KAILUA-KONA — The 2016 Kailua-Kona Independence Day Parade is doing things a little differently.
KAILUA-KONA — The 2016 Kailua-Kona Independence Day Parade is doing things a little differently.
The parade committee chose to highlight American sacrifice in the Vietnam War on the 50th anniversary of the conflict, commemorating veterans by electing a unit of former soldiers and their families to serve as the parade’s collective Grand Marshal in lieu of a single individual.
Nellie Medeiros, whose husband Clarence spent a year fighting in Vietnam, has been involved for several years in organizing Independence Day parade tributes to Vietnam veterans, which she says were formerly underrepresented.
Naturally, she’s heading up the organization of the Grand Marshal unit in 2016.
“One week after we got married, Clarence left for Vietnam,” said Nellie, who lived with her husband’s family on Hawaii Island while he fought overseas from 1970-71. “We watched the TV every night and prayed for his safety. The Vietnam War, it was an unpopular war, but like all other vets, (Clarence) answered the call of duty. He served his country. We have to honor them, because no matter what, they’re all our soldiers.”
The Grand Marshal unit will include walking segments of soldiers both in military dress and street clothes,
customized UTV units for some veterans their spouses, and representatives of two gold star families — families who lost loved ones during the war.
As a special addition to the 21st annual procession that gets underway Monday starting at the Kekuaokalani Gymnasium off Kuakini Highway, a group of eight to 12 dogs will accompany the 25 to 30 human paraders, symbolizing the canine units that assisted Vietnam soldiers in field combat. The dogs will be supplied by the Kohala Animal Rescue and Education Service, or KARES, a no-kill organization that utilizes foster families for
animals until permanent homes can be found.
Debbie Cravatta, founder and operator of KARES for the last nine years, said that while none of the animals to be featured in the parade have a military history, representations of the special connection between dogs and people can be observed in almost all canine-human relationships.
“The military dogs were working dogs, and they guarded humans and would risk their lives for humans, but so would any other little dog in your backyard,” she said. “If an intruder came, they would fight for you without training. Most of them would give their life for any human.”
Clarence Medeiros, who spent most of his time in Vietnam as an engineer clearing mines and investigating treacherous tunnels, also known as spider holes, still feels a special connection to his outfit’s canine member — a light colored, Labrador/Husky mix named Pockets.
“There were only 14 of us,” Clarence said. “Part of our job when we came across tunnels or bunkers, we needed to blow them up. We used dogs to go into the tunnel and find out (if someone was in there).”
If it turned out an enemy combatant was occupying a spider hole, the dogs would often fight to protect their unit members.
On one occasion Clarence recalled, he found himself cleaning and reloading an M60 at daybreak. Some of his fellow soldiers were yet resting underneath a tent in a large, dugout foxhole nearby. Pockets began growling and sprinted off toward enemy lines, alerting Clarence to a potential problem.
Clarence followed, weapon in hand, and came across an enemy soldier who had broken through the lines and was wielding what was essentially a backpack full of C4 explosive. The enemy soldier’s plan was to detonate the pack in the tent under which Clarence’s companions rested. Instead, because of Pockets’ warning, Clarence cut his enemy down on the spot.
“We owe the dogs so much,” Clarence said. “For me, this is coming from my heart.”