HONOLULU — Under the theme “Many Rivers, One Ocean,” more than 6,000 candle-lit lanterns were released during the 27th annual Shinnyo Lantern Floating Ceremony at Ala Moana Beach Park on Memorial Day May 26, each bearing personal remembrances, prayers, and affirmations to honor those lost in military service.
Among the attendees this year were U.S. Army Garrison Hawaiʻi leaders, including Col. Rachel Sullivan, garrison commander; Command Sgt. Maj. Derek Wise; and David Roudybush, deputy to the garrison commander, joined by their families.
Sullivan was chosen as the military representative for this year’s ceremony and recorded a message that was played before the thousands in attendance and more than 14,000 viewers watching online.
During her message, Sullivan shared an image of a needlepoint made by her grandmother that reads, “American Soldiers do not fight because they hate what is in front of them, but because they love what is behind them.”
“Memorial Day is one of those days that is bittersweet. It is an amazing remembrance of friends, Soldiers, and families that have made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Sullivan. “I don’t think that any Soldier longs for war. We long for peace, perhaps more than anyone else, but are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that our nation is defended and that our families can be happy."
The ceremony, now a cherished Honolulu tradition, was founded by Master Shinjo Ito, a Buddhist master and teacher, who visited Hawaiʻi from Japan in 1970 after decades of war and conflict in the Pacific. Moved by this experience, he was inspired with the wish to hold a lantern floating where people could share their hopes for peace. His successor, Her Holiness Shinso Ito first carried out his wish in the form of Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi on Memorial Day, 1999.
“On this Memorial Day, we honor and remember the military fallen of Hawaiʻi and the United States. We offer prayers to all we have lost to conflict and catastrophe, with a wish that our positive actions reach those we love and miss,” said Ito. “We each carry within us something unique and beautiful, just like that light. We must not lose sight of our light in the face of hardship or despair. With all the pain and confusion in the world, we must be unfailing in our determination to reveal our hope-filled light.”
See the full ceremony on the Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nSycQy-WN8
See more pictures of the event on the U.S. Army Garrison Hawaiʻi Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usaghawaii/albums/72177720326462429
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