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Children's book portrays heroic tale

By Zahid Arab - bio | email

HONOLULU (KHNL) - It's one of Hawaii's great mysteries, what happened to the heroic Eddie Aikau after his canoe capsized nearly 30-years ago?

"And the stars and sky to guide them over vast expanses of open ocean," said Author Marion Lyman Mersereau.

Hope and the will to help, it's a tale about a Hawaiian hero.

Author Marion Lyman-Mersereau reads her memories while on board the Hokulea.

It was a voyaging canoe that capsized because of high winds and rough ocean conditions between Oahu and Lanai. Eddie Aikau went for help but never returned.

"A search for Eddie Aikau began the night of the rescue,"said Lyman-Mersereau.

"It always ends sadly and I wanted to write a story that ended on an uplifting note," said Lyman-Mersereau.

The last person to see Aikau alive, Lyman-Mersereau says the strength of his character set him apart.

"A man of courage and a man who served. He was a lifeguard and his first instinct was to save lives," she said.

She's been sharing her personal account of the disastrous journey with children and adults, now putting it in the form of a children's book "Eddie Wen'go".

It's told through the eyes of sea creatures and touches on important issues like the effect of sonar on whales.

And while the search for their heroe ceased, his memory lives on.

"A greater love hath no man who gave his life for his friends."