Navy officials on Kaua'i are trying to locate family members whose relatives are buried in a small aging graveyard inside the base at Pacific Missile Range Facility in Mana.

They have no intention of moving the graveyard. They just want to make sure descendants know that their ancestors are there and that they can come on base to visit. Capt. Aaron Cudnohufsky was installed as the commanding officer of PMRF last April. He spotted the cluster of weathered gravestones marked off with a chain and asked, "What's the story there?"

The Japanese graveyard predates the Navy base. The oldest stone is marked 1859. It is a small plot, about 190 by 120 feet, marked off with a chain. The markers are written in Japanese. Some are so worn the characters are now almost unreadable. Before this area was a high-tech Navy test and training range, it was a commercial airstrip, and before that, it was sugar land.

"Up until now, the policy of base commanders has been to protect the cemetery and not develop land adjacent to it, to maintain the grounds and to promote it as a historical site," PMRF Public Affairs Officer Johnny Michaels wrote in a news release. "Part of that decision however has meant not disturbing the stones themselves which have slowly succumbed to the ravages of time and the weather."

The new CO decided what had always been done wasn't enough. Cudnohufsky enlisted the help of community members to translate the kanji on the stones.

The Rev. Takeshi Fujita from the Hanapepe Buddhist Church and the Rev. Noriake Fujimori of the Waimea Buddhist Church came on base in November to visit the graveyard. Westside Kaua'i resident Lillian Yamasaki, who was born in Mana in 1914, also came to help identify the family names on the markers and talk about what kind of upkeep should be done.

"We have a great relationship and partnership with our local community, so asking for their assistance and guidance with the care of the graveyard seemed the obvious thing to do," said Cudnohufsky.

Cudnohufsky said it was "a special moment when Mrs. Yamasaki told me that she was pleasantly surprised that we had taken such good care of the grounds," but added that he thought there was more that could be done to document the gravesites and encourage access for descendants of those buried there.

"Hopefully, we can generate local interest in preserving or repairing ... the headstones as well," he said.

A list of family names translated that day from the grave markers was released last month. A story ran in the Garden Island newspaper, but so far there have been no solid leads. Descendants of those Mana families may have moved from Kaua'i years ago.

PMRF Public Information officer Tom Clements said the site is a square plot with blank areas where it seems as if there might have been other memorial markers. In the early 1940s, some of the graves may have been relocated and it could be that relatives chose not to move those that remain. Or perhaps their family members didn't know their ancestors were buried there.

Officials at PMRF ask that anyone with an interest in the preservation of the graveyard or who wishes to visit their family gravesite contact Clements at 808-335-4740.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.