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Veterans Advisory Committee <br />Minutes August 24, 2021 <br />Page 15 <br />Chair Doolittle: And from the committee itself, thank you. <br />Lewis: Ryan is one of my heroes. I've known Ryan for many years. This does not <br />surprise me. When the volcano went up, that's another area that he brought his team and <br />jumped in. Even savings lives, I'll get really choked up about that one and the unmanned <br />things that were out there, helping people get the heck out of there. He is the best of the <br />best and his GIS systems and understanding. It's an unpaid career. He also helped me <br />when I was working for UH Hilo, he just helped me in ways that you know ... If I were to <br />say, I want someone on a committee, Ryan would be the guy, he's a doer, he pays <br />attention. And if you can help us in the cemetery, how awesome is that? So, thank you. <br />Whatever you can do, Ryan I know it'll be awesome. <br />Peroy: Again, we'll be in touch. I need to run right now but thank you very much. <br />Hopefully we'll have some good progress to report to you soon. Aloha. <br />Chair Doolittle: Thank you for the input. Any more comments about cemetery report? <br />Nicole. <br />Gray: Yes, I just had a question. I was on another meeting with Director Ron Han who <br />was talking about brining in the VA to train some of the cemetery folks. He wasn't sure <br />how it would work but he was trying to find a way to get someone from our cemeteries <br />here to go up to Oahu and train. Have you heard anything from that? <br />Deputy Hiraishi: I have not heard of anything. I don't know if maybe Maurice, the <br />Director has gotten some kind of notice on that. Maybe it just hasn't happened yet, but I <br />can tell you that the training would be awesome. If there was a way that those folks could <br />come on site here, that would be the best. <br />Minoru Hanato: Mr. Chair, Minoru Hanato here. West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery, I've <br />had couple complaints about the headstones not coming in. The families are waiting long <br />time. I know it's not the County, it's somebody else's fault but sometime if they can <br />boost the thing so they can get it faster. The workers in Kona, the old headstones from the <br />other graves they dig the hole for the headstone and turn it upside down and write the <br />name on it until the new headstone come in, for the interment. Which is really good <br />because in the past there's a small plaque you put on the grave and sometimes it flies <br />away. That is really good on the workers. On another hand, before our cemetery was <br />remodified, we had several meetings with the head guys in Honolulu and they spent quite <br />a bit of money just coming over and we tell them what's good for them to do and they did <br />something completely different and now they have problems, the families are grumbling. <br />We asked for double decker concrete vaults so that the machines don't have to go over <br />the grave and you don't have to bury every other plot. If they bury right next to each <br />other, they're digging the next one, it caves in and sometimes the aroma from the <br />previous grave comes up. But if they had listened to us when we suggested that they do <br />the concrete vaults all they need to do is put in a small excavator just to dig up about one <br />foot of soil and dig up the concrete cover and that's all then you don't have the six inch <br />