Retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Fred Bakutis, who opened up Barbers Point to surfers and allowed fishermen to snag bait fish in Pearl Harbor, died Oct. 4. He was a month away from his 97th birthday.

A Mäili resident until his death, Bakutis had served as the commander of the 14th Naval District, the Hawaiian Sea Frontier, Fleet Air Hawaii and the Naval Base Pearl Harbor for a little more than a year during a controversial time of the Navy's practice bombing on Kahoolawe.

He lived in Hawaii for about 44 years.

A veteran of World War II and a commander of the Fighting 20 squadron, he won the Navy Cross for heroism as a fighter pilot and held the Legion of Merit with combat V, a Distinguished Flying Cross with gold star, the Bronze Star with combat V and the Presidential Unit Citation. In addition to being commander of the Hawaii frontier , he commanded the Alaskan Sea and Antarctica frontiers.

Bakutis surfed well into his 80s, said his son Bunky Bakutis, a former Advertiser reporter.

"The great thing about my father was that he preached that you should always find something you like to do in whatever place you go," Bakutis said. "He was here in the 1950s and came back as an admiral, but he plugged into the community. He did things that admirals don't often do.

"He always befriended the community."

Bakutis also is survived by daughters, Suzanne "Sue" Ganem and Barbara B. Bakutis; nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; and sister Lottie Mahoney. Services will be today at the Pearl Harbor Memorial Chapel at 11 a.m. His ashes will be scattered tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. at the Ulehawa Beach Park No. 2,- with a celebration of life to follow.