Like a lot of soldiers who experience traumatic combat events, Sgt. Kailani Patacsil doesn't remember the details of the roadside bomb blast that rolled his Humvee in Iraq last November.

The 2002 Pahoa High School grad's leg was trapped, and cartilage in his knee was torn.

Yesterday, Patacsil was in a lot friendlier environment — Jimmy Buffett's at the Beachcomber in Waikiki — as officials announced a May 30 canoe regatta to bring attention to Hawai'i's wounded warriors.

U.S. Attorney for Hawai'i Ed Kubo Jr. said there are approximately 300 wounded service members recovering in Hawai'i. Twenty to 25 are Marines and the rest are soldiers.

More than 50 teams are signed up for the quarter-mile canoe races that will be held off Rainbow Point near the USS Arizona Memorial visitor center.

"This event calls attention (to the fact that) Hawai'i does have wounded warriors and to pay tribute to them, to let them know we recognize them, we thank them, and we embrace them as part of our Hawai'i culture," Kubo said.

The regatta is an outgrowth of the U.S. Attorney's Office's "Malama na Koa" support program for wounded military members.

More than 100 military and community members were on hand at Jimmy Buffett's restaurant yesterday for a kickoff for the regatta, which will include an "armed forces" race pitting teams from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and the Honolulu police and fire departments against one another.

A second race will feature mixed teams of men and women, and a "heroes race" will have canoes with wounded warriors. Kubo said a fourth race will include special operations people, including SEALs, along with the elite from the fire department and police department SWAT team.

"What you will see will be a family event," Kubo said. "But you will see bragging rights."

Kubo added jokingly that "this event could be larger than the Army-Navy game, because whoever wins, the others are really going to take it."

Patacsil, 24, said he's going to participate in the regatta. Right now, the Hawai'i Army National Guard soldier is part of the Warrior Transition Battalion at Schofield Barracks, a unit that helps wounded soldiers move back into their units or into civilian life.

"I think it's great for the community to get involved," Patacsil said of the regatta. He added that it "gets us out of the barracks to have some fun." Patacsil volunteered to go to Iraq and was attached to the Washington National Guard.

Although some service members lose an arm or leg, the nation's two wars also are sending home thousands with less-visible wounds such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Sgt. Jaime Cruz, who's also from Schofield, deployed for his third time to Iraq in October. The 36-year-old from Puerto Rico yesterday said he was escorting convoys four times a week when he started experiencing blurriness and vision loss in his left eye.

He returned to Hawai'i in April for treatment.

"Medically, they don't really know (what it is)," Cruz said. "But they say it's a lot of stress."

He, too, said the regatta is a good idea for wounded warriors because it's one more way to "keep their minds out of combat."

Kubo said Malama na Koa has conducted nearly 100 such outings and events for wounded warriors.

"We're not a fundraising organization," Kubo said. "We just try to put together coalitions of people who want to help, like Jimmy Buffett's, who want to do things for wounded warriors."

Kubo said Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, the Pacific Resource Partnership and HPD also have been major contributors. The regatta will be held from 9 a.m. until noon on May 30. For more information, call 440-9269.