Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) celebrated Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM) with an observance ceremony in the fo'c'sle hosted by the American Diversity Heritage Observance Committee (ADHOC), May 6.

This year's theme for AAPIHM is "Unite Our Voices by Speaking Together." For Aviation Electrician 3rd Class Koriano Leifi, it's important to educate others on the accomplishments of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders throughout American history.

"I think it's wonderful that we have a month dedicated to celebrating Asian-American and Pacific Islander cultures," said Leifi. "It's important that we share this knowledge with others because we can bring people together by including them in our traditions and history."

The guest speaker for the event, Aviation Maintenance Administrationman 3rd Class Pauline Dyer, gave an impassioned speech about how important it is to have pride in one's roots, to share customs and cultures with others. She also highlighted similarities among family values between the Navy and Fijian cultures, which her family hails from.

"For me, getting used to Navy life wasn't hard because it's a lot like a Fijian family," said Dyer. "Everyone looks out for each other and when one person is down or struggling, everyone comes together to get them back up. It's one of the qualities that I noticed is no different in the Navy."

After Dyer's speech, the audience watched ADHOC's presentation which explained the importance of some Asian-American and Pacific Islander trailblazers and highlight some of the Asian or Pacific Island nations that Sailors, or their families, come from. Guam, American Samoa, Samoa, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and China were all featured, by a different Sailor representing each nation that spoke at the event.

"We spoke a little about the contributions of some Asian-American and Pacific Islander figures and about the nations that they hail from," said Leifi, who represented both Samoa and American Samoa. "As we improve socially as a nation, it's important to show nations that have had quite a role in naval history."

There are 24,743 Asian-American and Pacific Islander Sailors currently serving in the Navy, including eight admirals, 318 officers and 659 master chief and senior chief petty officers. They represent more than 56 ethnic groups, speaking over 100 languages, in the U.S.

"I can't speak for Korea or China, but many of the Pacific Islands, including Samoa, are small in size," said Leifi. "But collectively, we are anything but small. Our drive, our commitment and our contributions to the Navy and the U.S. are huge and will be for years to come."

At the end of the event, there was a cake-cutting, and for Leifi, he hopes that those in attendance leave with the knowledge and pride of the myriad of cultures and contributions Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have given to the Navy.

"What makes gatherings like this worthwhile is looking around and seeing Sailors come together and include others," said Leifi. "People should be proud of their roots, and share that history with the rest of the world."

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