Ceremonies statewide honor veterans past and present

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Across Hawaii, servicemembers were honored in solemn Veterans Day ceremonies on Wednesday.

Among the attendees at this year’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl ceremony was Tia Briggs.

“I’m a Gold Star spouse. My husband actually, he’s here,” she said pointing to a button over her heart. “Raymond Briggs. He served in the Air Force. He died while he was serving.”

She shared that it’s been 16 years since his passing, but carries his memory always.

It’s an extra special Veterans Day because her son recently joined the Hawaii Air National Guard, continuing his father’s legacy of service.

“We are still here with all of our Gold Star family to remember and honor all of our fallen service members and also who are currently serving,” Briggs said.

The Punchbowl ceremony was among the largest in the state. It included hula, wreath presentations, a missing man flyover, and speeches from top military personnel.

“I scarcely think in a single state, is the reverence for veterans, is the patriotism of the state of Hawaii, exceeded in any of the other 49 states,” Adm. Samuel Paparo said in his speech to attendees.

Veterans were also honored elsewhere across the islands.

On Kauai, the Grand Hyatt Resort & Spa team laid more than 2,000 orchid lei on the graves at the Kauai Veteran’s Cemetery in Hanapepe. It’s an annual event for them to honor servicemembers laid to rest there.

And on Maui, Mayor Bissen spent the morning with the Maui County Veterans Council for their ceremony at the War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku.

Their event celebrated Helen Losey, who served as a U.S. army nurse in the Philippines during World War II.

“Being able to be in the military now, there’s so much more opportunities that opened up because she had paved the way to show and prove that women can be in the military too,” Chelsea Fernandez, veteran and Maui County Veterans Council president, said.

After living on Maui with her husband, Losey died in September at the age of 108. Her memory helped inspire Fernandez, who served eight years in the army, and was deployed in Iraq in 2003.

“That experience for me, it was a real eye opener. I was not even 21 yet when I went there, so it really gave me a good perspective at a young age of what really the world is outside of Hawaii,” Fernadez added.

Overall, it was a day to honor and salute those who served as the reverence of the holiday was felt throughout.