Posted on: Monday, March 7, 2005
'Amazing tribute' for 28 set for today at State Capitol
Associated Press
A rare memorial service at the State Capitol will be held today to honor 28 Hawai'i-based servicemen killed in Iraq.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser Twenty-six Kane'ohe Marines and a Pearl Harbor sailor were among the 31 service members killed when their helicopter went down in western Iraq on Jan. 26. The memorial will also recognize Marine Lance Cpl. Sean P. Maher, killed Feb. 2.
The last memorial service at the Capitol for a nonpolitician was in 1997, for musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.
Chuck Little, a spokesman for Marine Forces Pacific, said the Capitol is a fitting venue to honor the men.
"It's an amazing tribute. I think it speaks volumes," he said.
Mourners and 62 family members from across the country are expected to attend the service. Hundreds of service members from every military base on O'ahu are also expected, including busloads from Marine Corps Base Hawai'i at Kane'ohe Bay.
Among those expected to attend is the family of Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class John D. House, 28, of Ventura, Calif., whose infant son, James Cash, was born on Christmas Eve, while his father was in Iraq. House was among those killed in the Jan. 26 crash.
"At the end of the day, we hope the families feel that we have appropriately honored their son's sacrifices," Little said.
A total of 43 Marines from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, have been killed in Iraq.
The 1 p.m. ceremony will include remarks by Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson, commander of Marine forces in the Pacific and Middle East.
Cpl. Alexander Velazquez looks at bricks bearing the names of Marines killed in Iraq. The bricks were recently installed at the Hawai'i Pacific War Memorial at the Kane'ohe Marine base.
