Puna Hongwanji Mission in Keaau and Hakalau Jodo Mission invite the public to concurrent Memorial Day services at 10 a.m. May 28 in honor of fallen service members.
Puna Hongwanji Mission in Keaau and Hakalau Jodo Mission invite the public to concurrent Memorial Day services at 10 a.m. May 28 in honor of fallen service members.
Puna Hongwanji welcomes the community to help honor Puna District veterans in the Centennial Memorial Garden fronting the temple. The garden’s silver granite monument was erected in 1947 under the guidance of the Rev. Jukaku Shirasu. About 2,000 people attended the first Memorial Day service and the program remains an annual project by members of Puna Hongwanji.
There will be a prelude before the May 28 Puna service. The Hawaii County Band, led by band master Paul Arceo, will be perform at 9:45 a.m. The guest speaker will be 3rd District state Rep. Richard Onishi, who served in the Army from 1973-77 and was past president of Hilo Hongwanji.
Families, relatives and friends of the veterans from the Puna District who were killed in action are invited. Various organizations also will attend.
Veterans who will be remembered are:
Stanley Cabral, Yuzo Hayashida, John Hermandez, Seiji Higa, Isamu Kanetani, Yutaka Kawamoto, Morio Mizumoto, Frank Mugihira, Shoichi Nakahara, Tadao Nakamura Mitsuru Ochiai, Eishin Oshiro, Seikichi Oshiro, Kazumi Tsutsui and Alfred Veriato (World War II).
David Aspili, Julio Figueroa, Yoshimi Fukumoto, Isacc K. Hale, Koichi Moriwaki and Paul K. Ura (Korean War).
Moses I. Kuahiwinui Jr. George G Luis, Gilbert Olivar, Hayward K. Peleioholani and George S. Salema (Vietnam War).
Ray M.J. Fuhrmann II (Iraq-Afghanistan).
Call the temple at 966-9981 for more information.
The Hakalau Recreational Council, under the leadership of Jack Ouye, Waichi Ouye and Masa Chinen, built a veterans memorial in May 1961 to honor veterans who sacrificed their lives from the Hakalau-Ninole area. The Hakalau Jodo Mission continues that tradition with its service at Hakalau Veterans Park.
The guest speaker will be retired Chief Master Sgt. Scott K. Fujimoto, former superintendent of the 509th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.
District soldiers to be honored are:
Thomas Smith (World War I); Onso Chinen, Hiroyuki Hiramoto, Isamu Ikeda, Yasuo Kaneshiro, Yoshitaka Kataoka, Satoshi Matsuoka, Toshiaki Morimoto, Hiroshi Motoishi, Saburo Nakazato, Masayoshi Ogata , Eishun Soken and Ronald K. Takara (World War II); Jun Mastushige (Korean War); and Lester W. Alipio and Bobby J. Barcena (Vietnam War).
Refreshments will served after the service at Hakalau Jodo Mission’s dining room, 28-2271 Old Mamalahoa Highway.
For more information, call 936-7828.