Kailua vet meets nurse
who held dying son

WASHINGTON >> Vietnam veteran Allen Hoe of Kailua came to Washington for Memorial Day to speak at the wall built for his fallen comrades, and by chance made a remarkable discovery.

He found the nurse who held his son as he died in Iraq.

Hoe told the crowd that a few hours earlier he had stopped by a memorial built for Vietnam nurses. He met a woman who looked at the button he was wearing that bore a picture of his son, Nainoa, and she recognized him.

"She saw this button. She says, 'I know him.' I said, 'My God, he is my son.' She said, 'I held him as he died,'" Hoe said.

Army 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe, 27, was killed by a sniper in Mosul, Iraq, on Jan. 22 while leading his platoon on patrol.

He was a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Hawaii College of Business Administration. He married his wife, Emily, last June.

Hoe thanked the nurse as part of his prepared remarks.

Volunteers have numerous stories of coincidental meetings, but the connection made between Hoe and his son's nurse is especially moving, said JoAnn Mangione, spokeswoman for Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

"To know what happened in the last moments of their loved one's life is a blessing," she said.

Hawaii troops are
remembered at Kaneohe
Veterans Cemetery

For Renald Fernandez and his wife, Noe, the memorial services don't get any easier.

"But it helps with the grief," he said.

Yesterday's Memorial Day service at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery was especially significant for the Fernandez couple, who buried their son there late last year. Spc. Kyle Kaeo Fernandez, 26, of Pearl City was killed Oct. 14 in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device destroyed the Humvee he was riding in.

"This ceremony -- I guess it's going to be the first of many years to come," Renald Fernandez said. "It's especially hard since it's just been a short time since we lost our son."

Kyle Fernandez was one of three Hawaii-based servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan who were buried in Kaneohe in recent months.

1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe, 27, was killed Jan. 22 by a sniper while on foot patrol in Mosul, Iraq; Pfc. Joshua K. Titcomb, 20, died Sept. 29 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, where he was injured when a homemade bomb exploded near his vehicle.

"It's one day," Fernandez said, "and many, many more years to come that we'll be celebrating and honoring not only him (Kyle), but the rest of the boys that gave their life for freedom."

About 500 people attended the service beneath overcast skies on a day when people across the country paid tribute to the country's war dead.

The ceremony featured a traditional wreath laying, a 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, the release of about two dozen white doves and a flyover by four helicopters from Kaneohe's Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463.

Since the March 19, 2003, start of the war in Iraq, 22 soldiers, two sailors, 42 Marines and one civilian with notable Hawaii ties have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. One soldier was killed in Kuwait.

"All of the boys that we lose, it makes it that much more painful because of the relationships -- it's so much closer," said Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, who delivered the ceremony's keynote address. "I think for the whole community it's been very difficult.

"I can't say I know how they feel. All I can say is that we're proud of their sons. We're so grateful for what they've done and so appreciative for what they've done. Our hearts go out to them each and every day."

The ceremony was attended by elected officials, including U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, U.S. Rep. Ed Case and local lawmakers.

In a letter read at the service, decorated World War II veteran U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye called Memorial Day a time "when America must show its commitment to those brave individuals who sought to preserve and defend our nation's principles of liberty, democracy and peace."

Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, the state's adjutant general, also urged people to remember the sacrifices being made by the roughly 3,800 Hawaii-based personnel serving overseas.

"This year, Memorial Day takes on an even greater meaning, as there are so many Hawaii sons and daughters serving in harm's way half a world away," Lee said. "Today, we pay tribute and offer our gratitude for their courage and sacrifices to make freedom ours to cherish and pass on to future generations."