Hawaii Five-0 has filmed scenes at Honolulu’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific many times before, but during a routine shoot at the cemetery earlier this month crew members were accused of disrupting a veterans’ group’s visit to the historical site.
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (also known as Punchbowl National Cemetery) is a popular tourist destination that also serves a memorial to those men and women who served in the Armed Forces.
The veterans’ group The Greatest Generation Foundation had arranged a trip to the cemetery for 23 Pearl Harbor survivors to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the attacks and claim that the Hawaii Five-0 crew was disrespectful during their visit.
Reportedly, foundation board member Steffan Tubbs said that the crew refused to halt production during the veterans’ event, even while they were playing the National Anthem and Taps. He also said that a crew member “shushed” the veterans during a rose-laying ceremony. “It was a disgrace,” Tubbs told reporters.
Hawaii Five-0 executive producer Peter Lenkov denied that the crew continued production during the veterans’ ceremony and issued an official apology.
Our production crew is 80 percent staffed with local Hawaiians, many with ties to the military. We recognize the privilege of filming in Hawaii and we are acutely aware of the deserved respect for its culture, history and the reverence that should be afforded to all of our veterans, particularly those who served so nobly in Hawaii and at Pearl Harbor. Furthermore, the series we produce carries a demonstrative pro-military message…Any rudeness by our staff can only be attributed to haste to finish our work, not a lack of respect for men and women who have served and sacrificed for their country. And for that, too, we sincerely apologize to any that were offended.
Lenkov’s explanation did not go over well with the foundation however whose president and CEO Timothy Davis issued the following response to the show’s statement:
While we would like to accept the apology provided by Peter Lenkov, it seems to us to be little more than a list of excuses for CBS’ actions and a couple reasons why we should either discontinue or feel guilty about making such actions known. CBS purports to be a conservative network that honors veterans, yet this behavior stands in blatant contrast to Lenkov’s statements of patriotic sentiments. [A]n apology for giving offense is not an apology for offensive action,” the statement continues. Davis asks that Lenkov “apologize to each of the veterans for what happened, not how our veterans felt.
Though the incident will likely continue to be a sensitive subject to the vets and the Hawaii Five-0 crew, it probably won’t stop them from filming at the cemetery which has been featured on the show several times already.
Punchbowl National Cemetery is open 8am-6:30pm daily to the public.
