MEMORIAL DAY
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Harry Arruda visited his father's burial plot yesterday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl with his wife, Truie, and daughter Anania. The family traveled from Waianae to avoid the rush on Memorial Day tomorrow. "We're just sitting and remembering what a great man (Joseph Arruda) was," said Trudie, whose father is also buried at Punchbowl.
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Remembrance
Isle families honor the contributions of veterans and loved ones at Punchbowl
EVERY MEMORIAL DAY weekend for more than four decades, Jorge Martinez has laid flowers on his brother's grave at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
This is the first year his children, now teenagers, have not come along since they were born, and he worries that the family tradition will fade away when he dies.
"It's very important to me," Martinez said after bowing his head to pray over his brother's grave marker.
Martinez, whose brother died in 1961, was one of hundreds who gathered at the cemetery yesterday to pay homage to loved ones. Some families brought beach chairs and blankets to sit beside grave sites.
Others arranged flowers -- from sunflowers to birds of paradise -- in graveside vases.
This afternoon, Boy Scouts will put leis at Punchbowl's more than 35,000 graves as part of an annual Memorial Day commemoration, while Girl Scouts will do the same for the 5,700 graves at the state cemetery in Kaneohe.
Punchbowl spokesman Jim Messner said 42,166 leis -- about the same as last year -- were donated for the annual commemorations. Some of the leis also went to neighbor island veterans' cemeteries, he said.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Caretaker Louis Dugatto moved a box full of leis yesterday afternoon at Punchbowl cemetery. The cemetery has two refrigerated 40-foot containers in which it is storing leis donated for decorating grave sites this afternoon. A Punchbowl spokesman said more than 42,000 leis, while will adorn grave sites at veterans cemeteries statewide, were donated for the annual Memorial Day commemoration.
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Memorial Day ceremonies will be held tomorrow at both Oahu veterans' cemeteries. Mayor Mufi Hannemann is set to speak at Punchbowl, while Gov. Linda Lingle will address those gathered at the state veterans cemetery.
At Punchbowl yesterday, maintenance crews were working to trim grass and empty trash cans for Memorial Day.
Workers were doing the same at the state veterans cemetery in Kaneohe. "We're getting things ready," operations manager Miles Okamura said.
Families also worked to tidy loved ones' grave sites, pruning stray grass and polishing markers.
Trudie Arruda and her husband, Harry, spent the day commemorating their fathers, both of whom are buried at Punchbowl. They brought along a ukulele and sung Hawaiian songs, while enjoying a light breeze.
"They're part of history," Trudie Arruda said of her father and father-in-law, both of whom fought in World War II. "They just made a mark. We are so blessed."
Darrick Ching also put flowers at his father's grave yesterday. "This is a remembrance of all the people who gave their lives for our freedom," Ching said, as he stood back to admire his graveside bouquet.
"I'm here to remember my dad."