Maui County remembers service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice

MAKAWAO (HawaiiNewsNow) – About 4,300 flags and lei were placed at gravesites across the Maui Veterans’ Cemetery in Makawao for Memorial Day.

Read more Maui County remembers service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice

Each year, Maui County service members who have died in the line of duty are remembered. But for many in attendance, including 97-year-old Korean War veteran Henry Shimomura, those memories are painful.

“I don’t want to remember all those bad things,” Shimomura said. ”The war … the suffering. I don’t want to remember all those things.”

The names of six Maui County residents who have died in combat since the Vietnam War were read aloud.

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“Behind every name we honor today is a story of courage, loved ones left behind and a legacy carried forward by families whose lives are forever changed,” said Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen.

Maui County is home to roughly 11,000 veterans.

Korean War veteran Robert “Sam” Fevella, 92, said he hopes people remember what Memorial Day truly means.

“It’s not free. You pay a price for that, and somebody got to pay, and it’s very sad,” Fevella said.

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