HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0543.002 2012-2014 COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAII
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Presented to the
West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery
Development and Expansion Association
November 11, 2013
Aloha to the many veterans, friends, and families gathered today at the West Hawaii
Veterans Cemetery to honor those at rest in this majestic location and beyond. Today we
join our fellow citizens across Hawaii and the nation to pay tribute to service members
whose valor enriches our lives as Americans.
The perseverance of Kona's veterans brought to life the West Hawai'i Veterans Cemetery.
The West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery Development and Expansion Association
combines local chapters of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the
Veterans of Foreign Wars and the community to care for this place.With today's
groundbreaking for the POW/MIA Memorial Garden, and the thousands of hours of
reforestation work by residents, visitors, and active military personnel, the West Hawaii
Veterans Cemetery has truly earned the "shrine status" granted by the United States
Veterans Administration.
Veterans Day serves as a time for us to remember and thank those brave men and women
who served our nation so honorably in the past, and those who proudly wear the uniform
today. They will not be forgotten. Mahalo.
Sincerely,
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NEIL ABERCROMBIE Comm. No 51/3°
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Governor, State of Hawai'i Ref.To: P/C06' 7e,/
Ref. Date at- • 4 2013
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I , U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TULSI GABBARD p•
l to be presented at the If
West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery POW-MIA ,..44, i .
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Memorial Garden Dedication and Ground Breaking
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in honor of those who have served
Veterans, military service members,families, and friends—Aloha. Though I am unable to personally be with you
today, I appreciate the opportunity to offer brief remarks in honor of the dedication and groundbreaking of the
West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery POW-MIA Memorial Garden. It is an honor and a privilege to send this
message to you today as we pause to remember, and honor the selfless men and women who have answered the ,,'
it: call to service and paid the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of peace, and in defense of our freedom.
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i. We join together this Veterans Day, like millions of Americans in communities across our country to pay tribute
a to all those who have fought and fallen in places and under circumstances that few among us can begin to
imagine. This POW-MIA Memorial honors the sacrifices of our Nation's military, and Hawaii's heroes. It
confronts the hardest questions we never want to have to ask, "Where are they now?".
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On this day, at this memorial, it is not just a national day of recognition — it is a day to remember husbands and
Iwives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers who took an oath of service to ! I
Iour Nation. It is a time to honor generations of sacrifice and reflect on their service.
For all of the Veterans here today, you have my deepest admiration and the gratitude of a nation safe, due to your
sacrifice. Thank you for untold acts of valor and the countless sacrifices that were made by you few, who have
served this great nation both in peace and at war. Because of you, we are able to continue to live a way of life that i e
i is uniquely our own,and incomparable to any other country on the face of the Earth.
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Support for our troops does not—and should never—end with your tours of duty. America must, and will, keep
its word to those men and women who have given us so much. As long as our flag still flies, you are not, and
never will be,forgotten.
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• Me ke aloha pumehana,
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
Presented on this 11th day of
Serving the People of Hawaii's 2nd District - —November 2013 ,