Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home celebration on March 2, 2018.

(BIVN) – The Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo marked ten years of serving Hawaii’s Veterans on Friday.

The Hilo rain soaked the grounds of the facility as dignitaries and residents stayed dry under a network of tents, where they heard speeches and proclamations in honor of “Hawaii’s only post-acute care and rehabilitation service provider specifically designed to serve the special needs of Veterans”, as the facility website states.

Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home, located right next to Hilo Medical Center, features dedicated short-term rehabilitation services, residential long-term placement, as well as an active Adult Day Health Care Program.

The home is named after World War II Medal of Honor recipient, Technical Sergeant Yukio Okutsu, who volunteered to be join the now-famous 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Okutsu died at age 81 and is buried in Hilo’s East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery No. 2.