Ron Yamada's quest to honor fallen American soldiers began on Memorial Day three years ago, as he stood among the graves of Japanese-American veterans at a military cemetery in France.

Simple white crosses stretched before him by the thousands. They were a quiet witness to sacrifice, but Yamada, who grew up in Kane'ohe, felt something was missing: the flowers.

While touring European battlefields where soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion died in World War II, Yamada was saddened to see that their graves went unmarked on Memorial Day.

When he returned to Southern California, where he now lives, the 46-year-old attorney began a fundraising effort to change that.

Today, as the nation remembers its war dead, the endowment Yamada helped create is halfway toward the amount needed to fund the floral tributes forever.

"I've never thought of it as being something I am proud of," Yamada said. "I look at it as something I just want people to remember — to remember these men."

The endowment, which is overseen by the Go For Broke National Education Center, needs $30,000 to earn enough interest to pay for flowers, said Yamada, the son of a 442nd veteran.

At that point, it will have the $1,100 a year needed to mark the overseas graves of the men who served with the celebrated units. There are 38 soldiers buried or memorialized in Europe as well as one in the Philippines, Yamada said. Six are from Hawai'i.

Yamada started raising the money with a letter he e-mailed in February 2005 to everyone in his address book. He hoped to raise enough funds to buy flowers for the upcoming Memorial Day.

He reached his goal in two days, but the money kept coming — more than $10,000 by the end of the year.

"Of those initial pledges, none were from veterans," Yamada said. "They were from people I didn't even know. The e-mail had been forwarded to them, and they were sending checks."

Yamada bought flowers for Memorial Day 2005 and tried to return the surplus. But people refused to take back their money, telling him instead to buy flowers the next year.

He then arranged for the Go For Broke National Education Center in Torrance, Calif., to oversee the money. The center creates educational programs that focus on the history of Japanese-American soldiers in World War II.

Until it has complete funding, the center plans to buy flowers every five years.

At the center, staff members have interviewed veterans and heard poignant stories about the comrades they left behind in Europe, said Christine Sato-Yamazaki, the center's executive director and president.

"Until Ron started this project, who knows if there were ever flowers placed on these graves," she said. "It is a wonderful opportunity. I would love to see a discovery process take place. It is a way for this country and its people to honor the veterans, and that is what we all need to remember on Memorial Day."

Yamada believes that the effort will succeed, although it will take time and awareness.

But even when flowers are a regular feature, few Americans will ever see them, he said.

"It is a matter of knowing that we did it," he said. "Even if no one sees it, we know in our hearts we paid our respects in a way these men should be respected."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.