Wayne Oxford

Wayne Hemphill Oxford (August 17, 1925) was the son of Methodist Missionaries James & Ruby Oxford and was born in Los Angeles, California. The Oxfords were missionaries to Japan and Wayne spent many years living in Japan with his parents. They were forced to leave Japan just before the war started and his mother moved to Fort Worth, Texas. Wayne graduated from Northside High School in Fort Worth in 1943 as the Valedictorian of his class. In 1943, he was recruited into the Army and sent to the University of Michigan U.S. Army Intensive Japanese Language School. He was a military intelligence officer and translator and served with the Army of Occupation in Japan. He was discharged from the Army in 1947 and eventually joined the California Air National Guard and rose to the rank of Captain. After leaving the service in 1959 he was offered a position in the Speech Department at the University of Hawaii and received his Ph.D from the University of California which he earned in 1969. He retired from the University of of Hawaii as Professor Emeritus in 1989. He died in Honolulu on October 3, 2017.