WAI'ANAE — Two white caskets — one large, one tiny — stood in front of the pulpit at Wai'anae Baptist Church last night.

Every one of the estimated 800 or more folks who filled the pews, the extra seats, stood around the edges of the church or spilled out onto the lawn said they had come to celebrate the lives of two special people from the community: grandfather Austin Samuel Kamaki Miles, 62, who died on May 13 after a long illness, and his grandson, Koa Paka Kamaki Miles, 3, who was killed two days later in a traffic accident on Farrington Highway.

Pastor Bryan Wittekind said it was his congregation's first double funeral. Family members and friends said the boy and his grandfather had a special bond and were virtually inseparable.

When his grandpa died and Koa Paka asked where he'd gone, his grandmother, Malia Miles, tried to explain that he'd gone to heaven.

And Koa Paka replied, "I'm going to visit Papa."

The boy was killed in a head-on crash in Nanakuli on May 15 as the Miles family and a friend were driving home.

According to police, a Honolulu-bound Chevy pickup truck went out of control, ricocheted off a guardrail and shot across both town-bound lanes. The truck crossed the center line and hit a Wai'anae-bound Volkswagen Jetta carrying Koa Paka, his parents, Samuel "Kamu" and Erica, his 1-year-old sister Ka'ohulani and family friend Johnnette Steverson.

Koa Paka, still strapped in his infant car seat, was ejected from the Jetta and landed in a nearby driveway. He was alive when Samuel Miles found him and lifted the child from the seat and held him in his arms, speaking softly to the boy till he breathed his last breath.

The driver of the pickup, identified as Sanford Valdez, 25, of Wai'anae, was thrown from the truck and suffered fatal head injuries.

Last night was a moment to honor two people who touched many lives and won't be forgotten.

Perhaps the most touching moment came when Samuel Miles stood before the gathering and attempted to talk about those he'd lost in such a short time.

For one full minute he was unable to utter a word. The people sat patiently silent until, finding some inner courage, Miles finally spoke.

"I never imagined seeing this much support from family, friends and people I have no idea who you are," he said as the crowd erupted in laughter.

He thanked everyone for their support in his family's time of tragedy and he talked of how much it meant not only to him, but to his wife and the entire family.

"What to say about Dad? When I think about Dad, I always think about how strong he was," Samuel Miles said. "Everybody always told me as a child, 'Oh, your dad is real tough. He's real strong.' And I thought, yeah."

He saw that strength when his father was dying in the hospital and refused to give up the fight right up to the very end.

"To his dying day, he was there being strong for all of us. If he's looking down on us, thanks, because you kept our family strong and kept us together," Miles said.

Taking a deep breath, he talked about his little boy.

"My little Koa Paka ... ," he began with a smile even as tears welled in his eyes. He recalled, as did others, how the child was this wonderfully fun and bright rascal who amused everyone who knew him.

"He was very smart and he caught on to a lot of things," Miles said. "He played his Papa very good.

"Like a sunflower, he brightened our day. Every morning I'd get up and get ready for work, and he'd be lying in bed, and I'd just go by and tell him I loved him. Then I'd see that little smile on his face."

It is the memory of that smile that must now be his and his family's comfort.

HOW TO HELP

Monetary donations to help the Miles family with medical, funeral and other expenses can be sent to P.O. Box 298, Wai'anae, HI 96792. Make checks payable to Koa Paka Miles.

Contributions are also being accepted at West O'ahu Federal Credit Union branches in Waianae Mall, Kalaeloa and 'Ewa Beach.

There will be a yard sale to benefit the Miles 'ohana on June 7-8, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 86-024 Glenmoger St. in Wai'anae. To donate items, call 696-4677.