LIHU‘E — A lot of cars passing the Veterans Memorial Highway reacted Thursday to the group of people led by the East Kaua‘i Lions Club in the clear, sunny morning fronting the Kaua‘i Veterans Center.
Cars honked their support and thank you to veterans on Veterans Day, and some added a personal shout out of “Thank You,” or “Right On!” while others flashed the familiar local shaka of approval.
“He (Christian Lardizabal) wouldn’t be anywhere else,” said Mary Lardizabal, Christian’s mother. “He is the author of the American Eagle mural on the front of the Kaua‘i Veterans Center, done as his Eagle Scout project last year.”
The Eagle Scout from Troop 168 and his family joined the group that included Kaua‘i Veterans Council commander Gen. (retired) Mary Kay Hertog who drove in from the Kaua‘i Veterans Cemetery.
“The Boy Scouts were out in force,” Hertog said. “They put up the American flags that will decorate the cemetery until noon. People from the Grand Hyatt Resort and Spa were also present with lei for the graves.”
John and Peggy Chapple of Alaska were cutting their flag-waving session short.
“We’ve got to meet Jim Jung down at the cemetery,” John said. “We’ve been coming here for about 40 years, and each time we visit, we try and do something to help the veterans groups. Last night, Nov. 10, we attended a small gathering with Capt. Rod Green to celebrate the birth of the U.S. Marine Corps. You know, once a Marine, always a Marine.”
Veterans Day, without any of the large-gathering events due to the COVID-19 protocol and rules, made do with these patriotic gestures and staying within complying with the COVID-19 guidelines.
“We applied for a permit to have this activity on Rice Street fronting the historic County Building,” said East Kaua‘i Lions past president Janice Bond. “But they told us there wasn’t enough time allowed for the permit to be approved. That left us no place to demonstrate our patriotism until the Kaua‘i Veterans Center allowed us to wave flags in front of their facility.”
From the Veterans Administration, the origins of Veterans Day come from the end of World War I when on Nov. 11, 1918, an armistice between the U.S.-led Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
Although the war was not officially over until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles seven months later, Nov. 11 is recognized as the end of the “war to end all wars.”
With 27 states recognizing the holiday with their respective legislatures, Congressional action on June 4, 1926, recognized the holiday as Armistice Day, a label that stuck for 30 years before Congress voted to change the name to Veterans Day in honor of all those who served in the military.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
Veterans day are for those who are for the American history and recognize those who deserve to be called special in the eyes of the American people. The military. This is analogous to something like the story of the Good Brothers. On the other end of the spectrum. The work force so to speak. For the American people also, the hobby goers. Those are the men who dedicated their life to hardships, trial and error, and so rightfully be called The Pioneers. That’s the same sentiment.
Produced by Jay S. Gerber and directed. It was a short 25 minute movie clip. About a part of American history and the family.