KAILUA-KONA — Courage, honor, sacrifice — all are consistent themes across the country as America remembers its veterans every Memorial Day.
At the holiday ceremony the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization hosted at West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery Monday, two themes were added to the universal list — faith and inclusiveness.
Religion, like so many self-identifying characteristics, holds the power to divide. But faith, a common component of nearly all religions, has the power to unite, as does military service and the respect for that service.
Don Brown, a retired Air Force master sergeant and chaplain of DAV Chapter 7, hosted the ceremony and explained the significance of faith to the enlisted, as well as why his organization wanted to highlight it Monday.
“If (soldiers) are away from their family, and they’re in harm’s way, and they want to look for somebody, look for the Lord,” Brown said. “We wanted to make sure all faiths had a little part of (the service). We wanted it to be Christian-based, but we invite all other denominations.”
In that spirit, representatives of the Buddhist faith, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Jewish faith were all offered a platform after Brown led the invocation.
Rabbi Levi Gerlitzky posed the question as to why we remember those who died for our country, and what do we accomplish by doing so?
In his answer, he stressed the sacrifices of servicemen and women can serve as lessons for all, regardless of faith, as to the importance of charitable acts, be they small gestures or the ultimate sacrifice.
“King Solomon says, ‘It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of every man, and the living will lay it to his heart,’” said Gerlitzky, quoting the seventh chapter of Ecclesiastes.
The recognition of honor roll that came next in the ceremony cemented that lesson. The crowd of roughly 500 gathered at West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery sat in silence as the name of each native son and daughter of West Hawaii to give his or her life in service was read aloud.
Each name was followed by the single chime of a bell that rippled over an expanse of green grass and American flags, one for each grave site on the grounds.
The bell rang 47 times, the diversity of ancestry in each name read a reminder that the love of country doesn’t belong solely to one generation, one race, one religion or one gender.
Brown closed the speaking portion of the ceremony with an example of the depth to which that love can extend, sharing the story of Medal of Honor winner, Private First Class Herbert K. Pililaau of the U.S. Army, who was born in Waianae, Oahu and who died at the age of 22 on Heartbreak Ridge during the Korean War.
Covering his platoon’s retreat, Pililaau fired every bullet and threw every grenade he had. He then charged the enemy position, fighting to his death with nothing but a trench knife and his fists.
“We need to be constantly reminded of our gift of freedom and of those who gave their all,” Brown said. “Our younger generations must know who they were, what they did and why they did it. To do anything less would be a disservice to their sacrifice and their memories.”
