Honolulu Honors Military Families

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chris Vadnais
  • AFPN
HONOLULU, Hawaii --  Civic leaders and state government officials gathered today at the local zoo to honor military families.

Military Appreciation Day at the Honolulu Zoo featured free admission to the park, free lunch, and free entertainment for military families on the island of Oahu.

Elaine Ota headed the event's planning and coordination for the United Service Organizations. She used her personal experiences to shape the event into a success.

"My husband was in the Air Force for 25 years," she said. "He was gone a lot on temporary duty and I remember what it was like to be by myself with my three children."

"I thought it'd be really great to do something for all the military families--especially now when many members are deployed--to give them one day where they didn't have to worry about anything," she said.

Many members of the military stationed on the island of Oahu are deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

"I know personally that many of these military forces that are a long way from home very much appreciate this," said Jim Scofield, Vice Chairman of USO of Hawaii.

"This helps comfort them, knowing that their families are being taken care of by us here at home, no matter how far they are away from home or how close to harm they may be," he said.

Mufi Hannemann, the mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, said military members and their families are a large and important part of the island's community.

"There are a hundred thousand of you here," he said. "What I'm talking about is 45,000 military personnel and when you count their dependents--about 55,000--that's a hundred thousand of you each and every day that contribute.

"Not only just in terms of what you do from a military standpoint, but what you do in terms of making our neighborhoods a better place to live, work, and play," he continued. "What you do for our schools, what you do for our parks, what you contribute. That's what makes it very special and especially heartwarming for us to be able to do this."

In addition to more than 1,000 rare and exotic animals from around the world, there were live entertainment and game and craft tents for children set up on the park's lawn.

Five-year-old G.G. Thomas showed off her new temporary skin art. "We got tattoos," she said proudly. "We went fishing and got some sunglasses and puzzles, too," she said.