Denby Fawcett ’59

The Charles S. Judd, Jr. ’38 Humanitarian Award is given to a Punahou alumnus who has made outstanding contributions to society in Hawai‘i in the fields of public service, humanitarian or charitable efforts, arts, letters or sciences. This year’s awardee is Denby Fawcett ’59.

Denby Fawcett ’59 was 24 years old and a rookie reporter when she flew from Honolulu to Vietnam to cover stories of the war, making her one of just a few female reporters who covered the Vietnam War. Her experience in the war-ravaged country began with an assignment to write color stories about life in Saigon, but eventually took her into combat situations as chief Vietnam correspondent for the Honolulu Advertiser.

For her reporting in Vietnam, and later as a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and a political reporter with KITV, Fawcett was inducted into the Associated Press Television Radio Association’s Hall of Fame for a lifetime of achievement. In 2002, Fawcett co-authored “War Torn: Stories of War from the Women Reporters Who Covered Vietnam” (Random House), a collection of essays written by Fawcett and other female reporters who wrote about Vietnam. Now in her 80s, Fawcett continues to write and report for Honolulu Civil Beat, a non-profit digital news platform founded by fellow alum Pierre Omidyar ’84.

Fawcett has served on her 2019 and 2024 Reunion Class gift committee and is a passionate supporter of the Clarence T.C. Ching PUEO Program at Punahou.