Kailua man who lost son in Iraq will speak in D.C.

Advertiser Staff

Allen Hoe, a Kailua resident and Vietnam veteran whose son was killed in Iraq, will be among the speakers at the Memorial Day observance Monday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson will deliver the keynote address and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and lay a wreath at the wall for the Coast Guard.

Thousands are expected to attend the 1 p.m. observance.

Hoe's 27-year-old son, 1st Lt. Nainoa K. Hoe, was killed on Jan. 22 by a sniper in Mosul, Iraq. The platoon leader was a 1995 Kamehameha Schools graduate and University of Hawai'i ROTC standout.

Allen Hoe, 58, an attorney, served as a combat medic in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968.