Memorial Day events commemorating fallen soldiers and veterans will take place this weekend around Oahu.
>> For the first time since 2019, the 25th Annual Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaii Ceremony will return to Ala Moana Regional Park, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Monday. This year the ceremony will float 6,000 lanterns honoring fallen soldiers and late loved ones. About 40,000 people are expected to attend, according to Nate Serota, public information officer of the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation.
Remembrances submitted online by 11:59 p.m.
Sunday will be placed on “collective remembrance lanterns” and will be released from canoes during the ceremony. Attendees also can write remembrances for these lanterns at the collective remembrance tent from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Parking is extremely limited. Because there is no off-site parking confirmed for the event, Serota encourages attendees of the ceremony to come very early and reserve a parking space along Ala Moana Park Drive.
The ceremony will be broadcast on KHON2, KHII and The CW from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. It also will be livestreamed on the website, Facebook and YouTube. Those unable to attend can also float a virtual lantern on the website.
>> Gov. Josh Green will host his first Governor’s Memorial Day Ceremony at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe on Monday. The event’s theme is “A Grateful Nation Never Forgets.”
The ceremony will begin at 12:45 p.m. with a performance by the 111th Army Band of the Hawaii Army National Guard, followed
by a parade of flags and lei presentations from various veterans organizations. Green will deliver a Memorial Day address, and Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Hara will give welcoming remarks. The ceremony also will feature a rifle salute from the Hawaii National Guard Honor Guard followed by
a taps performance by the 111th Army Band.
Civilian attendees are asked to wear aloha attire, and military attendees are asked to dress in Class B or equivalent attire.
A shuttle service is available beginning at 11:30 a.m. National Guard vans will pick up guests from TheBus stop parking lot on Kamehameha Highway and drop them off at Memorial Plaza. The vans will run a return service to the original pickup location once the ceremony is over.
>> The 72nd Mayor’s Memorial Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific will begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday at Punchbowl. About 38,000 graves will be adorned with fresh lei and an American flag by Scouts of Hawaii. The ceremony will include oli, a color guard and an F-22 aircraft flyover. The Royal Hawaiian Band, Sounds of Aloha Chorus and 94th Lei Court also will perform. The ceremony will be broadcast on Olelo 49.
Pets are not allowed unless they are certified service animals, and only medically required chairs are allowed within the cemetery. Seats will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
Parking at Punchbowl is limited, but guests can park at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School beginning at 7 a.m. Monday. Shuttles, reserved Handi-
Vans and taxicabs will run service from the schools to the cemetery.
Free public parking is also available at the Civic Center Parking Structure and Fasi Municipal Parking Lot on
Beretania Street. TheBus
will offer shuttle service from the Alapa‘i Transit Center to Punchbowl beginning at 7 a.m. with three following trips leaving every 20 minutes until 8 a.m. Return trips will begin at the end of the ceremony. Regular bus fares will apply.
>> The Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial will commemorate deceased soldiers at Hawaii’s World War I Monument at 10 a.m. Sunday. The event will feature a veterans motorcycle group ride-in, a taps performance and hula. Parking is limited in front of the Natatorium and along Kalakaua Avenue.
>> U.S. Army Garrison
Hawaii will host its Installation Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday at Schofield Barracks Post Cemetery to honor fallen soldiers. The event will feature Col. Steve McGunegle, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, as the speaker, and presentations of wreaths from the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Veterans and Gold Star Families. American flags will be placed at each headstone.
Attendees without a military ID card can enter Schofield through the Lyman Gate, off Kunia Road, and must provide their current ID, vehicle registration, proof of
insurance and safety check.
