Politwoops

It is an honor to join Hawaii’s military and civilian members of our community at the Veterans Day Ceremony at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe, remembering our Fallen Warriors and saluting our Gold Star Families. https://t.co/xUNCCl7PH7

Congresswoman Hanabusa was honored to join Hawaii’s military and civilian members of our community at the Memorial Day Ceremony at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe, remembering our Fallen Warriors and saluting our Gold Star Families. https://t.co

This poem "Crosses in the Sand" by William from @VFPNational was handed to me last night. He then read it aloud with a flashlight in honor of #MemorialDay. #Peace

So many crosses in the sand Each marking a life stolen In twin wars that seem without end Some have names etched on the thin wooden sticks Men and women alike, for war and death make no distinction Others have names known only to the grieving Whose loss i

Every Sunday, from dawn to dusk, The crosses stretch in a neat parade To the very edge of the shore, While on the Santa Monica pier above, Viewers glance uneasily and wonder Why they must share sunbathing with a cemetery, Even a symbolic one.

In the noisy arcade beside the old boardwalk, Children play the latest war games, And with agile fingers Fire ceaselessly at on-screen targets. The higher the body count, the more points they score. Meanwhile, the real horrors of war Are safely out of sig

But the strange cemetery by the sea Tugs at the limits of vision, Demanding to be acknowledged. The crosses spread their outstretched arms Like the soldiers they plead for, Crying in silent chorus, “Remember us! Remember us!”

This is a cemetery like no other. The volunteers who lovingly embrace The memory of the dead Are veterans themselves, now Veterans for Peace. They call this sacred space Arlington West, A haunting mirror of that vast national cemetery in the east.

Walk gingerly between the ghostly tombstones. No bodies rest beneath them, But the lives they speak for Feel present in the very air.

The living and the dead Share the beach at Arlington West, That place of safety to reflect, To cry, to remember, To honor sacrifices too few of us can comprehend.