KA LEKAHI I KA PALAPALA HUIʻO 2017 BEGINS

E na kaikuahine a me na kaikunane.

Makemake ʻo ʻAmelika iā ʻoe e kākau i kahi leka i kēia lā i ka Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall) no ka lawe ʻana i ka lā Hoʻomanaʻo. I nā makahiki ʻelua i hala iho nei, ua noi mākou i nā leka mai nā poʻe e like me ʻoe e hāʻawi i ka The Wall ma ka lā Hoʻomanaʻo. ʻO kou manawa kēia.

Ke hoʻomanaʻo nei ʻoe i ke Kaua ʻAmelika ma Vietnam? Hoʻomanaʻo maoli wau - mai ka hohonu o kou mau iwi. No ka mea, ua ola maoli ʻoe. Malia ma ke ano he koa, ma ke ano he hoole noonoo ole, ma ke ano he opio i paa i ka ehaeha a me ka ehaeha o kou ohana, ma ke ano he kanaka kue alanui hoolaa, a ma ke ano he hoaloha a he aloha koa paha. He keiki makua ʻole paha a he moʻopuna paha i ʻike ʻole i kona kupuna kāne. Ma ke ʻano he kamaʻāina ʻo Vietnam a i ʻole Cambodia a i ʻole Thailand. ʻIke wau e nalo nei au i nā hiʻohiʻona koʻikoʻi ʻē aʻe, akā loaʻa iā ʻoe ke kiʻi. ʻO kēlā kaua kahi ʻāpana indelible o kou psyche, e like me ia a ʻaʻole paha.

Ke hopohopo nei mākou i ka papahana "Vietnam Full Disclosure" o Veterans For Peace no ka lohe ʻole ʻia ʻana o kou leo. Na wai paha ʻoe e nīnau. Pane: e ka poʻe ʻōpio i ʻike i ka pōʻino o kēia kaua e manaʻo nei hiki iā lākou ke aʻo i ka "ʻoiaʻiʻo" mai ka moʻolelo revisionist o ka Pentagon. A ʻo kēlā kākau hou ʻana i ko mākou ola ka mea e hana nei i kēia manawa ʻoiai mākou e hoʻonui nui ʻia e nā mea i kapa ʻia he "kālima makahiki hoʻomanaʻo." Ua hoʻolaʻa mākou i ka VFP i kahi manawa kūpono i ke kūʻē ʻana i ka hoʻolālā pāʻani o ko mākou aupuni e hoʻomanaʻo i ke kaua a, ma hope, e hōʻoiaʻiʻo ai a, i ka hopena, e hoʻohana ia mea i backdrop no nā kaua e hiki mai ana.

No laila, ke hana nei mākou i kekahi mea e pili ana i kēlā. I nā makahiki i hala iho nei, ua kākoʻo mākou i nā kūkākūkā aʻo a me nā papa; ua hoʻopaʻa mākou i ka Pentagon me nā leka e kuhikuhi ana i nā hewa o kā lākou ʻaoʻao pūnaewele; Ke hana ikaika nei mākou me kā mākou mokuna ma Vietnam e kōkua i ka ho'ōla i ka poʻe i loaʻa i ka Agent Orange a me Unexploded Ordnance. A ke kākau nei mākou i nā leka i ka Vietnam Veterans Memorial. E ʻōlelo i ke aha?

Pololei kēnā. I nā makahiki ʻelua i hala iho nei, ua hoʻouna mākou i nā leka he mau haneli a hiki i kēia manawa, a ke ʻimi nei mākou i kāu e hoʻopuka i kēia lā hoʻomanaʻo. Eia ke ʻano o kā mākou hana ʻana — ʻohi mākou i nā leka, waiho mākou i loko o nā envelopes ʻoihana me ka wehe ʻana o nā poʻo, kākau mākou i ka "E ʻoluʻolu e heluhelu mai iaʻu" ma waho o nā envelopes, a laila ma 10:30 AM ma ka lā Hoʻomanaʻo e hele mākou i lalo. ʻO ka Wall mai nā ʻaoʻao ʻelua, e kau ana i nā leka ma ka wāwae o The Wall (inā ʻike ʻia ka inoa o kahi koa i kahi leka, waiho mākou i kēlā leka ma ka wāwae o ka panel kahi i ʻike ʻia ai kona inoa).

