When Max Cleland laid a wreath in 1977 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, he saw no "Courts of the Missing" dedicated to the thousands of service members who went missing during the Vietnam War.
On Memorial Day three years later, the future Georgia senator and Vietnam War veteran returned to Punchbowl as head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to dedicate those missing courts.
"But still, there were no (battle) maps," he said.
Sunday, after months of construction and years of preparation, Vietnam battle maps were unveiled during the cemetery’s annual Veterans Day ceremony — 50 years after what the U.S. government considers the official start of the war.
Cleland again had a chance to dedicate a significant addition to the memorial. "As Americans we believe it is our duty to tell their story to future generations," he said. "I’m honored to be here today to tell the story of this memorial, and to share the story of those on these walls, and to reflect on those who went before us and gave their lives (so) that we may be free."
The dedication was just one of several events commemorating Veterans Day in Hawaii. Other highlights included ceremonies at the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery and the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery; a sunset ceremony at the Battleship Missouri Memorial; a memorial flyover by the Hawaii Air National Guard; and an appearance at Punchbowl by U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.
In Virginia, newly re-elected President Barack Obama marked the first Veterans Day in a decade with no U.S. military personnel fighting in Iraq. He paid special tribute to "the 9/11 generation who stepped forward after the towers fell, and in the years since, have stepped into history, writing one of the greatest chapters of military service our country has ever known."
Speaking at Arlington National Cemetery, where he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, the president acknowledged the accomplishments of U.S. personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan and vowed that the United States would take care of its returning soldiers.
"After a decade of war, our heroes are coming home," Obama said.
"As they come home it falls to us, their fellow citizens, to be there for them and their families — not just now, but always; not just for the first few years, but for as long as they walk this Earth."
U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka echoed the president’s message during Sunday’s ceremony at Punchbowl.
"How we treat our veterans defines us as a nation," said Akaka, keynote speaker and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. "I feel lucky that I’m an American, and I feel so proud to be an American veteran."
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle also attended the morning ceremony, along with the consuls general of Australia, the Philippines and South Korea.
The newly installed Vietnam battle maps are housed in one of two pavilions built at the top of the monument to complement the existing structure (the other pavilion serves as an orientation center for visitors). Gene Castagnetti, director of the cemetery, said the maps are the first federal memorial to the Vietnam War built solely with federal funds.
"This is the first one that is paid for using your tax dollars, and I think when you get an opportunity to see the pavilion, you’ll be very satisfied," he said.
The mosaic maps were designed by artist Mary Jacobs, nearly 90 years old, who also crafted the World War II and Korean War battle maps that have been a prominent feature at the cemetery since the 1960s.
William "Bill" Thien, senior vice commander-in-chief for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the maps are a good addition to Punchbowl.
"The good thing is I believe Americans today, they get it," Thien said. "They understand how to separate the war from the warrior. Our Vietnam veterans are getting up in age now … so it’s a legacy for our children to be able to come here and see that."
Closing his speech, Cleland urged the audience to reflect on the words of poet Archibald MacLeish, who lost a brother in World War I, that are now inscribed on the Vietnam pavilion.
"The words are these," Cleland said: "‘We leave you our deaths, give them their meaning.’
"That says it all for me."
Cleland and Castagnetti later hosted Panetta, who made a brief visit to the cemetery to lay a wreath in honor of Veterans Day and meet with a select group of veterans representing each major U.S. military conflict dating back to World War II.
The formal ceremony — the playing of the national anthem and taps, the presentation of the wreath, and the official signing of the guestbook — lasted just a few minutes. But while Panetta, who flew directly from the earlier ceremony at Arlington, did not address the assembled crowd, he did spend several minutes chatting individually with each of the veterans and their families.
"He was a very nice guy," said World War II veteran Masaharu Saito, a member of the famed 100th Battalion, as he showed off one of the commemorative medallions Panetta presented to each veteran.
Robert Talmadge, president of the Aloha Chapter of the Chosin Few and a Korean War veteran, said he appreciated Panetta’s presence at the national cemetery.
"These days it’s important to honor our veterans and show our appreciation for their sacrifices," Talmadge said. "As a veteran it’s not something I think about necessarily. But when I’m at Safeway and someone comes up and thanks me for my service, well, it’s nice to have that expressed."
Talmadge didn’t have time to ask Panetta about his family’s Italian roots (Talmadge’s wife’s family hails from Italy), but said he enjoyed meeting the former CIA director anyway.
Herb Schreiner, who served in the Air Force during the Korean War, said he hoped Panetta’s appearance would help to bring attention to the plight of the country’s youngest veterans.
Schreiner, whose younger brother died while serving in Korea, volunteers at Tripler Army Medical Center.
"Every day I see these young kids with no arms, no legs. I see beautiful young women with their faces burned. And what is sad is that the only people who come to see them are their families. A lot of them are from the mainland, so they don’t even have family here.
"A lot of people say they support our veterans," Schreiner said. "I say, if you want to honor them, go visit them."
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Star-Advertiser news services contributed to this report.
