“How many more miles do I have to behave?” asked Melody Pascual as she was being driven along the streets of downtown Kapaa on Saturday morning.
“Melody was a colonel,” said Josie Pablo, the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. regional recreational director. “This is the first time we were able to get both the Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital and the Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital to participate in the Veterans Day parade. There are about 10 residents who are veterans.”
The HHSC unit, consisting of eight residents from Mahelona and nine from KVMH, was just one of many that thrilled residents and visitors alike in the parade celebrating duty, honor and country.
“They’re veterans, and want to march,” said Dickie Chang, the emcee for the mini Coconut Festival gathering that followed the parade. “Jim Dangley is a veteran and his wife Kathi is an ‘Army brat.’”
The couple joined up with Mark Perriello and the Kauai Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee in celebrating and honoring the military.
Retired Gen. Mary Kay Hertog of the Kauai Veterans Council said there are approximately 6,000 military personnel who live and work on Kauai.
And there are countless more who served the country, as indicated by the wave of those who stood or raised arms when Hertog called for those who were in the military.
Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. acknowledged the efforts of the military. His words were echoed by Gov. David Ige in acknowledging the efforts of the military in helping the state recover from a recent series of disasters, including floods and a volcanic eruption.
Girl Scouts swept through the town, freely distributing miniature American flags for parade spectators, and Cast. Vinnie Johnson, commander of the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Mana, brought out his contingent of troops to be part of the celebration.
Hertog said the annual Veterans Day service will honor the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I next Sunday at the Kauai Veterans Cemetery in Hanapepe.
The public is invited to join the honoring of all those who served, and are serving in the military today. Services start at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11.
The Veterans Day parade was sponsored by the Kapaa Business Association, AARP, which paid special recognition to former Kauai Veterans Council Commandant Stu Burley, and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
