The problem at the Hawai'i State Veterans Cemetery peaked in December when heavy rains brought the total graves affected to nearly 150, said Miles Okamura, cemetery operations manager. Workers have fixed many of them, he said, but some were still several inches below the cemetery lawn recently as staff prepared for Memorial Day activities.

"Yeah, we have problems, but you have to look at how we are going to fix it and how it is going to be done," Okamura said today.

The cemetery, which has about 5,600 graves, is not being neglected, he said. The cemetery has four groundskeepers.

"Our guys are working hard out here," he said. "But what do you expect from a short staff?"

Okamura would not discuss solutions, referring questions to Ed Cruickshank, director of the office of veterans services. Cruickshank also refused to discuss the situation today, referring all questions to state Department of Defense spokesman 1st Lt. Jeff Hickman.

"I won’t comment until I get all the facts," Cruickshank said.

Hickman said a company has been hired to assess the situation at the cemetery, and state officials hope that will be completed by October.

Hickman said the "ongoing problem" got worse with this winter’s heavy rains.

"I don’t know why an assessment team wasn’t chosen earlier," he said. "But since the rains hit, now there are more and more graves sinking, and they felt now they should do it right this time."

Additional state Department of Defense workers will be sent to help at the cemetery while the assessment is conducted, he said.

By contrast, the federally funded National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific has nearly four times the staff and less acreage to maintain, Hickman said.

"That’s why the place looks excellent," he said. "Kane'ohe is an active cemetery, with interments every day. That staff is strewn thin. Plus, there is a hiring freeze, so yes, staffing is a big issue."

Okamura said many private cemeteries won’t repair a headstone that has has sunk as much as four inches.

"They leave it alone because that is their norm," he said. "But our families expect us to have it level with the ground."

Okamura said anything less than level is unacceptable to him.

"It should be level with the surrounding ground," he said.