Eddie Aikau – The Lifeguard

In 1967 Eddie persuaded the City & County of Honolulu to appoint him the first North Shore lifeguard. He was given the task of covering all beaches between Haleiwa and Sunset and saved hundreds of lives over the next three years. The roving patrol was then disbanded and Aikau was assigned to Waimea Bay, where no lives were lost while he was on duty.

The Aikau family was water-oriented; they were surfers, divers, sailors, and paddlers. Eddie had the water knowledge, and that’s what made him such a great lifeguard and surfer. Before and after his work shifts, Aikau would surf at Waimea Bay, especially when the waves were big. At the time, only an elite handful of surfers had the knowledge and courage to ride Waimea Bay when wave-face heights surpassed 40 feet. Aikau was at the top of the pecking order.

Long before Jet Ski and other personal watercraft became in vogue for assisting lifeguards, Aikau was paddling into giant waves and swimming through treacherous conditions to save lives. In 1971, Aikau was named Lifeguard of the Year. He was involved in hundreds of rescues over the next decade, many of them undocumented. He would make a rescue and when it came time to fill out the forms, he would say, “Nah, not important. The guy is alive, that’s the important thing.”

The last person lifeguard Eddie Aikau rescued at Waimea Bay was a young TV producer named John Orland, who had just wrapped up production on a TV pilot called the “Hawaii Experience,” starring Bob Crane from Hogan’s Heroes. He was rescued on February 19, 1978, less than a month before Eddie Aikau was lost at sea. “When people say Eddie is a hero, it makes us feel very proud,” says his younger brother Clyde. “Still, to this day, tears come down as I talk about it. But at the same time, it is very humbling to know that people still recognize the name Eddie Aikau.”