‘Duty, honor and country’ - The Garden Island

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Girl Scouts from Troops 174 of Hanalei and 4303 of Kapaa pass out miniature American flags to spectators of the Kauai Veterans Day Parade Saturday in Kapaa.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Melody Pascual, a resident at Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital in Kapaa, greets the crowd Saturday during the Kauai Veterans Day parade in Kapaa. Pascual was a colonel in the U.S. Army.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Sea Scout Makaya Kaduce braces the American Flag through the Kauai Veterans Day parade Saturday. Kaduce is also part of the Hawaii Children’s Theater “Newsies,” as is Sea Scout Commodore Larry Richardson. Both had to run off for a special preview showing at Kukui Grove Center following the Kapaa parade.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Kauai Veteran Day Parade Grand Marshall Jim Jung is surrounded by his mo‘opuna (grandchildren), including Kayla, Mailah, Levi and Canon Jung, Saturday during the parade through Kapaa.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Harold and Paula Rosa ride their motorcycles in the Kauai Veterans Day parade Saturday through Kapaa.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

All the way from the Westside, the Waimea High School JROTC unit, including its specialty units like the color guard, drill team and rifle team, join the lineup of marching units Saturday during the Kauai Veterans Day Parade in Kapaa. The Waimea High School JROTC will also be participating at the Veterans Day Service Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. at Kauai Veterans Cemetery in Hanapepe.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

The Hawaii Health Systems Corporation Kauai Region hospitals unit gets help from the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility in wheeling their residents in the Kauai Veterans Day Parade Saturday along crowd-filled Kuhio Highway in Kapaa.

“How many more miles do I have to behave?” asked Melody Pascual as she was being driven along the streets of downtown Kapaa on Saturday morning.

“Melody was a colonel,” said Josie Pablo, the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. regional recreational director. “This is the first time we were able to get both the Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital and the Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital to participate in the Veterans Day parade. There are about 10 residents who are veterans.”

The HHSC unit, consisting of eight residents from Mahelona and nine from KVMH, was just one of many that thrilled residents and visitors alike in the parade celebrating duty, honor and country.

“They’re veterans, and want to march,” said Dickie Chang, the emcee for the mini Coconut Festival gathering that followed the parade. “Jim Dangley is a veteran and his wife Kathi is an ‘Army brat.’”

The couple joined up with Mark Perriello and the Kauai Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee in celebrating and honoring the military.

Retired Gen. Mary Kay Hertog of the Kauai Veterans Council said there are approximately 6,000 military personnel who live and work on Kauai.

And there are countless more who served the country, as indicated by the wave of those who stood or raised arms when Hertog called for those who were in the military.

Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. acknowledged the efforts of the military. His words were echoed by Gov. David Ige in acknowledging the efforts of the military in helping the state recover from a recent series of disasters, including floods and a volcanic eruption.

Girl Scouts swept through the town, freely distributing miniature American flags for parade spectators, and Cast. Vinnie Johnson, commander of the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Mana, brought out his contingent of troops to be part of the celebration.

Hertog said the annual Veterans Day service will honor the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I next Sunday at the Kauai Veterans Cemetery in Hanapepe.

The public is invited to join the honoring of all those who served, and are serving in the military today. Services start at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11.

The Veterans Day parade was sponsored by the Kapaa Business Association, AARP, which paid special recognition to former Kauai Veterans Council Commandant Stu Burley, and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.

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