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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, May 24, 2002

Memorial Day weekend has events lined up

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i will honor veterans Monday, Memorial Day, in a series of events, with several preliminary activities in the days leading up to the national holiday.

Parking will be restricted today through Monday on portions of streets near the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and near cemeteries in Nu'uanu and Manoa.

Police will be stationed today through Monday at Tantalus and Puowaina drives, Puowaina and Hookui Street, and Hookui and Auwaiomalu streets to ease traffic flow. Traffic within the cemetery will be shifted from normal two-way to one-way routes for the weekend. Tour companies have been asked to avoid visiting Punchbowl to facilitate access by relatives.

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What's happening

Here are details of some major events:

SUNDAY

• Mayor Jeremy Harris' address at a memorial service by Friends of the Natatorium at 10 a.m. on the grounds of Waikiki's Natatorium. Other speakers include Cmdr. Hank Miranda, commanding officer of the USS Russell.

• Gov. Ben Cayetano's memorial address at the 18th annual Sunset Memorial Service at 6 p.m. at the Armed Forces Eternal Flame, mauka of the Capitol. This service, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, pays homage to those killed in the Korean War.

• Sunset reception, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and a Arizona Memorial Fund event at the Arizona Memorial Visitor Center and Museum, recognizing the fund's newly appointed trustee, Sam Donaldson of ABC News. The reception will include the unveiling of the museum's exhibit, "Creating the USS Arizona Memorial."The event is limited to 150 people; some of the $50 tickets may still be available by calling 265-1870.

MONDAY

• Public ceremony 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Arizona Memorial Visitor Center and Museum. This free event commemorates the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the Arizona Memorial and features remarks by keynote speaker Sam Donaldson; Teddy Draper, a Navajo code talker in World War II; Paul Mayberry, U.S. undersecretary of defense for readiness; and Jan-Peter Preis, son of the Arizona Memorial architect.

• Mayor's Memorial Day Service, 8:30 a.m., National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, where Mayor Jeremy Harris and Gen. Bill Begert, commander of Pacific Air Forces, will place a wreath at the cemetery's dedicatory stone.

• Governor's annual Memorial Day ceremony, 1 p.m., Hawai'i State Veterans Cemetery in Kane'ohe. Gov. Ben Cayetano and Maj. Gen. Edward L. Correa Jr., adjutant general of the state of Hawai'i, will make remarks.

VARIOUS DAYS

• At the USS Arizona Memorial, tomorrow and Sunday:

Special interpretive boat tours featuring historic sites and buildings that played a role during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack. Free, but advance registration is required. Deadline is the close of business today. Call 422-2771, Ext. 128.

Tomorrow — 9:30 a.m., "From Fishponds to Battleships" describes early landscape formations, importance to Native Hawaiians, and strategic influence to the U.S. military; 11 a.m., "Query As to Why," answering the many questions asked about the attack on Pearl Harbor; 1 p.m., "Pearl Harbor Remembered," examines the deteriorating Japanese-American relations before Dec. 7, 1941, and explains the attack on the Pacific Fleet. Sunday — 9:30 a.m., "Query As to Why"; 11 a.m., "Pearl Harbor Remembered"; 1 p.m., "From Fishponds to Battleships."

• Also for tomorrow, residents of the Punchbowl area are advised there will be an 8 a.m. firing drill by the Marine Corps artillery in rehearsal for Memorial Day ceremonies.