The Post & Email » Research Summary on Hawaii Birth Certificate Numb... http://www.thepostemail.com/2011/05/13/research-summary-on-hawaii-bi...

- The Post & Email - http://www.thepostemail.com -

Research Summary on Hawaii Birth Certificate Number

151-1961-010641:
Posted By Sharon Rondeau On Friday, May 13, 2011 @ 10:27 AM In National | 24 Comments

WHERE DID THE NUMBER COME FROM?

by Researcher

(May 13, 2011) — Editor’s Note: The following report was compiled by the
person who traveled to Hawaii last July and reported [2] her findings to The
Post & Email shortly thereafter.

According to the COLB posted on http://www.factcheck.org/ [3] for Mr.

Obama, his birth certificate number is 151-1961-010641. The number
was allegedly assigned when his birth certificate was allegedly filed with
the State Registrar on August 8, 1961. The Nordyke twins, whose
original long-form birth certificates were posted on the internet, are
[1]
identified as file numbers 151-1961-010637 and 151-1961-010638
respectively, and were assigned and accepted by the State Registrar on Photo from the City
August 11, 1961. I am in possession of an email dated February 3, of Honolulu website
2010 in which Ms. Okubo stated that the certificate numbers were
assigned by the State Registrar and only in the main DoH office located
on Oahu (Honolulu).
Based on this information, it is not possible that 151-1961-010641 was assigned three days
earlier than were 151-1961-010637 and 151-1961-010638. The file number 010641 was likely
assigned on Friday, August 11, 1961 and no later than Monday, August 14, 1961.
A small group of researchers that I work with identified an infant girl named Virginia Sunahara,
born on August 4, 1961 at Wahiawa Hospital in Wahiawa, Oahu, HI. Due to complications, she
was transferred to and later died at Kapiolani Women and Children’s Medical Center (most
likely) on August 5, 1961. This happens to coincide with date of birth and birthplace of the
Nordyke twins. Assuming that her medical records were also transferred to Kapiolani, the birth
certificate likely originated at Kapiolani and was included in the group of birth certificates that
contained the Nordyke twins.

a. Born the morning of August 4, 1961 at Wahiawa Hospital, Wahiawa, Oahu, HI.

b. Due to complications, the infant was transferred to hospital in Honolulu. Kapiolani Medical
Center for Women and Children is the most likely; however, Queens Medical Center is also a
possibility.

c. Died at Kapiolani the morning of August 5, 1961.

d. Death notice appears in the Honolulu Star Advertiser on August 8, 1961 and the Honolulu
Star-Bulletin on August 14, 1961 for Tomiyo Sunahara; no birth announcement was published.

e. Interred at National Cemetery of the Pacific, aka Punchbowl in Sept. 1961.

f. One researcher requested verification from the Veterans Administration that Virginia Sunahara
was interred in plot U-966F (Sunahara listed as buried here. See: http://www.interment.net/data/us
/hi/oahu/natmem/hawaii_stosv.htm [4]) and was informed that there were no records responsive to
her request. The gravesite in question was allegedly occupied by James T. Sawamura. I visited
Punchbowl on July 21, 2010 to confirm. I went into the office to obtain information about plot number
U-966-F. Virginia Sunahara was not listed in the database; the clerk showed me the computer screen.
The database indicates that James T. Sawamura is buried there. Born Jul 23 1926; Died Oct 14 1980.

g. The same researcher made a UIPA request from the DoH for an abbreviated, non-certified copy
of the Sunahara COLB per the DoH Public Health Regulation Chapter 8B and was informed “no
records exist that were responsive to her request,” which is the UIPA equivalent response that
this person did or does not exist, according to the DoH. The correct response based on previous

1 of 4 5/13/2011 4:28 PM
The Post & Email » Research Summary on Hawaii Birth Certificate Numb... http://www.thepostemail.com/2011/05/13/research-summary-on-hawaii-bi...

requests for other abbreviated, non-certified copies of the COLB, is “denied per HRS 338-18” since
the requester “does not have a direct and tangible interest.” PHR Chapter 8B does however
allow the release of such information but the DoH thus far refuses to comply.

h. I personally visited the DOH Office in Honolulu on July 21, 2010 and found Virginia Sunahara’s
name in both the birth and death indexes spanning 1960-1964.

