Pfc. John Rupert Rowe, a 26-year-old soldier from Oahu, was killed on the battlefield at Chery-Chartreuse, France, on July 31, 1918 — the first Hawaii resident to fall in combat in World War I.
Nearly a century later, one of Rowe’s grandnephews, retired Army Reserve Lt. Col. Kenrock Higa, will pay tribute to Hawaii service members at a Memorial Day ceremony Sunday at Kapiolani Park, across Kalakaua Avenue from the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial.
"Realize that those people’s memories are still alive in their families," Higa said in an interview. "Just because they passed away 95 years ago doesn’t make their loss any less painful."
The Friends of the Natatorium, the sponsor of Sunday’s 10 a.m. event, choose to highlight those who fought in the Great War.
"I think that it’s really good that we have this connection to not only the people who die, but (to the) tens of thousands of people in Hawaii who are connected, who are family members of people who served in World War I," said Donna Ching, vice president of Friends of the Natatorium’s board of directors.
The Natatorium ceremony is one of a handful of Memorial Day observances on Oahu this weekend.
The city and state are putting out the call for kupuna and other volunteers to help sew or donate lei to be placed on veterans’ graves this weekend.
The city’s "Sew a Lei for Memorial Day" event will be today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Honolulu Hale courtyard. Volunteers are needed to sew lei — no experience needed. All supplies will be provided. The Royal Hawaiian Band Glee Club will entertain.
People are also asked to donate flower or ti leaf lei today at various city sites. Lei should be 22 to 24 inches long before tying.
Lei drop-off sites are the Fasi Municipal Building and Kapolei Hale, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; any Oahu fire station, 6:30 a.m. to noon; and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ala Wai Community Park, Makua Alii Center at 1541 Kalakaua Ave., and the following city district parks: Kailua, Kaneohe, Makiki, Waialua, Waianae, Waiau, Waimanalo and Waipahu.
The lei will be used by Boy Scouts to decorate graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
The state Department of Agriculture invites volunteers to sew lei to honor veterans on this Memorial Day. The event will be Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Agriculture Department’s Plant Quarantine Branch, 1849 Auiki St. in Kalihi.
| MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCES
Sunday
ª 8 a.m.: Four Shinto Buddhist shrines will hold a tribute to veterans and call for world peace at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl.
ª 10 a.m.: The "Roll Call of Honor in Remembrance" at Punchbowl Cemetery is put on by the Pacific American Foundation. The event will remember and salute veterans from the Pacific islands.
ª 10 a.m.: The Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial will hold a celebration at Kapiolani Park across Kalakaua Avenue from the Natatorium.
ª 1 p.m.: Girl Scouts of Hawai i program at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe. Guest speaker will be retired Col. Ronald Han Jr., director of the Hawaii Office of Veterans Services. Scouts will put U.S. flags on graves after the ceremony.
ª 5:30 p.m.: The American-Vietnamese Coalition and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10583 will hold a candlelight ceremony at Punchbowl to commemorate missing in action Vietnam War veterans, with help from Hawaii’s Own Rolling Thunder Motorcyclists, comprised of Vietnam Vets/Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club and Street Bikers United.
Monday
ª 8:30 a.m.: The 64th annual Mayor’s Memorial Day Ceremony will take place at Punchbowl. Mayor Kirk Caldwell will lead the ceremony, and Adm. Samuel Locklear III, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, will give a speech. The Royal Hawaiian Band and the Sounds of Aloha singers will be featured. There will not be a flyover this year because of Defense Department budget cuts. The city will operate shuttle buses to Punchbowl, departing the Ala≠pai Transit Station from 7 to 8 a.m. Buses will return at 9:30 and 9:40 a.m. The cost is $2.50 each way.
ª 10 a.m.: Schofield Barracks will honor Army veterans at the Schofield Post Cemetery. Nonmilitary guests should come early via Schofield’s Lyman Gate for a visitor’s pass and ID verification.
ª 11 a.m.: The Submarine Veterans Association at Bowfin Base, Pearl Harbor, will have a commemorative ceremony at the USS Parche Submarine Park and Memorial. It will have a dedication for the new USS Growler memorial plaque.
ª 1 p.m.: The Governor’s Memorial Day Ceremony at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery will feature music, speeches and wreath tributes laid at the Memorial Plaza Monument. Gov. Neil Abercrombie and local military officials will give addresses after performances by the 111th Army Band.
|
