CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
A lantern floats in remembrance of loved ones during the Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaii ceremony at Ala Moana Regional Park on May 27.
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With all due respect, if you consider all the lei making, flag planting, Air Force fly-bys and observances at Punchbowl, the floating lantern ceremony is not the biggest celebration on Memorial Day. And it isn’t a celebration, but a solemn remembrance. War heroes are included in lantern messages, too.
To suggest that Memorial Day should be exclusively for fallen soldiers would be akin to suggesting Christmas should be exclusively for Christians. Let people observe these holidays in their own respectful way.
Cyrus Won
Palolo
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