LIHUE — A totally unexpected scene greeted Ida Cruz Wednesday morning when she arrived for work at the Kauai Veterans Center.
“The police were there,” Cruz said. “So was Johnette Chun, the Kauai Veterans Council adjutant. We were vandalized some time late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.”
Mary Kay Hertog, commandant of the Kauai Veterans Council, said unknown person, or persons breached the locked gates at the Kauai Veterans Center and brought the American flag down to half staff. They also brought down the Hawaiian flag and turned it upside down and ran it back up full staff, placing it above the American flag. The neighboring Missing In Action Prisoner of War banner was untouched.
What followed was a barrage of phone calls from people who witnessed the sight. Additionally, Cruz said the scene was posted on social media which further aggravated people who saw it.
“We have a lot of angry veterans,” Cruz said. “People left me very distressing phone calls and messages.”
Hertog said veterans drive by the center daily and look at the flags, and we are grateful they take such notice.
“Sadly, many of these veterans suffer from PTSD and this is not helpful to them,” Hertog said. “Our veterans absolutely respect everyone’s right to free speech and peaceful protest. Veterans have fought and died to preserve those First Amendment rights. But when someone trespasses onto the Veterans Center grounds, which is private property, and does this to our flags, we interpret it as a sign of disrespect to our Kauai veterans.”
She said, “Our veterans are beyond upset, many are downright angry that someone would disrespect them in such a manner. We heard it loud and clear in the many phone calls we received about the flags.”
A police report has been filed, and Kauai Veterans Center officials are scrutinizing footage of the surveillance cameras for more clues on this act of vandalism.
“Kauai veterans come from every ethnic background represented on this island, including native Hawaiians,” Hertog said. “They have served with pride and dignity in all conflicts. To disrespect them like this is hurtful.”
Vandalism?!?!?!?!? Veterans of all should understand that was a harmless demonstration of the disrespect for the land they fought for is being disrespected. A nuclear reactor on Mauna Kea?!?!
Is not what they fought for, nor gentrification of local peoples of Hawaii.
There will absolutely not be a nuclear reactor in TMT.
Its disrespectful. Showing this on the Veterans Center has nothing to do with the mountain.Anyone thinking that is foolish
I mean, idk why people keep saying this TMT BS is “peaceful protesting”. The above vandalism is abhorrent and disgusting and OF COURSE it was posted on social media. That’s all this crap is for the majority of the protesters, social media fodder. Go on some of these profiles and sites and read the ridiculous hate comments they spew to anyone with a differing viewpoint.. It’s CRAZY.
You can’t reason with ignorance and stupidity. The idiots who mistreated the flags and the vets are obviously one or the other or both. Their statements and actions are painting them thus. You want the world to take you seriously? It ain’t gonna happen.
There will be no nuclear on the mountain boots on the ground you are posting info that is not true.
We have an Instagram account dedicated to publicizing all cyber threats, bullying, and racism over TMT. Feel free to follow us on our IG account with the same name shown above. Mahalo!
So much for the peaceful protests…Doesn’t take a genius to know it was the protestors to the TMT…So disrespectful and classless…Terrorist wanna be’s…Well done guys…LAME!!
Prank? Possibly, but vandalism? Not so much…..
We are at a critical moment for the choices of what we want for our future generations and I choose peace! Our youth need better care than being forced to join the U.S. military due to lack of knowledge and finances for advancement…
Join the conversation Sunday and read the truth here at
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What planet are you on?
Malama is not kanaka. She’s pure white American
Rev. Malama. No-one forcing our youth to join the military. They( the youth) that join the military take pride to serve in the military! They fight for your freedom. So, you can practice your freedom of speech and senseless act of violence. (an example is seen in this (above picture)
There are 80% of the people in Hawaii support TMT. Including those with Hawaiian blood!
You want to keep your children here in Hawaii. Well guess what? TMT will provide jobs for our future youths. We have to start somewhere. So, “why not now?”
