A cross-section of America appeared before the state Legislature in a somber ceremony yesterday, some steady and some not so, to receive the recognition that no one set out to get — a state Medal of Honor for a life given in war.

The names of 67 service members with Hawai'i ties were read aloud as a ship's bell tolled the loss from service in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past year.

Family and friends from as far as Delaware and Florida came to receive the state Medal of Honor in the second year that it has been awarded.

Mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, wives and fellow service members accepted the Maltese cross with its circle of kalo (taro) leaves, representing 'ohana.

Senate President Colleen Hanabusa spoke of honor, duty to country and courage.

"Today, we gather in joint session to honor those who have made a sacrifice for which we cannot ask, and we shall not forget," Hanabusa said.

Behind those killed were family members struggling to carry on and a greater weariness with the wars that continue to claim lives in their prime, but also an overwhelming pride in service to country and appreciation that the state recognizes the supreme sacrifices that have been made.

"It's tough," said a red-eyed Barbara Anderson, struggling to find the words. Her son, Hawai'i-based Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas R. Anderson, 21, of Sauk City, Wis., was killed in a vehicle accident while on patrol in Afghanistan just over a year ago.

She and her daughter, Jessica Yanke, took a bus to Chicago and a flight to Los Angeles, where they had to sleep in the airport, before arriving in Honolulu.

"We came because it's a big honor," Anderson said. "He liked being stationed here, and he liked the Marine Corps."

Of the fallen service members recognized yesterday, 41 were Marines, 25 were soldiers and one was a Navy corpsman. The ceremony ended with a gun salute and taps.

Lucille Nunes, 81, came from Benicia, Calif., with her motorized scooter and cane to be there for the recognition of her grandson, Marine 1st Lt. Dustin Shumney, 30, who was among 26 Hawai'i Marines and a Navy corpsman to be killed in the Jan. 26, 2005, crash of a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter in western Iraq.

"He was my grandson (and I came ) mostly for my daughter's sake," Nunes said. "I start talking about it and I get teary-eyed. He was my daughter's only child, and he left three children."

Her grandson was "all Marine. He was going to make it his life," Nunes said. But she questions the loss in Iraq.

"All I can say is, for what?" she asked.

The Shumney family wasn't able to attend the first Medal of Honor presentation, which honored 120 with Hawai'i ties who were killed between March 29, 2003, and Feb. 28, 2006. They were invited to yesterday's ceremony.

Most of those honored were killed between March 1, 2006, and Feb. 28 this year. The Legislature said last year's presentation was the first of its kind in the nation.

Lt. Col. Drew Meyerowich, who commands about 1,000 soldiers in Iraq including the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Wolfhounds from Schofield Barracks, is back on two weeks' leave and received Medals of Honor on behalf of three of his soldiers.

Pfc. Travis Krege, 24, of Cheektowaga, N.Y.; Cpl. Jason I. Huffman, 23, of Conover, N.C.; and Spc. Yari Mokri, 26, of Pflugerville, Texas, were killed on Dec. 6 along with Sgt. Joshua B. Madden, 21, of Minden, La.; and Sgt. Jesse J.J. Castro, 22, of Guam, in a roadside bomb blast in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk.

It was the single greatest combat loss for the 25th Infantry Division since the Vietnam War. The Sunni Arab enclave also has claimed other Schofield soldiers' lives.

"I've lost so many guys, but we manage to go on because we're seeing progress," Meyero-wich said.

On Feb. 14, insurgents blew up the police station in Hawija, but Meyerowich said that like other tribes in western Iraq, the Sunnis in Hawija are getting fed up with the violence.

"The people want stability," he said. After the Feb. 14 bombing, the Iraqi army "kicked insurgents out."

Families who have lost a loved one said they don't wish their pain on others, however.

Christopher Shank, 23, flew in from Jackson, Mo., with his 16-year-old brother, Nathan, to receive the Medal of Honor on behalf of their brother, Pfc. Jeremy Shank.

The 18-year-old was the first Schofield Barracks soldier to be killed on the deployment to Iraq by more than 7,000 25th Infantry Division troops when he was fired upon Sept. 6 during a foot patrol in Hawija.

Jeremy "always wanted to be in the Army," and the day he turned 17, he was in an Army recruiter's office trying to figure out how to get into the Army, Christopher Shank said.

His younger brother always believed in the mission in Iraq, and Christopher Shank said he salutes all service members who have the conviction to "stand up for something they believe in." But he also wants to see the troops home.

"If there's a way we can do it, I wish we could do it," he said.

Marine Lance Cpl. Richard Perez Jr., 19, had just 10 more days left in Iraq when he was crushed between two trucks on Feb. 10, 2005, near Ramadi.

The Las Vegas man had lived in 'Aiea in the mid 1990s, and returned regularly, said his father, Richard Perez Sr. The Medal of Honor "really represented everything that Rich loved — his passion was Hawai'i, and he loved coming here," the elder Perez said.

Perez Sr. said he's proud of what his son did, but he said he, too, wonders "how long should we be there?"

"My opinion is I'd like to see the guys come home," he said.

Like others, pride in service to country helps keep Richard Perez Sr. going.

"He left a tremendous legacy — be it in 19 years," he said of his son. "I have to enjoy those 19 years I had with him. Would I have liked to have seen him more? Shoot, I would (trade for that) in a second. But I'm very proud of his legacy, I'm proud of what he did, and I'm proud that the people of Hawai'i recognized that."