As a child Ellison seemed like any other normal boy growing up on the coffee fields of Kona. His parents owned a small coffee farm on the mauka side of Kona and he spent most of his time helping his family with the daily chores that are a part of everyday life on a farm. Working on the farm was hard work and Ellison learned the values of commitment, responsibility and cooperation from a very young age. Ellison also learned how to work independently on the farm because everyone had a lot of work to do and there was no time to waste.
Scouting played a big part in his life but ironically he was neither a cub scout nor a boy scout. Ellison joined the explorers, a group made for older boys, at the age of fourteen. Because there was no troop in Keopu, his home town, he went to Holualoa and joined Post 26 headed by scoutmaster Norman Sakata. Mr. Sakata recalls that Ellison stood out but not because he was better or more outstanding. He stood out because he respected his elders, parents, and his roots. Scouting also helped Ellison push himself to the limits in physical endurance. President Kennedy challenged the youth of the entire nation to hike 50 miles "as a symbol of American youth and strength". Post 26 took the challenge but pushed it one step further to hike 51 miles. They trained for four months to prepare and Ellison and his brother Claude both finished the 51 mile hike. This hike was very hard and they never backed down. Ellison went on to earn the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. What was interesting to know was that he was one of the first scouts to obtain Eagle in the Explorer program which is made for older boys and Ellison had only four years to reach the rank because he started at the age of 14. Once Ellison finished scouting he took the first saying of the scouting oath and lived his life off of these eight words: "On my honor I will do my best".
Ellison went to high school at Konawaena High in Kealakekua, Hawaii. He was a very active student who participated in many organizations. He was elected president of his Explorer Post 26 twice, statewide president for 4-H Club, and the Young Buddist Association. People could look up Ellison because he was trustful and a leader. By being a president of these organizations he was able to build up his leadership skills. He was also junior class treasurer, homeroom officer, class paper feature editor, a staff member of the school news paper, and a member of the homecoming commitee.
After he graduated from high school Ellison wanted to go to the Air Force Academy but unfortunately he wasn't accepted. He decided to go to the University of Colorado. In his freshman year he joined the ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps.) program. While in college Ellison met Lorna Yoshida, his future wife. They met while his roommate brought Ellison with him to see his girlfriend. They went on their first date on Thanksgiving Day 1967, and got married on June 7, 1969. While at the University of Colorado he received his Bachelor's Degree and later went on to receive his Master's of Science Degree in aerospace engineering in December of 1969. Ellison then went on to the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant in January 1970.
Ellison Onizuka was always trying to complete his dreams and goals. One of his dreams was to be an astronaut and it happened. He got accepted because he had the eduction. He went to get his education at United States Air Force flight test engineer school. He was also stationed in the Mojave Desert as a test pilot. The NASA space center in Florida selected Ellison Onizuka as an astronaut candidate. Ellison was selected as an astronaut and assigned to mission 51-C. This mission was scheduled for January 1985, with the Discovery space shuttle STS-51C. On this mission Ellison acomplished what no Asian American had done before, which is to fly into space. Following this mission, he gave up most of his spare time to visit schools and educate children.
Ellison waited for his second mission, which was scheduled for January 26, 1986 . That day was too windy so the mission was postponed until January 27. On January 27 there was a loose bolt so the mission was postponed until Janaury 28. The next day the crew boarded at 8:23 a.m. The temperature had dropped down to twenty-seven degrees with icicles and a broken water pipe on the launch pad so the mission was delayed until 11:30. At 11:30 a.m. the Challenger rocket was finally launched. It was going fine for the first one minute and thirteen seconds. Then the tragic moment happened happened. The rocket exploded. All seven astronauts perished.
Also on board that sad mission with Ellison Onizuka was a teacher named Sharon Christa McAuliffe. She was planned to be the first Teacher in Space and was going to teach from the space shuttle to the students in the United States and around the world.
If you want to learn more about Ellison Onizuka, you should go to the Ellison Onizuka Space Center located at the Kona international Airport. The museum is open 7 days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is a $1 fee for children under 12 years of age and $3 for adults 13 or older. Also there is no parking lot so you need to park in the public parking lot at the airport. There are seventeen exhibits in the museum: