WAIANAE, Hawaii — Families and friends of the leeward communities of Oahu paid tribute to the service of all military veterans as Soldiers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division participated in the annual 34th Waianae Veterans Day parade, here, Nov. 7.
The Waianae Military Civilian Advisory Council (WMCAC) established the parade in 1979 with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th ID, marching in the inaugural parade.
A half dozen Vietnam and Korean War veterans from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Korean War Veterans Association, along with 500 Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets from various high schools, also participated in the parade.
Rocky Naeole, president of the WMCAC, said the parade is normally held the Saturday before Veterans Day, making it possibly one the earliest held annual parade honoring veterans and service members.
“The WMCAC helped to get the community to come out and honor our veterans” said Naeole, an Army veteran that served two tours during the Vietnam War.
Don Arakaki, a retired Army lieutenant colonel with 26 years of service and a member of WMCAC, stated the council was formed with the assistance of Maj. Gen. Herbert E. Wolff during his second tour in Hawaii.
Wolff was with the U.S. Army Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command Support Group and U.S. Army Support Command, Hawaii in 1977, who strived to improve relations with the leeward and military communities after the tumultuous Vietnam War era.
“The community leaders and the neighboring boards formed this council to establish harmony on the Waianae coast,” Arakaki said. “The 2nd Brigade Combat Team has always been our partner in the council.”
Elements 3rd Bde. Combat Team, 25th ID assisted the 2nd BCT for this year’s parade due to 2nd BCT’s heavy involvement with exercise Lightning Forge 16, which occurred at the same time.
The color guard was comprised Soldiers assigned to 2nd BCT and a JROTC cadet from Waianae High School, while the marching platoon had soldiers from the 3rd BCT’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company and 29th Bde. Engineer Battalion.
Staff Sgt. Henry Barnett, a native of Wyandanch, N.Y. and assigned to HHC, 225th Bde. Support Bn., 2nd BCT proudly held the colors for the parade.
“Being the bearer for the parade is a wonderful feeling,” Barnett said. “It’s an honor, especially being handpicked for a commemoration as such and I highly suggest anybody who has the opportunity to go ahead and do so.”
Barnett stated he served 13 years in the Army with two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
“I want to go ahead and thank all the past, present and future veterans,” Barnett said. “You know we wouldn’t have a paved way, I wouldn’t have a paved way, we wouldn’t have the way of life without them."
It wasn’t just the retired and current veterans who served in wartime and peacetime decades ago marching in the parade. One of the newest members of the military family, Pfc. Isaiah Weathers, combat engineer assigned to B Co., 29th BEB, participated in the marching platoon.
Weathers, a Sacramento, Calif. native with less than a year of service, said he was proud to be marching alongside past veterans in today’s parade.
“It’s actually awesome,” Weathers said. “All the history, and rich memories through Pearl Harbor and everything. This is one of the most pivotal points in the Pacific Ocean for the U.S. Army.”