FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM About 250 people attended the Governor's Veterans Day Ceremony yesterday in Kaneohe. Helping place the governor's wreath were, from left, Maj. Gen. Edward Correa, state adjutant general; Staff Sgt. Isidro Tabion; and Gov. Ben Cayetano.

Islanders turn out to
honor war veterans

Somber ceremonies as well as a parade
are forums for tributes

Wahiawa Veterans Day Parade

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By Matt Sedensky
Associated Press

Faye Kubo silently tucked a peony into the vase on the grave of one friend, and placed a mum and a Mounds candy bar on another.

Up the hill at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe, amid waving flags and a 21-gun salute, Chris Van Voorhis thought of his father, his grandfather and his uncle.

Privately and publicly, across Hawaii and across the nation, Americans marked Veterans Day yesterday with the prospect of a new war looming in the background.

"Each year we do more to honor our veterans," Gov. Ben Cayetano said at a ceremony at the cemetery. "We can never do enough."

Cayetano placed a memorial wreath at the cemetery, where he addressed a crowd of about 250 people, including many veterans.

Speakers praised the governor's work on behalf of veterans, and the crowd gave him sustained applause.

"Those of us who have come after them owe it to them to do whatever we can to keep the peace," Cayetano said.

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Bob Freitas saluted as the colors were retired at the end of the ceremony at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe.

A Catholic priest and former Marine, Richard Rubie, led a prayer for peace at the service, which was also attended by U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, both D-Hawaii.

Dark clouds blanketed the tips of the Koolau Mountains, sending down a light drizzle. Dozens of national, state and veterans groups' flags flapped in the breeze, and a lone bugler's taps echoed against the mountains. Veterans waved as four CH-47 Chinook helicopters whirred above them and children placed their hands on their hearts.

"It gives you a special sense of purpose, participating in an event like this," said Maj. Gen. Edward L. Correa Jr., the state adjutant general.

In Wahiawa, spectators lined California Avenue for the annual Veterans Day Parade. Disabled American veterans marked the day with a ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. And on Hickam Air Force Base, the Pacific Air Forces Band played at a holiday concert.

At Punchbowl's National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, retired U.S. Army Gen. David A. Bramlett praised veterans' "unique role."

"We have become the nation we are because we have had, and have today, men and women who answer duty's call," said Bramlett, the former commander of U.S. Army Forces Command.

Back at the State Veterans Cemetery but away from all the pageantry of the day, Kubo reflected on the rows of granite markers punctuated by bunches of flowers.

"They fought in the war, and they should be recognized for our freedom," the 50-year-old from Makiki said. "You just want to remember them."

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Helicopters from the Hawaii Army National Guard conducted a flyover at the Kaneohe cemetery after the wreath-laying rite and a rifle salute honoring America's deceased military veterans.