This Veterans Day — this coming Friday — is special. On that day, the entire world begins two years of commemorations leading up to Nov. 11, 2018, the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the horrors of World War I. Mark the opening of the countdown with us on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m., the traditional 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. We will gather at Hawaii’s official World War I monument, the War Memorial Natatorium in Waikiki. This is the 20th year that Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8616 has organized
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Friday: Remember World War I's Biggest Battle 100 Years Ago
This Friday is the 100th anniversary of the start of one of the bloodiest battles in human history: World War I’s Somme Offensive. It began July 1, 1916, with a British and French attack on German lines in the area of the River Somme in far northern France. By the time it ended in mid-November, the two sides had suffered casualties of more than a million men killed or wounded. The United States was not yet a part of the war in 1916. But Australian Andrew Dowling wrote us recently, asking if there was any World War I memorial in
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Photos from the 2016 Natatorium Memorial Day Observance
It was simple, but so beautiful. Somber, yet joyous. Meaningful for all who had the honor to be there to remember our nation’s war dead. Mahalo to everyone who participated in the 28th annual Memorial Day observance at the War Memorial Natatorium in Waikiki. Those who spoke so eloquently. Those who danced with such grace. Those who who presented lei, flowers and salutes in tribute to fallen comrades. Those who performed military ceremonies. Those who sang. Those who sat quietly with their thoughts. Below are a few of the photos taken at the observance. A few more, with identifying captions,
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Be There: 28th Annual Memorial Day Observance at the Nat
A picnic or a paddle? Do it. A family get-together or a round of golf? By all means. That’s part of what holiday weekends are for. But the Memorial Day holiday has another, more central purpose. One we shouldn’t forget: to remember and thank the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to defend our country. There have been an estimated 1.3 million such sacrifices, from the time of the American Revolution to our most recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Memorial Day Weekend Observance at the Natatorium You are cordially invited to the 28th annual Memorial Day Weekend
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'The Tank' Now Available on DVD
We’ve just received a DVD version of The Tank, the great short documentary on the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium that aired a few months ago on KHNL-TV. Many of our friends on the Mainland and around the world couldn’t see the broadcast; many here in Hawaii want to see the film again and share it with friends and family. You asked for it. No problem! Now you can get it. Here’s How to Get Yours While supplies last, we’ll send a DVD of The Tank as a thank-you for a tax-deductible donation of $25 or more to the Friends of
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The Granddaughter of the Natatorium's Builder Returns
Knowing history is one thing. But seeing it, hearing it, talking with it is another thing entirely. That’s why we were so thrilled and grateful to meet Marti King over Thanksgiving weekend. Our Link to the Man Who Built the Natatorium Marti is the granddaughter of John Llewellyn Cliff, the Honolulu contractor who built the War Memorial Natatorium. She was in Hawaii for the holiday and stopped by to see the Natatorium again and chat with members of the Friends of the Natatorium. She also presented a donation to help repair and reopen the facility that is so much a
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Honor Veterans at the Natatorium on Wednesday
It’ll be a busy hour on a busy day in the midst of a busy week. But it would be well worth your time to stop by the Veterans Day observance at the War Memorial Natatorium in Waikiki. The brief ceremony is scheduled, of course, for 11 a.m. this Wednesday, Nov. 11 – the traditional 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. That’s the day and time in 1918 when the armistice ending World War I took effect. This will be the 19th annual Veterans Day commemoration at the Natatorium sponsored by Honolulu’s Veterans of Foreign Wars
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Prime Time Slot for 'The Tank,' New Natatorium Documentary
Honolulu’s NBC affiliate KHNL-TV will premiere The Tank, a one-hour documentary on the Waikiki’s War Memorial Natatorium, this Sunday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. The Tank premiere falls three days before Veterans Day. The holiday was created in 1919 to mark the first anniversary of the 1918 Armistice ending World War I. The Natatorium is the official memorial to Hawaii’s veterans of that conflict. What ‘The Tank’ is About In The Tank, the filmmakers at Oahu’s TalkStory Productions have completed a herculean task: compressing nearly 100 years of Natatorium history and over 40 hours of footage into a one-hour prime
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Book Tells 'Three-Year Swim Club' Story, Natatorium's Role
The Natatorium is important not just because it’s an official state war memorial, because of its architectural significance, or because of its unique place in local history and culture. It’s also important because of the people who have swum there. In just a few days, a new book is coming out about some of those people, a fascinating group of youngsters from Maui known as “The Three-Year Swim Club.” Julie Checkoway’s book of that name tells the story of Maui public school teacher Soichi Sakamoto and the impoverished Depression-era sugar plantation kids he coached, at first in an irrigation ditch
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The Natatorium’s Friday ‘Taps’ Tradition Grows: Bagpipes and Trumpet
Our bagpipe contingent is up to three! Last December, piper Kim Greeley began playing at the War Memorial Natatorium every Friday at sunset. She volunteered for the gig – playing tunes like Coming Home and Amazing Grace before sounding Taps – as her weekly tribute to the 10,000 World War I servicemen and women from Hawaii whose memories are enshrined at the Natatorium. Later, fellow piper Hardy Spoehr joined in. More recently, piper Theresa Bell, like Kim a member of Celtic Kula Pipe Band, has also helped to patrol the Natatorium gates on Friday evenings. Guest Trumpet On Friday, Oct.
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