeville, GA. Sandy was serving in the U.S. Navy at the time, They were married at St. John Cathedral in Cleveland, OH in 1945. They returned to Hawaii and bought a home on Hihimanu Street in Waimanalo, Hawaii, where his first and second sons, Michael and Roger, were born, He served as an ROTC instructor at the University of Hawaii and St. Louis College. He was transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division in Japan as part of the U.S. Occupation Force. He received a war commission of 1st Lieutenant and was sent to Korea at the outbreak of the Korean Conflict, serving in the Pusan Perimeter. He was captured and as a POW, he helped fellow soldiers escape through minefields back to the U.S. lines. He was awarded his first Bronze Star. He was wounded in action on Sept. 20, 1950, earning his second Purple Heart. In 1951, after his hospitalization for his wounds, he was transferred to be a Company Commander of a basic training company at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. In 1953, he was transferred to Monterey, CA to Language School to learn Mandarin Chinese, where his third son, Douglas, was born. He was then transferred to the U.S. Occupational Forces based in Salzburg, Austria in 1954, as part of the 350th Infantry Division, then to Camp Darby, Livorno, Italy in 1955, where he was promoted to Captain. In 1956, a post-war reduction was seen in U.S, Army Forces and he was reduced back to Master Sergeant Regular Army and Captain in the Reserves, then assigned to St. Louis College as a ROTC Instructor, 1957-59, where his fourth son, Brian, was born, In 1960-61, he was assigned to the Military Advisory Group in Taiwan and Quemoy Island, where one of his main duties was to protect and escort Chiang Kai-shek & Madame Chiang. For his duty there, he received the Republic of China Commendation Medal. He transferred to Fort Carson, CO as an ROTC instructor at Colorado College in 1962. He was also promoted to Major in the Army Reserves and to Sergeant Major in the 7th Cavalry, He volunteered for Vietnam in 1967 and was wounded twice in the Tet Offensive of 1968, earning his 3rd and 4th Purple Heart and 2nd .Bronze Star. In the action that resulted in the fourth Purple Heart, he was shot out of the sky in the Colonel's helicopter and evacuated to Kyoto, Japan for hospitalization. During this same time, sons Michael and Roger were also serving in Vietnam in the U.S. Navy. Upon recovery from these wounds, he was transferred to be an ROTC instructor at Mercer University and moved to Macon, GA until June 1970. He retired after 30 years of Army service and moved to Madeira Beach, where he has been the Citizen of the Year twice and the past Post Commander of Holiday Isles, VFW Post 4256. He also put in thousands of hours at Bay Pines VA Medical Center from 1971-80. Stanley J. Azevedo is preceded by his beloved wife, Edna, and survived by his four sons, Michael (Diana), Roger, Douglas (Susanne) and Brian Azevedo; grandchildren, Sasha, Dustin, Tyson, Christopher and GaVin Azevedo; and great grandchildren, Parker and Hannah Azevedo. Dad, you will be sorely missed by all of us. We are so proud to be your sons. We know that you will enjoy God's comfort and being with Mom Again. We love you. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Bay Pines VA Medical Center or Tripler Army Hospital. Dad would have wanted it that way.