Onizuka Buried in Buddhist Rite in Hawaii; Last of Shuttle’s Crew

Ellison S. Onizuka was buried in a Buddhist ceremony Monday, the last of Challenger’s seven crew members to be laid to rest.

After an honor guard fired a 21-gun salute and a buglar played “Taps,” Air Force jets flew over the cemetery in a “missing man” formation for the Air Force lieutenant colonel.

About 700 mourners attended the service in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, which overlooks Honolulu, including the astronaut’s widow, Lorna; two daughters, Janelle and Darien; mother, Mitsue; and Col. Loren Shriver, the pilot of the space shuttle Discovery, which took Onizuka on his first space mission in January, 1985.

Also attending the service were Rep. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), Jean Ariyoshi, wife of Hawaii Gov. George Ariyoshi; Lt. Gov. John Waihee; and Hawaii Island Mayor Dante Carpenter.

Onizuka, 39, and six other crew members were killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launching from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Jan. 28.

Norman Sakata, who was Onizuka’s scoutmaster, delivered the eulogy and said: “He was an inspiration not only to the young, but to all of us.”