'Ohana Day shows support for military
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
More than 1,500 people turned out at Kapi'olani Park yesterday for Military 'Ohana Day, Hawai'i's show of appreciation and support for troops deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan and the families they will leave behind.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Army Guard, Reserve and Schofield soldiers have been preparing intensely for the upcoming deployments, the first of which begins this week. But yesterday the soldiers spent time with their families, listening to entertainers on two bandstands, watching their children play on inflatable bouncers — one shaped like a dinosaur, the other like a saber-toothed tiger — and eating free food.
Fred Springer, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant, his son, Alex, 4, his wife, Saori, and his daughter, Tokino, 7, enjoy Military 'Ohana Day at Kapi'olani Park.
"We only had about a month to put it together," state Rep. Marcus R. Oshiro said of the event. He organized it after getting calls from constituents in Wahiawa who wanted to do something for the troops.
"So, what do you do when someone is leaving?" he asked. "You feed them. Give them some good entertainment, give their kids goody bags and balloons."
The faxes and phone calls went out, and the community responded wholeheartedly, providing both goods and volunteers, he said.
The daylong picnic was capped off by a "Sunset on the Beach" event at Queen's Surf Beach, which, along with the Eddie Murphy movie "Daddy Day Care," included a videotaped message of support from U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye.
"The support here in Hawai'i is tremendous," said Vicki Olson, who attended the picnic with her husband, Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson, commander of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army, Hawaii. "And it's across the entire state, not only the community just outside the gate."
Gen. Olson said Hawai'i's show of support has been a great comfort for the soldiers and their families.
Sgt. James Smith — who attended the picnic with his wife, daughter, mother-in-law and brother-in-law — agreed.
"It's good," he said. "It brings everybody together and shows us that a lot of people appreciate what we're doing."
His wife of just over one year, Diana, said she also appreciated the picnic and the support from the community. She wasn't very happy about her husband's upcoming deployment to Afghanistan, though.
"I just pray to God he stays safe," she said.
Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.
