Bess Press - Duke: A Great Hawaiian

During his lifetime, Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968), a full-blooded Hawaiian, was known worldwide simply as The Duke. His name was synonymous with Hawaiʻi. He is remembered today for his Olympic medals and as the Father of Modern Surfing. In 2002 the US Postal Service described him as the greatest aquatic athlete the world has ever seen. The thousands who place lei on his statue in Waikīkī honor him as Hawaiʻi's legendary Ambassador of Aloha for his strength of character and the Hawaiian ideals of humility and dignity he exemplified. In this moving tribute filled with photographs his story and Hawaiʻi's are intertwined.