KAUPULEHU — Monday was more than an annual Memorial Day service at the cemetery. It was also the first time the improved ashes garden was used.
Originally a little more than a “field of gravel,” according to speaker John Grogan, it has grown into a memorial for POW/MIA and has a garden of native plants.
The first person to have their remains spread there was John Earl O’Connor, a survivor of Pearl Harbor who was later wounded aboard the cruiser U.S.S. Saint Louis.
The ashes were spread by Michael “Rabbit” Watson, who called O’Connor his second father.
O’Connor had a full ceremony in Walla Walla, Washington, but always wanted his ashes spread in Hawaii, Watson said.
So his son made sure to send some to the islands, which Watson cast in an arc behind the fountain.
Watson made his way carefully out, greeted by members of his Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club Red and Black, along with bikers from other clubs.
“He’ll always be the first one,” Watson said, a unique honor.
O’Connor survived his injuries, got married, raised children and lived a full life, Watson said. But that’s far from true for the 43 West Hawaiian Veterans of Foreign Wars who died in combat.
Of those who died in combat, 17 are from World War II, six fell in Korea and another 19 in Vietnam. One is from Afghanistan.
The sole casualty from West Hawaii in the Afghanistan war was Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Camero. He died in Germany after injuries suffered in Afghanistan in 2011. He was memorialized both in words and an extensive display of flowers and leis.
His burial was the first of a service member killed in action at the cemetery.
Although Camero’s was perhaps the most decorated grave, none were forgotten by the volunteers.
Each had maile leis wrapped around the edges of the headstones, with flower leis placed atop. Some graves had additional decorations or gifts left behind, like a can of Diet Coke left at the grave of Sgt. Kenji Akazawa, a Korean War veteran.
Other families kissed the stones or sprinkled water. One ohana made sure to pour a Coors Lite out around the burial place of their loved one.
These individual events were brought together by the ceremony, put on by the VFW.
“You’re just ohana,” said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, making the neighbor islands a special place to visit.
Ellen Johnson spoke about her father, who was an Army pilot in World War II. She remembered going to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor and wondering why he was standing there, silent, staring at the white block with a gentle arch.
Her mother explained that he had lost friends he grew up with on the ship, which gave Johnson insight into her father’s life.
She said she was there to speak for the ghosts of the people who “never had a life,” as they died in service to their country.
Cindy Evans, state representative, had parents who were both veterans of World War II. She said reading the letters from her father’s home reminded her how important the links between home and the service members are.
She drew on the old saying that people don’t fight for what’s in front of them, but what is behind them.