Sunshine broke through a previously overcast Monday morning as the emcee of Hilo’s Veterans Day ceremony proclaimed it an “amazing, amazing Veterans Day.”
Surveying the 60 or so in attendance at East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery No. 1, Chelsea Mack, senior vice commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3830 in Pahoa said it was “an honor and a profound privilege” to “unite as a community to honor the brave men and women who have donned the uniform of our great nation and have defended the freedoms that we hold so dear.”
Adding to the festive celebration of our erstwhile armed forces members, the Hawaii County Band under the direction of Paul Arceo filled the air with an upbeat medley of military marches, as well playing the National Anthem, plus “Hawai‘i Pono‘i” and “God Bless America.” There also were floral tributes, plus “Taps” and rifle salutes fired by veterans from American Legion Hilo Post 3.
Mack, a real estate agent and combat veteran who served eight years in the Army, invited those in attendance to “pause to remember the sacrifice, commitment and courage of our veterans — those who have fought on distant shores, and those of you right here at home, as well as the family members who support them.”
“Each of us here again today, gathered around, play a vital role in assuring that the stories of those who have departed defending our freedoms are not forgotten,” she continued. “We are bound together by a shared understanding of sacrifice, duty and love for our country.”
Beyond the pavilion where the ceremony took place, neatly mowed rows of deceased U.S. military veterans and their spouses stood silent sentinel as the miniature U.S. flags their graves were decorated with fluttered in the breeze, as if in approval of the gathering above ground.
Mack said we in Hawaii “are blessed with a unique connection to our veterans.”
“The spirit of aloha embodies the values of compassion, respect and unity that we all hold so dear,” she said. “It is a reminder that, as we honor our veterans we also embrace each other, ensuring that no veteran feels alone or forgotten.”
Fa‘amanu Teofilo, the commander of VFW Post 3830, described Veterans Day as “a happy day.”
“We thank the Lord for what he has given to us; we thank the veterans for what they’ve sacrificed,” he said.
Keynote speaker George Capron, a 92-year-old Navy veteran of the Korean War, said that in keeping with Teofilo’s “happy day” theme, he would tell some sea stories from 1952 and 1953.
“Some of them are even true,” Capron quipped, eliciting laughter from the audience.
“In January of 1952 I was sworn into the Navy by Adm. Chester Nimitz,” Capron said. “The Navy ordered a troop transport … 3,000 seasick boots headed for our assignments in the Pacific.
“I was the only one who didn’t get seasick,” he added, getting a laugh.
Capron, a spellbinding storyteller, weaved amusing nautical tales. The sea stories, which are Navy staples usually containing details requiring some suspension of disbelief, included the equatorial hazing of “pollywogs” — sailors and marines who had not crossed the equator while on duty — to turn them instantly into “shellbacks,” master mariners who have voyaged over the unseen oceanic line at zero latitude.
“We earned the title by running the gauntlet. … I crawled all the way, kissed the ‘royal baby’ and — the rest is secret,” Capron said to more laughs.
“In the Navy, we all started as deck apes,” he recalled. “If we weren’t an officer or at general quarters, we were sleeping, eating, repairing or painting something — or trying to find candy or cigarettes.”
Mack described Veterans Day — which is always observed on Nov. 11 regardless of the day of week on which the date falls — as “more than just a date on our calendars.”
“It is a solemn reminder of the lives that have been dedicated to the service of our nation,” she said. “It is a day of reflection, gratitude and celebration.
“We honor those who stood tall when our nation called, who faced adversity with unwavering resolve and who, through our actions, have shaped the course of history.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com
