Lahaina fire survivor lost his home, but he’s still giving back

By Yiming Fu, Report for America corps member

Standing miraculously unscathed in the Lahaina burn zone, Frank Perry, hopes to open Maui’s Veteran’s Hall as a gathering place for all. Perry, 71, is Maui born and lost his home a couple blocks away. He now lives in FEMA housing in Kahului. He’s the treasurer and secretary for Maui’s veterans club, and he used to go to the club once a week for the last seven years he lived in Lahaina. The hall held monthly socials and card game nights, but members could also go every week to talk story with each other.

As the roads in Lahaina’s burn zone begin to open, Perry wants to the hall extend the space to the public — for birthday parties, graduation parties, anniversaries, end of life ceremonies.

The property sits on Fleming Rd. and was closed off until about a month ago. All around the Veterans Hall are burnt down vacant lots. Some lots have yellow bulldozers and men in hard hats and neon orange vests surveying the land. Some lots have house frames. Some mailboxes are intact, some are melted down. But the veterans hall, is still standing and completely untouched by the fire.

Perry first found out the veteran’s hall was still standing from watching Lahaina drone footage after the disaster. He saw the hall for the first time in person a few months ago after the roads began to open up.

“I’m happy to see it survived,” Perry said. “That way we can give back to the community a little bit. It’s not much, but a little bit.”

Perry, who served in the military for 26 years, announced at a Wednesday Lahaina community meeting that he would like to veterans’ hall into a party space. It’s a 1000 sq. foot space with ten long tables, 100 folding chairs, two bathrooms, a full kitchen with a fridge, and an outdoor seating area with benches and picnic tables. Built in the 1960’s, the hall is also known for housing Unit 442, a second-generation Japanese American Special Forces unit in World War II that is the most decorated unit in U.S. military history.

Lahaina doesn’t have a place for people to gather or party anymore after the fires, Perry said. Lahaina’s churches and Buddhist temples burned down. And people are often spread across the island in FEMA housing, oftentimes with big families divided and away from each other. The only other space to host events is hotels, Perry said, but those cost hundreds of dollars per night. He’s offering this space for free for at least a year. Those who are interested can send him a text.

“It was made for the community,” Perry said. “It was not made to make money it’s here to serve the community. If we have enough money to carry the bills for a year or two, I see no reason why we shouldn’t do it.”

While the veterans hall withstood the fire, it wasn’t all roses. Ceiling tiles fell off because the glue melted in the heat. And there was dust, dirt and ash everywhere inside. The karate club, which had previously been practicing at the Veteran’s Hall, helped clean it up. The process took two to three months.

“We cleaned it up pretty good.”

The karate club uses the space on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and they help keep up the property as well. Perry said three people have already booked the space, but these reservations are graduation parties for 2025. He hopes some people will use it for the winter holidays or even before that.

Perry wants to get a FEMA mobile unit to put it on the back of his lot so he can take care of the space. The drive between Kahului and the Veteran’s Hall is about 50 minutes each way. But Perry tries his best to keep this place neat, coming back about once a week. For example, he’s building a storage shed to give more room for people in the space.

It’s clear Perry is proud of the space, from the way he gestures to portraits of members that passed away in combat and Japanese art in the karate club along the walls. He’s excited to share the building with Lahaina’s community.

“It’s a great place to have a party,” Perry said.