Local News

Serving those who served

First photo: Linda Martin of Wailuku (center) serves pumpkin pie to Richard Tom of Kula while Cassie Ale of Kihei dishes up her homemade pumpkin crunch during a Thanksgiving meal at the VFW Post 3850 in Kihei on Thursday afternoon. Martin and Tom are veterans, while Ale is a mother and daughter of a veteran.

Second photo: Jackie Thomas, VFW Auxiliary president at Post 3850, loads up a platter of turkey slices, part of a Thanksgiving meal cooked up by Nalu's South Shore Grill. "We're humbled and blessed to be able to be here to support our local veterans and all the veterans and people that were impacted in the recent fires," Thomas said. "From 3850 back to our community, this is what we wanted to do." VFW members are on Maui through Saturday to help veterans impacted by the fires, and the Kihei post also has supplies for veterans who need it. "We didn't want this to be once and done," Thomas said of the ongoing assistance. "This needs to go on."

Third photo: Three-year-old Cora Brun of Kihei launches a plastic ax at the target while her dad Chris Brun looks on. "It's cool to have the camaraderie and be able to talk to people that have been through similar experiences," said Chris Brun, an Air Force veteran who served in Africa. "And having the opportunity to take care of the people from Lahaina and Upcountry with the food and stuff is really cool."