Plot

Documentary Filmmaker Alex Quade discovers that one U.S. state is in danger of losing a memorial to its veterans killed in action. The city of Honolulu is considering demolishing its official memorial to the fallen of World War I and moving a portion of it across the street to the site of a separate remembrance plaque. 10,000 service members from the then-Hawaiian territories fought in the Great War; 101 were killed. War Reporter Alex Quade's film investigation reveals the fight to save the memorial. Quade takes the audience along as descendants of those killed fight the city over the fate of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. First opened in 1927, the salt water swimming pool fell into disrepair after years of neglect and closed in 1979. "Our great-great grand-uncle fought and died in World War I. Memorials are built to remember those, and to keep the memories alive," said Frank Weight, descendant of WWI veteran, Sam Kainoa. "We don't want to be the first state to ever tear down and demolish a memorial." Despite listed as a "national treasure" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and recognized by the World War I Centennial Commission as unique among our national war memorials, it is under threat by interests who want to tear it down to make way for a beach and who cite the high cost of repair. Alex Quade is a war reporter and documentary filmmaker who covers U.S. Special Operations Forces on combat missions. She embeds long-term with elite units downrange. She's received two Edward R. Murrow Awards, and the Medal of Honor Society's Excellence in Journalism Award. Her films include: "Horse Soldiers of 9/11", narrated by actor Gary Sinise, and "Chinook Down", investigating the fatal shoot-down of a helicopter in Afghanistan. Quade was supposed to be on that helicopter. She serves on the Board of Military Reporters & Editors. See her videos at: www.alexquade.com—Alex Quade Films