Remembering the US Marines 83 years on…
US Armed Forces encamped in New Zealand during World War II were remembered with gratitude at a Memorial Day Service in Queen Elizabeth Park on Monday May 26.
Memorial Day is a major public holiday in the United States, similar to ANZAC Day in New Zealand and Australia. This year (2025) is the 83rd anniversary of the Marines’ arrival in our District.
Hosted jointly by the Kāpiti U.S. Marines Trust (KUSMT) and the New Zealand American Association (NZAA), the Service was held at Ramaroa, the park centre in Queen Elizabeth Park, due to wet weather.
Five wreaths presented by the Embassy of the United States in Wellington, the Kapiti Coast District Council (KCDC), the Paraparaumu RSA, NZAA and KUSMT were subsequently laid at the US Marines Memorial.
The Service honoured the 15,000 US Marines who lived in Camps Mackay (Whareroa Farm), Russell (Queen Elizabeth Park) and Paekākāriki (Paekākāriki village) from 1942-44. It also paid tribute to about 30,000 other Marines camped in and around Porirua, Wellington City, the Hutt Valley and the Wairarapa district.
Guest speakers were David H Gehrenbeck, the US Embassy Charge d’Affaires, and Professor Roberto Rabel. Larry Keim, Steve La Hood and Anthony Dreaver represented the Trust.
The names of the ten US Navy seamen who lost their lives by drowning in a tragic accident on Whareroa Beach on June 16, 1943, were read by Officer Cadet Edward Hargraves from No 49 (Kapiti) Squadron) Air Training Corps.