“Decoration Day,” now called Memorial Day, is a federal holiday, remembering and honoring military personnel who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces.

The May 28 four-page advertisement of the lantern floating ceremony was discarded when it arrived as the newspaper’s cover in our home. As beautiful and meaningful as the event may be, it is not Memorial Day. It is the cultural appropriation of a day meant to honor those who died to protect our country. Freedom is not free.

I don’t want to discourage the people who organize the lantern floating ceremony. However, it is on the wrong day, and the Star-Advertiser’s increasing coverage every year is confusing to people who don’t understand the real meaning of Memorial Day.

Instead, I recommend one go sit at Punchbowl (Puowaina, or Hill of Sacrifice) and remember those who gave their lives to defend the United States of America. In the opinion of this 40-year veteran of active and civil service, stories such as what was on Page B1 should be the lead of your paper (“Remembrance at Punchbowl,” Star-Advertiser, May 28).

Bruce Fink

Makiki

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