One in 10 of Hawaii’s residents are veterans — the highest ratio in the nation, state adjutant Maj. Gen. Arthur “Joe” Logan said at Wednesday’s Veterans Day ceremony at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe.

“The state of Hawaii has a rich and proud history of its sons and daughters serving our nation dating back to the U.S. Civil War,” he told more than 800 people gathered for the annual commemoration.

In America today, there are more than 22 million veterans, representing 7 percent of the population, he noted. Hawaii has about 121,000 veterans, he said.

While the percentage of veterans in Hawaii is high, Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui, who gave the keynote address, said that less than 1 percent of America’s population of 322 million serve the country in the military.

“These numbers are staggering, and when put into context they highlight how special and uniquely committed these few individuals are,” he said.

Because of the “remarkable job” done by the U.S. military, “it is easy for people to feel removed from the threat of war and, therefore, not fully appreciate the current efforts of our military forces,” Tsutsui added.

Most days, many people are caught up with everyday activities to the point “that we do forget that there are conflicts in other parts of the world which are continuously involving our brave men and women,” he said.

Retired Air Force Col. Ron Han, director of the state Office of Veterans Services, said, “Our gratitude should not be expressed only one day a year, but stand as an abiding commitment every day of the year.”

Hawaii’s large veteran population was represented at Wednesday’s commemoration by vets from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and more recent conflicts.

Retired Army Special Forces Sgt. Maj. John C. Fernandez, 80, said he was there in recognition of a comrade who died, medic Sonny Abangan, whose services were on Monday.

Fernandez, who now lives in Monterey, Calif., was born and raised in Hawaii, graduating from Saint Louis School in 1954. He is part of a group called the Special Forces Association, which has a Hawaii chapter.

“To us, coming from a small island like this, the percentage of us that served, I think has always been enormous. It’s been great numbers,” said Fernandez, who had multiple tours in Vietnam and figures he spent a total of almost five years of service time there.

Harry Fanning, 84, a Korean War veteran, also was at the ceremony.

“I can say all kinds of things (for wanting to be there), I mean, patriotic and otherwise. But to me, it’s the thing to do,” he said.

Fanning served on the ground in Korea in 1952-53 with the Air Force and recalled flying into Daegu.

“On my orders, when I went overseas, it said, ‘Destination Evil,’ and I never found out what that meant,” he said. He got an idea after he went over on a ship to Iwakuni, Japan, and then on a C-54 Skymaster to Daegu, which he recalled was brown and drab.

Some of the Pacific’s most senior military leaders — all based in Hawaii — attended Wednesday’s ceremony, including Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., head of U.S. Pacific Command; Adm. Scott Swift, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet; Lt. Gen. John Toolan, head of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific; and Army Lt. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, deputy commander of Pacific Command.

Dozens of groups participated in a parade of flags and lei presentation, and the ceremony was rounded out by a rifle salute and playing of taps.