On May 30, 2016, the State of Hawaii commemorated the annual Memorial Day by holding two memorial day  events.   At 8:30 AM, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell hosted the 67th Mayor’s Memorial Day Ceremony at the National Cemetery  of the Pacific (Punchbowl)  which was attended by US and FilAm veterans, Hawaii State officials led by Governor David Ige  US Pacific Command  led by PACOM Commander Admiral Harry Harris Jr., consular corps of Hawaii and the general public.

At 1:00pm, Hawaii Governor David Ige hosted the Governor’s Memorial Day Ceremony at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe, Hawaii. In both occasions, Philippine Consul General Gina Jamoralin offered   wreaths on the behalf of the Philippine Consulate General and in honor of the soldiers who died in battles and were buried in the sites.  At the Mayor’s Memorial event, PACOM Commander Admiral Harris Jr. spoke about the grave threat facing the world which comes from a “global network of terrorists who despise everything freedom stands for”. He added that “This enemy is less visible, but no less intent on domination and victory.  Today – at this very moment – Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines stand again in harm’s way, defending our very way of life.” Admiral Harris also paid tribute to four (4) soldiers from Hawaii who were killed in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom whose remains were buried in the National Cemetery of the Pacific. One of them, Army Private First Class J.R. Salvacion, 27 years, who was killed on February 21, 2010 in Senjaray, Afghanistan, was born in the Philippines but moved to Hawaii as a young man to join his family.

Mayor Caldwell in his remarks paid tribute to the men and women of the US Armed Forces who defended Pearl Harbor when it was attacked by Japanese forces in the morning of December 7, 1941. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (END).