If, Madam Pele’ didn’t want those telescope on Mauna Kea. She would have easily destroy them. As she has with many of the towns/residential area she didn’t approve of.
Couldn’t have said it better!!!
Some of these guys don’t realize what their action do for their cause. Doing dumb stuff like this makes people change their minds about their “cause”.
I support Ku Kia’i Mauna.
I am angered at this vandalism. In 1993 I became the first female Gunner’s Mate in the US Coast Guard, since 1976. I was 17yo when I went to Boot Camp.
I did send this article to the Ku Kia’i Mauna Group. I do hope that this will be publicly addressed and the vandalizers admonished.
Please do not use this as an excuse to hate on all who oppose TMT on the Mauna. There are bad eggs in every bunch, unfortunately.
E kala mai, but is it intelligent to assume? Also, is it pono to mock and criticize? First of all you don’t know for sure what was the cause behind this incident. Second, you don’t know who has done this. Third, you don’t know if it’s tied to the events that are occurring on the mauna. Fourth, you don’t know if this is someone who is in FAVOR of TMT who wants to make the protectors look bad. If by chance a true Native Hawaiian person was responsible for this, he, she or they do not represent the majority and the movement on the mauna. To call the protectors “idiots” and “terrorists” shows an ugly side to you. One can perceive that as racism. Let’s use higher level thinking when dealing with situations such as this. As an Army Veteran and active member of the American Legion, I do not appreciate anyone trying to stir this huge pot of hatred. The veterans deserve respect, but so does Mauna Kea. Mahalo.
Come on, I’m a veteran and it is historical fact the Hawaiian government was overthrown by the illegal use of US Marines by greedy white racist sugar plantation owners with the collusion of the Secutary abusing his power in activating these marines for the sole purpose of ceasing Pearl Harbor for further conquest of the Phillipines.
Veterans should think logically that not everything they did was righteous in nature and many campaigns bordered on genocide as in the native American Indians war to steal their lands and exterminate them. The military has often been used to keep evil ones in power.
Just look at the extreme negative conditions of the Hawaiians and the fact that both the State and Federal has taken over control of Crown Lands set aside for the sole benefit of Hawaiians at $1 dollar a year leases which are often subleased in the $millions of which NOTHING goes to the Hawaiians. So yeah, are the Hawaiians supposed to be happy?
OHA receives 20% of all revenues generated on ceded land.
While I agree that this disrespectful to the veterans, it is still a form of peaceful protest. This is no way violence towards anybody. It may have made some people angry, but that is not violence.
Weren’t the Marquesans here before the Tahitians,Tongans and Samoans? So who’s land is this Hawai’i?
Of Mice and Men,Duh which way did they go George?
I hope protesters are thinking it out. Let’s say TMT decides its all not worth the trouble and moves on elsewhere?
Will the state have to pay back all the millions received from the TMT folks?
There will probably be serious backlash.. Could be the end of anyone listening to you. When your child grows up and is not as interested as you in the culture, and would have benefited from TMT, what will you say?
They broke in. They trespassed after hours. This is not public property. This is not Kapu Aloha. You cannot defend this act and then claim peaceful protest!!!!! Peaceful protest is doing this to their own flags. This event does not help them gain support from outside their base. I understand the history, the land stolen, the overthrow, but if you wanted to do this right. Drive up to that facility coordinate a meeting with Veterans and have a conversation.
#notkapualoha
The protestors of the TMT project are a minority who don’t have anything to do all day but stand on the road and wave flags upside down. Most of them don’t even know what the protest is all about. I spoke to one who did not even know there were other observatories on the mountain. There are no ancestral sites being disturbed and this is an important scientific project that will bring much income and jobs to the state. Just like the idiots protesting Coco Palms, I am getting tired of the coddling these protestors blocking the road to the project get. They are breaking the law, arrest them and get on with it. The majority of Hawaiians will approve.