Photo By Sgt. Tyler Main | The father of Timothy J. Poole displays his son's Hawaii Medal of Honor alongside Lt....... read more read more
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HONOLULU, Hawaii — Families, fellow service members and state senators and representatives gathered at the state capitol to remember fallen Marines and soldiers by awarding them the Hawaii Medal of Honor on March 29.
There were 16 medals presented during the ceremony, seven of which were given to Marines. Among the eight families in attendance, the families of Lance Cpl. Timothy J. Poole Jr., 1st Lt. Scott J. Fleming and Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate received the medal.
About 35 Marines from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, attended the ceremony to honor their fallen brothers and support the families who received the medal.
“We all know freedom isn’t free, it comes at a price, and my son willingly paid that price,” said Timothy J. Poole Sr. “My son told me before he left, ‘Dad, if I die, I die my way. I die serving the country I love, I die serving the country I believe in and I die for the United States Marine Corps.’ Little did he know, two months later, what he said would come true. He died for his country and he died a Marine. That’s how he wanted to be remembered.”
Poole said the medal presentation and ceremony were a good way to honor service members who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The HMOH is given to members of the United States Military with Hawaii ties who were killed while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom.
“Everyone wants to know, ‘Will my son or daughter be remembered?’” Poole’s father said. “This ceremony is telling those families, ‘Yes, your loved one and the sacrifice they made is going to be remembered, and we’re making sure of it.’”
House Representative K. Mark Takai agreed that remembering the fallen is an important part of the medal’s meaning.
“The medal guarantees that they will never be forgotten,” he said. “I hope that the children of these heroes will one day appreciate the sacrifices that their fathers and mothers made on behalf of us.”
Takai introduced the bill to create the medal in 2005. Since then, both Alaska and New Hampshire have followed Hawaii’s lead by presenting similar medals to their fallen heroes.
“Wherever each of these medals finds its final home, a piece of our heart goes with it,” Takai said. “We truly appreciate what they did for us as Americans, so our way of life can continue.”
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2011 16:09 |
| Story ID: | 68115 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 239 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Hawaii Medals of Honor presented to families of fallen heroes, by Sgt Tyler Main, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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