EARL KISHIDA • VIETNAM
Earl Kishida, 79
Rockport, MA
Born: February 14, 1946
Born: Honolulu, Hawaii
Raised: Hawaii, France, New York, Germany, Washington (State).
Service: US Navy
Rank: Captain
Unit: USS Rogers (DD-876); Underwater Demolition Team 12 (UDT-12); Reserve Affiliation: NR SEAL Team Two; NR Naval Special Warfare Group 2; JRU Iceland Defense Force.
Dates of Service: 1968-1973 (Active Duty); 1988-2003 (Reserves)
Earl Kishida’s grandfather Eiichi Kishida was sent by the Japanese government to Hawaii from Japan to establish schools for Japanese laborers working in the Hawaiian sugar cane and pineapple plantations. Eiichi met and married a Japanese-American teacher, Tamae Asao. They had three children including Earl’s father, Tatsuo Kishida. In February 1942, President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 was issued, resulting in the internment of Eiichi and some 1,500 Japanese, (US citizens and aliens), in camps in the continental United States. He was repatriated to Japan in 1943 and never returned, leaving Tamae and their three children behind. Eiichi was interned in several camps on the west coast of the US. He was repatriated to Japan in 1943 and never returned to Hawaii, leaving, Tamae and their children behind. Earl met his grandfather years later for the first and only time in 1969 when USS Rogers made a port of call in Yokosuka, Japan.
Tatsuo, Earl’s father, was drafted at the end of WWII and became career Army. He married Mikako Okimoto. Earl was born in Hawaii in 1946, as was his brother Carl two years later, but when he was nine, his father and the family began the career Army march through multiple postings. By the time Earl graduated from high school in 1964 in Tacoma, Washington, he’d lived in France, New York, Germany and finally Tacoma.
He received a Naval ROTC Scholarship to Yale University. “Back then Yale was a really different place.” He earned a B.S. degree in Administrative Sciences. He was commissioned an ensign in 1968 and became the Damage Control Assistant (DCA) on USS Rogers (DD-876), a WWII-era destroyer. As one of the engineering division officers, the DCA was responsible for the ship’s stability, fire-fighting, and damage control during battle. After a western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment to the Philippines, Vietnam, and Korea, Earl volunteered for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training.
He completed the 26-week BUD/S training in September 1970 and was assigned to UDT-12 in Coronado, CA. Further training included U.S. Army Airborne School and SEAL Cadre training. His first assignment with UDT-12 was as Assistant Platoon Commander for the hydrographic reconnaissance and using explosives to clear beaching channels. While forward-deployed with UDT-12 in the Philippines, his other assignments included UDT-12 Diving Officer and platoon commander at Nam Can in the Mekong delta in support of SEAL platoons and U.S. Navy Riverine forces.
In January 1972, as a lieutenant, Earl was assigned as the Officer-in-Charge of the UDT-12 Apollo 16 Recovery Team. On recovery day April 27, 1972, working from the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga, the recovery team jumped from helicopters and attached the floatation safety collar to the command module. Opening the hatch of the command module, the team helped transfer the three astronauts to the rescue helicopter
In June 1972, Earl was assigned as Operations Officer for Naval Special Warfare Group (WESTPAC Det) in Okinawa. This staff oversaw the SEAL, UDT, and boat support operations in the Western Pacific.
He left Navy Active Duty in September 1973 and enrolled at Harvard Business School. Upon receiving his MBA, he worked for a year for offshore/diving contractor Oceaneering International, Inc., then joined Atlantic Diving Company, started by a former SEAL, in Gloucester. He decided that he wanted to live on Cape Ann and changed his career to accommodate that goal, working at Cyrk, then as a financial planner.
Earl moved to Rockport in 1978 with his wife Sharon Byrne Kishida whom he met while at graduate school. He re-affiliated with the Navy Reserve from 1988-2003 and served in command and staff positions including tours as Commanding Officer, NR SEAL Team 2 and Commander, JRU Iceland Defense Force. He retired from the work world in 2022. He and Sharon have two sons, Perry and Christian. He now spends his time sailing, ski racing, gardening, and seeking good espresso.