i. The research team did some footwork and determined the following: The father, Tomio
Sunahara, was cremated and interred at the Mililani Memorial Gardens. Born Oct 13 1924; Died Mar
26 1968.

j. I visited the Sunahara birth address of xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. The house was in a relatively poor
area, the house was unkempt and was not much more than a shack; there were discarded items and
lawn bags full of pop and beer cans scattered everywhere. I approached the door where I could hear
Fox News blaring in the background and knocked. A 50ish man in a pair of swim trunks, no shirt,
answered the door. From what I could see, the house was extremely unkempt and had not been
cleaned in years. There was stuff piled everywhere. The man at the door was Virginia’s brother,
xxxxxxx.

k. I asked if xxxxxx, Virginia’s mother was home, and he asked me what the purpose of my visit
was. I explained that I was researching infant deaths in 1961 and that I had attempted to visit
Virginia’s gravesite at the National Cemetery but I could not locate it. He confirmed his father Tomio
was buried at Mililani (which is no more than 5 miles from Wahiawa) and that Virginia was buried
with him. I asked again if I could speak with the mother and he took me to a room located behind
the carport and knocked on the door. The mother was asleep but awoke and came to the door. The
condition of her room was the same as the inside of the house. He left me with the mother and
returned to the house. I explained again that I was researching infant deaths and wanted some
details regarding the death of Virginia. This is what I got:

i. Tomiyo/Virginia Sunahara was born the morning of Aug 4 1961 at Wahiawa

General Hospital.

ii. She was having difficulty breathing and they transferred her to a hospital in
Honolulu. Mrs. Sunahara did not remember which one but I assume it was Kapiolani since it is was
more likely equipped to handle neonatal complications. She also could not recall where she was taken
or who the physician was. You have to keep in mind that she is 83 years old, and this event occurred
50 years ago.

iii. Virginia survived less than a day which likely places the time of death sometime in
the early AM of Aug 5 1961.

iv. I asked I could see the birth/death documentation and she said she could not
remember if she even had it. Even if she did, given the condition of the house, I seriously doubt that
she would have been able locate it.

v. I expressed my condolences to the mother regarding her loss, thanked her for the
information and then left.

l. I called a member of the research team and asked them to find out where Mililani Gardens
were located. After I left Wahiawa to head back toward Honolulu, I saw an exit for Mililani and
exited. I stopped at the public library and obtained driving directions.

m. In the meantime, the research team member contacted the mortuary and confirmed that
Virginia was indeed buried there with her father, Tomio as was her brother Stephen who passed away
in 2002. According to mortuary, Virginia’s remains were dug up at the National Cemetery October
1968 and placed with her father’s, Tomio Sunahara.

I drove to the cemetery and stopped at the first office I came to and obtained the plot
location. I explained that I was researching infant deaths from 1961 and asked if it was
possible to view Virginia’s birth and death documentation (which was likely transferred to the
mortuary when her remains were transferred). I was informed that I could not see the
documentation due to legal and privacy concerns.
I located the gravesite. Again, by all appearances, this has been here for quite some time.
There is zero evidence that this grave marker is a recent addition.
During my visit to the DoH office in Honolulu on July 20, 2010. I examined and made images
of various index books:

2 of 4 5/13/2011 4:28 PM
The Post & Email » Research Summary on Hawaii Birth Certificate Numb... http://www.thepostemail.com/2011/05/13/research-summary-on-hawaii-bi...

