VETERAN’S DAY PARADE TO BE HOMECOMING FOR HILO NATIVE SON BRIGADIER GENERAL GARY HARA
11/03/2009
HILO, BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII – This year’s Veteran’s Day parade in Hilo will not only honor Hawaii’s men and women who served their country in foreign conflicts. It will also be a special honor and homecoming for a Hilo native who is now the commander of Hawaii’s National Guard.
That is Brigadier General Gary M. Hara, who will serve as the Grand Marshall of the event in Hilo on Saturday, Nov. 7. The parade begins at 10 a.m. at Wailoa Park and follows a 1.5-mile route through downtown Hilo. The 2009 parade theme is “All gave some and some gave all.”
General Hara is currently the Commander of the Land Component Command of the Hawaii National Guard, stationed in Honolulu. His responsibilities included training, operational readiness, logistical, and strategic planning for the HNG Joint Task Force, and ensures the Joint Task Force is capable of responding to all State and Federal missions relating to homeland defense and security and natural disasters.
Hara is the son of the late Henry S. and Janet S. Hara of Hilo and is a graduate of Hilo High School. He attended the Hawaii Army National Guard Officer Candidate School, Hawaii Military Academy, graduating in 1972.
During his 37-year military career he has served in numerous positions of increased authority and responsibility, both in commands in Hawaii and abroad in Iraq. These have included commands of the Hawaii-based19th Cavalry and 193rd Aviation Battalion helicopter air attack units; State Army Aviation Officer; Chief of the Reserve Component Division of the Multinational Corps – Iraq, and most recently as Assistant Adjutant General – Army for Hawaii.
In this military tenure, General Hara has also received a number of major awards and decorations. Among them are the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Iraq Campaign Medal.
General Hara comes from a family with a strong military tradition: his father Henry was a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and he has three brothers who are currently in the army – Colonel Kenneth Hara and Sergeant First Class Larry Hara, and Sergeant Major Dennis M. Hara who is in the Hawaii National Guard.
As Grand Marshall, General Hara will serve as figurative head of the Veterans Day Parade participants, which will include full military color guards, the 32-member United States Navy Pacific Fleet Band from Pearl Harbor, Oahu, and the 100th Battalion, 422nd Army Reserve and the 299th Cavalry Army National Guard, both from Hawaii. The parade will also feature a fly-over of C60 “Blackhawk” helicopters from the squadron based in Hilo and under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ben Fuata.
More than 30 groups are expected to take part in the parade, including contingents from Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion Posts, the 442nd Veterans Association, 200 motorcycles from the Vietnam Veterans organization and many others. Some contingents will walk the parade route while others will be riding or on floats. Individuals who served in the military but who are not part of any vets group are also welcome to participate.
Parade sponsors include the East Hawaii Veterans League, First Hawaiian Bank – Hilo branch, Union Alliances and the ILWU Local 142, Hawaii Division and the Big Island Visitors Bureau, George Applegate, Executive Director. The parade founder and coordinator is Dan Kama, president of the East Hawaii Veterans League. For more information, call Kama at (808) 968-7425.
