Jan/Feb 2010 - Korean War Veterans Association

The Missing Man Flyover was performed by the
199th Fighter Squadron, 154th Air Wing, Hickam Air
Force Base.
the next two years in Phase I. Each section
contains anywhere from 1,200 to 2,900
graves and only one burial section at a
time will be closed during the renovation.
The first sections to be renovated will be
“P”, “Q” and “R”.
“To assist families in remembering
their loved ones interred in this national
shrine with a floral tribute,” he said,
“cemetery staff members have built a special
floral display area in the Honolulu
Memorial Chapel and have notebooks
containing the names of those buried in
each section.
“Families and friends can use the
chapel to remember their loved ones on
special occasions or dates,” he said. “If
we were to have a reopener in a closed
section to bury the surviving spouse, we
would halt the construction work, dig the
grave, do the interment and then continue
with the renovation project in that section.
Burial benefits to the veteran and his or
her family would not be curtailed.”
Because the aina, or the land, is sacred
to the Hawaiian people, local community
religious leaders were invited to participate.
The original dedication ceremony
consisted of a Jewish Rabbi, a Catholic
Priest and Buddhist Priest. To replicate
that ceremony, the same religions were
invited to bless the grounds. Also includ-
Mr. Gene E. Castagnetti, director of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, in his Welcoming
Remarks quoted an unknown author who wrote this definition of a veteran: “A veteran is someone
who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check, payable to the United States, for an amount
up to and including, his or her life.”
behalf of the Military Officers Association of America,
ed in this ceremony was Mr. Manu Boyd,
chanter and cultural Renovation specialist,
who performed the Welcoming Chant, and
Mr. David Ka`upu, a local Kahu or
Hawaiian minister, delivered the benediction.
Al Streck, Sr.,
strecks001@ hawaii.rr.com
Veterans Day Activity
Tributes to Korean War veterans at the
cemetery continued on Veterans Day.
More than 1,200 veterans, their families
and guests gathered at the National
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific under
sun-drenched skies and cool tropical
breezes on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, in
an outpouring of appreciation and to pay
homage to those who served in World
Wars I, II, the Korean War, the Vietnam
war and the Gulf and Afghanistan wars on
global terrorism.
Mr. Gene E. Castagnetti, director of the
National Memorial Cemetery of the
Pacific (NMCP), delivered Welcoming
Remarks and was the Master of
Ceremonies for the annual Veterans Day
ceremony.
During his remarks, Castagnetti quoted
an unknown author who wrote this definition
of a veteran: “A veteran is someone
who, at one point in his or her life, wrote
a blank check, payable to the United
States, for an amount up to and including,
his or her life.
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The Graybeards
January – February 2010