a. The 1955-1959 birth index

b. The 1960-1964 birth index

c. The 1960-1964 death index

d. The 1960-1965 marriage index by Groom

e. The 1966-1970 marriage index by Groom

f. The 1960-1965 marriage index by Bride

All of the index books with the exception of the 1960-1964 birth index included the date
range in the header on each page. My analysis is that there is a canned report the Vital
Records department can run for the various indexes based on a specified date range and it is
one of the parameters included when the report is printed. The fact that the 1960-1964 index
lacks the date range in the header is a good indication that a custom report was generated to
include Mr. Obama. His name was either somehow inserted or a report was created to include
all births registered between the years of 1960-1964 and Mr. Obama. I have no doubt that the
DoH has some sort of birth registration for Mr. Obama; however, his birth was likely registered
sometime after 1964 or it is either a late/delayed or foreign birth registration.
During my visit I spoke with “Jesse the Vital Records Supervisor” and asked him if the birth
indexes included foreign/out-of-state births, Hawaiian Births, and Late/Delayed Registration
Births and I was informed no, that they included only the births that met the general birth
criteria. I asked to see the aforementioned and I was told they did not exist or were not
available. This is in direct conflict with the DoH Specific Records Retention Schedule items
VDR-10, VDR-6, VDR-1. The Post & Email was able to obtain pages from the Certificate of
Hawaiian Birth Index from Ms. Okubo, so its existence has already been confirmed. I asked if I
could obtain a copy of a specific person’s index data and I was informed no, that it would
contain too much information. I asked if I could obtain a redacted copy that included only
information that appears in the index books (vital event, name and gender), and again, I was
informed no.

Summary/Analysis:

The VA cemetery records were most likely computerized sometime in the late 1970’s or early
1980’s. Virginia’s data was erroneously entered into the database at that point and time.
According a fellow researcher, an audit of the burial records was to have been performed
around 2003. Either Punchbowl cemetery neglected to perform the audit, or it at least failed to
verify Virginia’s records. In or after 2006, Virginia’s burial record was removed from the VA
database.
None of the databases that have been offered as evidence e.g. Find A Grave, Burial
Internment, usgov.org are the actual VA database. They are just a snapshot of what the VA
had on record at a particular point and time. It is not clear how long it takes for these auxiliary
databases to self-correct or if they ever do.
Also, I believe that there was no official name change from Tomiyo to Virginia. According HRS
338, death certificates must be received by the DoH within three days. The Sunaharas
probably had not selected a name for the baby prior to her death. The timeframe for submittal
for a birth certificate is not as stringent (seven days). By the time the birth certificate was
submitted, they decided on the name Virginia and the DoH updated its records accordingly for
the death certificate. It is rare the issuance of a death certificate precedes a birth registration
so the DoH likely retroactively updated its death record in regard to the first name.
If Virginia’s certificate number is 151-1961-010641, it was likely processed at the DoH on the
11th and no later than the 14th, based on the Nordyke twins’ certificate numbers (010637 and
010638) and the date they were processed, which was the 11th. We know that the DoH assigns
a numerically sequential certificate number when it is received and accepted/filed. In other
words, it is not pre-printed on a form that is distributed to all the HI hospitals. It is only way it
can control the sequential numbering of the births otherwise the certificate numbers would be
all over the place.
The delay of the internment at the National Cemetery that is assumed to have occurred on
Sept 28, 1961 (based on the VA database snapshots in 2006) most likely had to with how long
it took the Sunaharas to obtain approval from the VA to bury Virginia’s remains there. She was
either embalmed, then held in cold storage at the mortuary that handled the remains, or she
was cremated and the Sunaharas held her remains until such time that she could be interned
at the National Cemetery. The latter makes the most sense, and cremation is a common

3 of 4 5/13/2011 4:28 PM
The Post & Email » Research Summary on Hawaii Birth Certificate Numb... http://www.thepostemail.com/2011/05/13/research-summary-on-hawaii-bi...

method of handling remains in Asian culture.

© 2011, The Post & Email [5]. All rights reserved internationally, unless otherwise specified. To read
more on our copyright restrictions, see our Copyright notice on the subheader of every page, along
the left margin.

[6]

Article printed from The Post & Email: http://www.thepostemail.com

URL to article: http://www.thepostemail.com/2011/05/13/research-summary-on-hawaii-

birth-certificate-number-151-1961-010641/

URLs in this post:

[1] Image: http://www.thepostemail.com/2011/05/13/research-summary-on-hawaii-birth-

certificate-number-151-1961-010641/hawaii-flower/
[2] reported: http://www.thepostemail.com/2010/08/21/results-of-investigation-
made-possible-by-donors-to-the-post-email-legal-fund/
[3] http://www.factcheck.org/: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-
2008/born_in_the_usa.html
[4] http://www.interment.net/data/us/hi/oahu/natmem/hawaii_stosv.htm:
http://www.interment.net/data/us/hi/oahu/natmem/hawaii_stosv.htm
[5] The Post & Email: http://www.thepostemail.com

[6] :
http://www.thepostemail.com/make-a-donation/

4 of 4 5/13/2011 4:28 PM