‘They answered the call’: Honoring those who served during a ceremony at West Hawai‘i Veterans Cemetery

On a Columbarium niche in the West Hawai‘i Veterans Cemetery on Wednesday, Kathleen Wright sat quietly in front of the grave marker of her husband, Noel Benjamin Wright.

Wright said her husband served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Eleven years ago, he had been laid to rest in the wall niche that holds cremated remains.

“It seems like yesterday,” Wright said about the death of the man she was married to for 52 years.

“I come out here for his birthday, the day he passed away, our wedding anniversary,” she said. “If I just feel like I need to be close to him, I’ll just come out.”

On this Veterans Day, Wright was there to show love and support for her beloved husband and all the veterans who have been laid to rest in the niche or the grassy oasis amid West Hawai‘i’s lava fields.

Wright was among at least 200 veterans, public officials and community members who gathered at the cemetery to celebrate the solemn holiday with a ceremony hosted by the Kona American Legion Post 20.

“So many of them have been forgotten, and Veterans Day and Memorial Day are really special in that they celebrate the veteran for what he’s done in the service,” Wright said. “Even the current people who are in the service, they need to be supported, and this is one way of supporting them.”

Newly elected Hawai‘i County Council Member Manu Powers spoke at the ceremony. As she was reflecting on the occasion, she told the crowd that she felt woefully ill-equipped to address them.

“I have been in service to community for decades, but never once was I asked to lay my life on the line to protect an individual, a man, brothers, or sisters, let alone an entire nation filled with people I’ve never met of varying backgrounds, beliefs and ideologies,” she said. “I have never been asked to leave the people behind that I love, not knowing when or even if I would return.

“I have never had to find the courage to face the unimaginable or carry the weight of experiences that words can never adequately convey. And yet, so many of you have. You answered a call to serve something greater than yourselves.”

Recognizing words would never be enough to convey the depth and breadth of her gratitude, Powers said, perhaps that gratitude is best expressed in the work she does every day to honor veterans for their service and to ensure that those who have sacrificed so much are never overlooked, and that no veteran is ever left to carry their burden alone.

The ceremony included the laying of wreaths and flower arrangements at the base of the memorials erected around the cemetery.

Mahina Behasa and her father, Vietnam veteran Mel Behasa, placed two arrangements in front of the Vietnam War memorial. One arrangement was to honor Mel Behasa’s fellow Vietnam vets, Steve Campbell and Jeff Brinkley, who recently passed away.

Mahina Behasa, 36, said growing up with a father who was a Vietnam veteran was ever-changing.

“It was a different experience than I have with him now,” she said. “He’s done a lot of really good work to become very proud of his veteran status, and we’re all really proud of him for doing that hard work because it’s given us a gift of an amazing dad, papa, and somebody to be proud of from the community.”

Mel Behasa is a member of the Disabled American Veterans, Kona Chapter 7, and American Legion. He volunteers his time to perform the 21 Gun Salute for funerals of veterans.

The Disabled American Veterans Kona chapter also performs the salute for Veterans Day.

Mahina Behasa said she’s been attending Veterans Day events at the cemetery with her dad for the past 10 years.

“We’ve probably not missed a Veterans Day,” she said. “We try really hard to make sure that we’re here on this day to support him and everyone here.”

Mahina Behasa said it’s important for her to be at the cemetery with her dad on Veterans Day because time is precious: “We never know how many more Veterans Days or any days we’re going to get with everyone, so we want to really make an effort to show up and share that space.”

Mel Behasa said spending Veterans Day at the cemetery with his daughter and other family members is emotional, and he appreciates their support.

“You know, I never talked about it,” he said of his time in the Army, adding it’s good for him and his family to come to these events as it keeps the stories of those who served alive.

“We’re not going to be here forever, and people tend to forget.”