WAIMEA — About two dozen Waimea High School Army JROTC cadets plan to participate in the D-Day 80th anniversary Memorial Parade and tribute ceremony as part of a Hawai‘i-only JROTC Honor Platoon in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, said retired Col. Vincent Freeman, the Senior Army Instructor of the Waimea HS Army JROTC.
Freeman said the cost of sending the students to Europe is about $4,600 per student. Following several fundraising events after receiving an invitation, time is running out on efforts at trying to raise the money.
Freeman and the JROTC are asking for help from the community in order to participate in the event.
“The total amount is due 1 May 2024,” Freeman said. “The Waimea HS Army JROTC cadets performed more than 9,500 volunteer community service hours during the last school year and (are) currently supporting the Waimea Town Celebration. The needed support is time sensitive.”
The trip is scheduled from June 3-11.
“The cadets’ itinerary includes exclusive guided, multilingual tours of the Day-D 360 Museum in Arromanches, Pointe du Hoc, where U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100-foot cliffs, Utah Beach, and the American Memorial, Brittany and the Brittany American Cemetery, Mont St. Michel, Omaha Beach, and the American cemetery, Bayeux, St. Mere Eglise, and a two-day educational tour of Paris,” Freeman said.
“The Hawai‘i JROTC Honor Platoon will march and participate in a tribute ceremony on June 6 at the American Cemetery at Brittany, where 4,409 servicemen are entombed from the Normandy and Brittany campaigns. On June 7, the cadets will participate in the Omaha Beach tribute ceremony commemorating the 9,387 buried there, and the Wreath Laying Commemorative Ceremony, including a walk on Omaha Beach.”
The following day, the JROTC platoon will participate in the D-Day Memorial Parade through the village of Sainte-Mere-Eglise.
Freeman said this will likely be the last five-year anniversary commemoration, in which D-Day veterans will be present since most of those remaining veterans are centurions.
“These Kaua‘i JROTC cadets will carry the legacy of the WWII-era 100th Infantry Battalion, and 442 Regimental Combat Team composed of American-born Japanese soldiers, and honor their heroic contributions to the liberation of France and Southern Europe,” he said.
The Waimea JROTC also expressed its gratitude to a number of on-island entities for their support: West Kaua‘i Club 100, Rep. Dee Morikawa, Gay &Robinson, Captain Andy’s Sailing Adventures, Blue Dolphin Charters, The Shrimp Station and the Kaua‘i Veterans Club for their support.
Contributions may be made to the Waimea High School Army JROTC Booster Club, who will be manning a booth during the two-day Ho‘olaule‘a at the Waimea Town Celebration. Contributions should be marked “D-Day Memorial Parade Tour.”
