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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Veterans eternal memorial will be dedicated at Pacific Missile Range Facility

Advertiser Staff

A new Kauai Veterans Eternal Memorial will be dedicated at 11 a.m. on June 1 at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua`i's west side.

The memorial will also double as a location for observers to view missile defense testing that occurs at the range, according to a release from the military facility.

Hawaiian protocols will be delivered by noted Kaua'i kupuna Aletha Kaohi.

Participants will include U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, the range's outgoing commanding officer Capt. Aaron Cudnohufsky, its incoming commanding officer Capt. Nicholas Mongillo, Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance president Riki Ellison, and members of Kauai's veterans' community.

The memorial features a 60-foot diameter circle ringed by a low lava rock wall suitable for seating, with a large pohaku, or rock, as the centerpiece. The site will be used as a viewing area for launch missions, and will also become a regular stop for base tours and visitors.

The range conducts missile defense testing for multiple branches of U.S. armed forces, but until now there has been no established outdoor viewing areas for invited guests, employees or family members to observe the aerial tests.