The three words beneath the famous finger-pointing portrait of Uncle Sam best summed up the sentiments at yesterday's Project Gratitude at the Neal Blaisdell Center.

"I owe you!"

There was food, games and dozens of benefit information booths, but the reason for the celebration was to show appreciation to the hundreds of soldiers and veterans and their families who were the guests of honor.

"So many people came out here today just to have fun," said Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, head of the Hawai'i National Guard. "I'm just checking to make sure everybody does have fun. It's also a means of saying thanks for the sacrifice."

Lee said the joint National Guard and Reserves celebration was the first of its kind in Hawai'i. He wasn't sure if it would become an annual event.

"We just wanted to have another chance for the families of our National Guard and Reserve soldiers to come on out and be honored," he said.

Lorinda Wong-Lau, who coordinated the party, added: "There was a lot of soldiers coming home, and we want to make sure that they realize that, one, they are appreciated, and, two, what they are entitled to."

"It's all volunteers. We have a great fellowship — soldiers taking care of soldiers."

That feeling was echoed by Hawai'i National Guard recruiter Sgt. 1st Class Keenan Eckel, who manned the free popcorn booth.

"Everybody is here to support the troops," Eckel said. "They supported us.

"That's the thing everybody here understands. You don't even have to say anything. Everybody knows the deal. We wear different uniforms, but we're all together."

Staff Sgt. Leon Nelson, 29, with the Army Reserve 100th Battalion, favors making Project Gratitude a military tradition. He was there with his wife, Davina, and sons Maximus, 3, and Alexander, 1.

"This is excellent," said Nelson, who returned from a tour in Iraq in January. "The way they've got it set up here is great because it's a family atmosphere.

"It goes along with the local style, if you provide food and entertainment, people will show up. Along with that you've got your different groups telling you about what your benefits are."

Nelson said he was surprised to see so many different agencies and organizations on hand to offer advice and assistance to soldiers and veterans. Some, he confessed, he had never heard of.

One familiar presence was the American Legion.

"We take care of veterans and their families with claims against the Veterans Administration," said Michael McCloskey, service officer for the American Legion in Hawai'i.

"These young soldiers coming back now are interested in what can the community offer me now. And we're here to offer them an opportunity to make a difference in the community."

While soldiers listened to service agency representatives explain career options, younger members of their families amused themselves at numerous game booths.

One popular attraction was the baseball throw booth. The object was to hurl a hard ball 40 feet into a 6-inch hole. It wasn't easy. More than a few full-grown pitchers missed the hole by 6 feet.

Then southpaw Joseph Moriarty, 9, stepped up to the plate. Six times Moriarty flung the ball and hit the mark.

His mom, Master Sgt. Sophia Mendoza, who was operating the balloon twist booth, wasn't surprised to hear about it.

"Joey gets his talent from his dad, who was a baseball player in Rochester, New York," she said. But as a single parent in the military, she hadn't had time to get her son on a team.

"I'll get him on a team," volunteered Frank Everett, who's with the HPD Juvenile Services Division.

"This kid's good!"

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.