The ninth remembrance service for 667 patients who passed away at Hawaii State Hospital and were forgotten from 1930 to 1960 will be held today at 10:30 a.m. at Hawaiian Memorial Park cemetery in Kaneohe.

The service is open to anyone living at the hospital and in the community with mental illness, hospital staff, former patients and staff, and community members.
From 1930-1960 state law prohibited using taxpayer funds to bury indigent patients who died while residing at the then-named Territorial Hospital. If unclaimed by family members, their remains were cremated at the hospital and the ashes stored in the basement of the administration building.
With time the moist windward air degraded the warehoused containers. Ashes from broken containers eventually spilled onto the concrete floor and many of the affixed labels fell away or became faded or illegible.
In 1960, public pressure on the First State Legislature resulted in funds being appropriated to properly bury the 667 at Hawaiian Memorial Park. The ashes were placed in urns and respectfully buried in four concrete vaults at a sloping lawn at an edge of the cemetery. Two bronze plaques memorialize the names of 540 known individuals. In addition, 127 “unknowns,” whose identification labels had become unreadable, were laid to rest as well.
Reverend Sam Domingo will deliver the meditation and the Reverend Shoken Takekoshi will offer a prayer. Other highlights will include blowing a pu, music, hula, and reciting a Metta Sutra Blessing.