Pela i ka mea? ʻAe, i kēia mau makahiki ʻelua i hala aku nei ua nānā mākou i nā malihini i ka The Wall on Memorial Day e ʻohi ana i kēia mau leka a pūliki a uē a nānā hohonu i ka pōhaku ʻeleʻele i mua o lākou. A ke nānā pū nei mākou i ka National Parks Service i ko lākou hōʻiliʻili ʻana i nā leka e hoʻokomo i loko o ka waihona aupuni no nā hōʻike e hiki mai ana. ʻAe, a ma ke ala, ke paʻi nei mākou i nā leka - kā mākou puke hou loa LETTERS TO THE WALL e kaʻana like ana i 150 o kēia mau leka i loaʻa mai ʻAukake o 2016. Hiki iā ʻoe ke kūʻai i kope hoʻemi ma ka hele ʻana iā LuLu. com a paʻi i ke poʻo inoa i loko o kā lākou ʻenekini huli (ua helu ʻia ma kā lākou ʻāpana History). Ke lohe ʻia nei ko mākou leo. E ʻoluʻolu e hui pū me mākou.

Penei pehea. Inā hoʻoneʻe ʻia ʻoe e kākau i kahi leka, hiki iā ʻoe ke leka uila iā ia makaloa@maine.edu. ma mua o Mei 15, 2017. He maʻalahi kēlā. A laila e paʻi nā lālā mai VFP i kāu leka, waiho i loko o kahi envelopp, a hāʻawi i kāu leka e like me kāu i kākau ai i ka Vietnam Veterans Memorial ma Mei 29th ma 10:30AM. Inā makemake ʻoe e hui pū me mākou no kēia ʻaha, e ʻoluʻolu e haʻi mai iaʻu.

E ʻoluʻolu, e noʻonoʻo mākou ʻo The Wall he mea like me ka "ʻāina kapu," no laila ʻaʻole mākou e hana i nā hana kālai'āina ma laila; E mālama mākou i kāu mau ʻōlelo me ka mahalo i kūpono iā lākou. Hiki iā ʻoe ke kau inoa i kāu leka me kou inoa piha, a i ʻole. Aia iā ʻoe. E hoʻomaopopo hoʻi ma ka hoʻouna ʻana mai iā mākou i kāu leka e hāʻawi ana ʻoe iā mākou e hana i ʻekolu mau mea - hiki paha ke hoʻolaha i kāu leka i kā mākou pūnaewele (vietnamfulldisclosure.org); hōʻike lehulehu i kāu mau ʻōlelo ma ka Vietnam Veterans Memorial ma ka lā hoʻomanaʻo, 2017; a, e hoʻokomo paha i kāu leka ma ka puke hou o kā mākou ʻohi LETTERS TO THE WALL. ʻO ka mea hope loa, makemake mākou e ʻike nā mea a pau e ʻike mākou i ka pōʻino i hoʻoiho ʻia ma luna o nā poʻo o nā miliona a me nā miliona o ka poʻe ʻAsia Hikina Hema i ka wā o ke Kaua ʻAmelika ma Vietnam. I ka makahiki i hala ua wehe mākou i kahi hae ma DC i kēlā hopena. E hana like mākou i kēia makahiki.

Paipai mākou iā ʻoe e kipa i kā mākou pūnaewele ma vietnamfulldisclosure.org  e ʻike i kā mākou mea e pili ana a e kau inoa i kā mākou hoʻohiki e haʻi i ka ʻoiaʻiʻo e pili ana i ke Kaua ʻAmelika ma Vietnam; Paipai mākou iā ʻoe e kūʻai i kā mākou puke, heluhelu, a laila hāʻawi i kahi waihona kula kūloko e kōkua i kā lākou mau haumāna e hoʻonui i kā lākou noiʻi no ke kaua; akā, ʻo ka mea nui, paipai mākou iā ʻoe e kākau i kāu leka. Pono mākou e lohe mai iā ʻoe. Pono ʻo ʻAmelika e lohe mai iā ʻoe.

Mahalo, Doug Rawlings
ma ka inoa o ka hui Vietnam Full Disclosure