The Big Island’s Enewetak community on Saturday commemorated Enewetak Liberation Day.
The day remembers when Enewetak residents “came out of the holes” after the U.S. defeated Japan at the end of the battle of Eniwetok during World War II in the Marshall Islands.
The event held locally sought to raise awareness of the community here on the Big Island, as well as the U.S. nuclear bomb testing and cleanup programs that have taken place at Enewetak Atoll between 1946 and 1958.
“People from Enewetak understand that it is not safe to return to a contaminated and radioactive home. Now, they’re raising their families and children here on the Big Island. They want to understand good ways to live out on these native Hawaii islands respectfully and to be respected members of the society here,” said David Anitok, event coordinator.