Archives for Veterans

Yes, we will observe Memorial Day and honor America’s war dead in 2020 — just differently

We are unshakable in our commitment always to honor those who died defending America. This Memorial Day weekend, however, our observance at the War Memorial Natatorium in Waikiki must be a little different. Out of concern for everyone’s safety – and especially for the health of our senior veterans – the Friends of the Natatorium will not hold its traditional ceremony outside the Natatorium this year. Instead, we welcome our friends from Celtic Kula Pipe Band of Hawaii, who will play an appropriate tribute to the fallen at the Natatorium at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 24, the day before
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, Memorial Day, and Veterans.

Honor our Veterans at the Natatorium, 11 a.m. on Monday — Veterans Day

On Nov. 11, 1918, Germany and the Allies signed an Armistice. The guns of World War I’s Western Front finally fell silent. After more than four years, the so-called Great War – in which an estimated 15 million to 18 million people died – was essentially over. It was 101 years ago this Monday. Observe Veterans Day at the Natatorium We in the United States now observe Veterans Day each Nov. 11, paying tribute – as well we should – to all those who have served our nation in uniform, both in war and in peace. But the remembrance of
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, History, Veterans, and Veterans Day.

Attend the 2019 Memorial Day Observance, Sunday, May 26, at the Natatorium

Show up to honor American men and women who showed up and died for you. Join us for the 31st annual Memorial Day Weekend observance at the War Memorial Natatorium in Waikiki. We will gather on the lawn in front of the Natatorium at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, the day before Memorial Day. As always, we will honor all our nation’s war dead, an estimated 1.35 million men and women since the Revolutionary War. We have special affection for those from Hawaii, including more than 100 from the then-territory who died in service during World War I. This
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, Memorial Day, and Veterans.

Join us! 100th anniversary of the end of World War I; observances at the Natatorium

Six merchant mariners killed in a submarine attack on the S.S. Aztec. The Hawaii Naval Militia deployed on the U.S.S. St. Louis for convoy duty in the Atlantic. More than 5,500 soldiers readied for war in what is still the largest mobilization in Hawaii National Guard history. Red Cross ambulance drivers in France. Sweater-knitting schoolkids and firefighters. Bandage rollers in the Iolani Palace throne room. Liberty Bond buyers. In all, more than 10,000 men and women from Hawaii volunteered for service in World War I. At least 101 of them died. And many, many more served in one way or
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Categories: Events, Friends of the Natatorium, History, Veterans, and Veterans Day.

Honor Our Veterans, and Observe the WWI Centennial, with Us This Saturday

One hundred years ago this Saturday, the German high command met, hoping to find a way to defeat the Allies before the U.S. Army could flood the Western Front with fresh American troops. Let’s just say that didn’t work out too well for the German high command. Exactly a year later, on Nov. 11, 1918 – 99 years ago this Saturday – the Germans and Allies signed an Armistice. The guns finally fell silent on the Western Front. After more than four years, the horrors of World War I – in which an estimated 15 million to 18 million people
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, Veterans, and Veterans Day.

Remember the Aztec! Remember Hawaii's Role in World War I

One hundred years ago this week, World War I had been raging for nearly three years. One hundred years ago this week, the United States entered the conflict, declaring war on Germany. “Lafayette, Nous Voilà” Just two summers later, America was sending 10,000 soldiers a day to Europe. A few months after that, it was over. The Allies, with America’s help, had won the gargantuan, horrific, and horribly misnamed War to End All Wars. One of the events that precipitated the U.S. declaration of war on April 6, 1917, was the torpedoing just days earlier of a U.S. cargo vessel,
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Categories: Elected officials, Friends of the Natatorium, History, and Veterans.

Veterans Day at the Natatorium Kicks Off Centenary Countdown

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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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, Uncategorized, Veterans, and Veterans Day.

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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Categories: Events, Friends of the Natatorium, Hula, Memorial Day, Uncategorized, and Veterans.

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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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, Uncategorized, Veterans, and Veterans Day.