LIHU‘E — Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Hara, grand marshall of the Kaua‘i Veterans Council Veterans Day Parade, said Veterans Day is every day, during his remarks following the annual pay Parade presented by the Rice Street Business Association on Saturday that ended at the Vidinha Stadium north fields.
“Thank you for your service” is just five simple words, but have great impact for veterans, Hara said. He said when he was preparing to come to Kaua‘i to participate in the parade, he was met by someone at the Honolulu International Airport who uttered those words.
That was one incident, he said. When he arrived on Kaua‘i on Friday, Nov. 4, he was greeted by many Kaua‘i people who greeted him with those words. That gesture demonstrates to him that Kaua‘i people acknowledge, appreciate and support veterans, not just on Veterans Day but every day.
Retired Gen. Mary Kay Hertog, commander of the Kaua‘i Veterans Council, announced the annual Veterans Day service will take place on Friday, Nov. 11 — the 11th day of the 11th month at 11 a.m., at the Kaua‘i Veterans Cemetery in Hanapepe, with the help of numerous community organizations, including the Scouts of America Aloha Council, the Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i, and many more.
This is a tradition that has been carried on since President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill in 1954 proclaiming Nov. 11 as Veterans Day, and calling on the nation to “solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the sea, in the air and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us consecrate ourselves to the task of promoting and enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”
Many of those groups were active participants in the parade chaired by Lexi Jones that included more than 30 units, including the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band Unit 56 that grew to include 30 people from its original nine musicians who arrived on Kaua‘i on Monday, Oct. 31, for a week of musical outreach to different schools around the island.
The elite band was joined by the Kaua‘i High School marching band under Darryl Miyasato, and Sarah Tochiki and the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School Band, and the school’s ‘Ukulele Band under the direction of Elias Gonzales.
Mayor Derek Kawakami, riding a specially decorated steed with the CJM Country Stables mounted unit, joined the Kaua‘i County Council in announcing the Green Light for Veterans campaign, a national effort that is of the highest priority with the National Association of Counties and the National Association of County Veteran Service Officers.
The initiative is designed to shine a light on the service of veterans, and encourages individuals and businesses to join in by changing one light bulb in the entryway of a person’s home or business to a green bulb.
Kaleo Carvalho, the mayor’s protocol officer, said the Lihu‘e Civic Center’s Mo‘ikeha Building lights have been changed from pink for breast cancer awareness to green. The lights will remain green from Nov. 7 through 13, as the county participates in Operation Green Light for Veterans.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
