* 11 a.m., West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery

American Legion Kona Post 20 is holding its annual Veterans Day program, followed by a potluck lunch.

Veterans organizations, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps and Civil Air Patrol join eatured speaker is Gordon Rogers, deputy commander of Pohakuloa Training Area.

* 11 a.m., Veteran’s Field, Kamehameha Park, Kapaau

Guest speaker is Lt. Col. Rolland Niles, commander of Pohakuloa Training Area, who returned in April from deployment in Basra, Iraq.

Service is presented by the Kohala National Guard Alumni and veterans.

* 3:30-4:30 p.m., Kilauea Military Camp, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Ceremony to be followed by buffet for active duty personnel, retirees and veterans. Parking at the Kilauea Military Camp is free on Veterans Day.

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Veterans Day statement from Congresswoman Mazie Hirono:

Aloha,

Each Veterans Day, we honor and pay tribute to the women and men in uniform who have served our country, putting themselves in harm’s way to protect our freedoms.

With the passage of the bill granting the Congressional Gold Medal to the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service, we pay special homage this Veterans Day to these courageous veterans of WWII.

These decorated Japanese-American veterans exemplify the kind of courage and loyalty to our country that serve as continuing inspiration to future generations. They signed up to fight in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific theatre at a time when the very nation they fought for had sent their families to internment camps. More than two-thirds of these Nisei veterans were born and raised in Hawaii.

Now, there is a new generation of war veterans; some of them are just returning home from tours in Iraq and in Afghanistan. It is vital that we continue our efforts to ensure that veterans who are injured in battle receive the care and help they deserve. We must also provide greater opportunities for veterans as they transition to life after military service.

The Post 9/11 GI Bill is doing just that. Care and benefits are now being extended to even more veterans who have illnesses related to exposure to Agent Orange and to those who served during the first Persian Gulf War. In addition, this new GI Bill has sent more than 400,000 veterans to college.

As we honor all our veterans, I encourage you to attend events in your neighborhood to commemorate this day.

Sincerely,
Mazie K. Hirono
Member of Congress
2nd District of Hawaii