Posted on: Thursday, January 27, 2005

Congressional delegation shares grief

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Ed Case said he realized that a tragedy must have occurred when a Marine Corps representative arrived at his Washington office yesterday.

A personal visit from the military is unusual and, in this case, it was to tell Case that Kane'ohe Bay Marines had been killed in a helicopter crash.

"It was a shock, a sense of terrible and tragic loss," Case said as he boarded a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu yesterday afternoon.

Members of Hawai'i's congressional delegation, who learned of the deaths yesterday, honored the memories of the fallen soldiers and extended prayers to their families.

"My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in Iraq," said U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye.

"Having served in combat, and especially having many friends who never made it back home, I am well aware of the grief and anguish that family members and friends are experiencing over the loss of their loved ones," said Inouye, Hawai'i's senior senator, who lost an arm in World War II combat and later received a Medal of Honor.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka offered his thoughts and prayers to the families of the dead Marines. He pointed to the thousands of Hawai'i-based troops, including reservists, who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and said the state is "particularly feeling the effects of the war."

"I am deeply saddened by this event," Akaka said.

"I am stunned that so many lives were lost in a single incident. My heartfelt thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies go to the families of each Marine."

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie said the Marine Corps had asked him to refrain from issuing a statement until the victims' next of kin have been notified. That had been going on throughout yesterday.

Case said: "What is so crucial in a time such as this is what we're already doing in Hawai'i, and that is to provide as much support as we can for the families that are going through the worst event in their entire lives. Beyond that, we need to provide that support to all of the families and friends of servicemen stationed overseas right now because a tragedy such as this can only cause them concerns for their own loved ones."

Earlier this week Case visited with some of the 2,200 Hawai'i-based soldiers who just completed training at Fort Polk, La. He said his thoughts were with those troops, who are on their way to Iraq.

Case said it's been a tragic few days for Hawai'i. On Saturday, lst Lt. Nainoa Hoe, a Kamehameha Schools graduate and a University of Hawai'i ROTC standout, was killed in battle in Iraq.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said: "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of these brave warriors, whose sacrifice will not be forgotten by those of us here in Hawai'i."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8025.