‘Shining beacon of honor’

Tony Elliott of the Veterans Affairs office said the Kauai Veterans Cemetery represents the honor Kauai has for its veterans.

“This small cemetery here on Kauai stands as our shining beacon of honor and reflects the great pride Kauai feels for its veterans,” Elliott said Sunday during the annual Veterans Day service presented by the Kauai Veterans Council. “This is a place where veterans, their families and supporters gather each year to celebrate and honor those who have served before us, and those who are still serving.”

Masao K. Morimoto of California was among the several hundred people who gathered to honor veterans at the cemetery.

“My sister is buried here,” Morimoto said. “I try to make it back at least twice a year — Memorial Day and Veterans Day — to remember her. This time, I brought my son and daughter. We’re going to play tourist before the service starts.”

Mary Kay Hertog, commandant of the Kauai Veterans Council, said she has visited veterans cemeteries in a lot of places, and the Kauai Veterans Cemetery is one of the most beautiful she’s been to.

“I just spent some time here a few days ago,” Hertog said. “I just walked back and forth, stopping to look at the graves and reflecting. The cemetery was built 70 years ago and is the sacred final resting place for many veterans and their families. These are men and women that are part of this community.”

Hertog fired off a list of names, including Shigeta Yamaguchi, a Japanese American veteran from World War I who is interned in Hanapepe, and more recently, Stu Burley, the past commandant of the Kauai Veterans Council.

“If these headstones could talk, they would tell us of incredible stories of personal sacrifice, unselfish loyalty, and a deep love of country of the hero they each represent,” Elliott said. “Stories of the common thread which compelled each of us to gather here, today to pay tribute to the extraordinary warriors of our past and our present — men and women who are still molding the great history of our country by passing the warm blanket of freedom to yet another generation of Americans.”

Ed Kawamura, a Vietnam War veteran and commander of American Legion Post 2, said his uncle, Hideo Ishimoto was a WWI veteran, and became one of the first Japanese Americans to be buried in the Kauai Veterans Cemetery.

“Yes, on these stones you can read the history of our nation, the names of brave men and women, young and old, who stood up for our country,” Elliott said. “Although their once broad shoulders and strong backs have long since returned to the rich Kauai soil that gave them strength, their spirits are still here, and will remain here for another thousand years … these men and women of valor called veterans.”

Elliott also called for recognition of a special group of Kauai veterans.

“These veterans also yielded to the nation’s call,” he said. “These veterans marched off to war. These veterans did not come home — veterans who have been denied a final resting place. They are Kauai’s only veterans still listed as ‘Missing in Action.’”

Those include Sgt. Jose Balalong (Korean War) declared MIA on Nov. 2, 1950; Sgt. Sidney Kaui (Korean War) declared MIA on Dec. 2, 1950; Cpl. Mitsuyoshi Ishida (Korean War) declared MIA on Dec. 7, 1950; Cpl. Muneo Yaka (Korean War) declared MIA on Oct. 15, 1952; and Pfc. Takeshi Sasaki (Korean War) declared MIA on April 26, 1951.

“Their absence is a painful reminder of the true cost of the many freedoms that Americans enjoy each and every day,” Elliott said. “While I realize that we are frequently asked to give to many different worthwhile causes, today, I ask only that you keep a small place in your heart for Kauai’s ‘Missing in Action’ veterans. By doing so, we show our support for their families, and reassure them that although their loved ones may still be missing, they will never be forgotten.”