This story could be written every five years. It almost has been. Not much changes. But Lei Kahanu Girelli refuses to give up on her mission.

Every Nov. 11, Veterans Day, Girelli has a ritual at Pu'ukamali'i Cemetery in 'Alewa Heights. She brings dozens of American flags, lei, and a huge banner that reads, "Don't forget World War I Veterans." Her slogan is "don't forget" because she says "remember" belongs to Pearl Harbor.

But sometimes she feels she's the only one who hasn't forgotten.

Girelli, now 79, remembers visiting Pu'ukamali'i Cemetery as a child. She remembers rows and rows of grave markers for World War I veterans. She had to walk past them to get to her family's plot. Now, that area is bare.

"It took a while for it to dawn on me that something happened," Girelli said. "When my mother died in 1979 and was buried here, that's when I realized the stones were gone."

A few years ago, Girelli found five headstones with the names of WWI veterans lying near a shack at the cemetery. She wonders if the headstones were removed to make mowing the area easier. These may have been put aside because they're broken, but Girelli worries there are more headstones buried underneath.

Solomon Kam of VFW Diamond Head Post 8616 heard of Girelli's mission and joined in her quest. He has written to various government agencies and contacted veterans' groups. So far, no records of Pu'ukamali'i WWI burials.

Girelli herself is meticulous about documents. She keeps photo albums of every Nov. 11 ritual along with lists of who came and what they had for lunch. She has searched the state archives and the Kalihi LDS Family History Center for information. Everything she has collected about Pu'ukamali'i is stored in a big rolling suitcase that she guards carefully.

But there doesn't seem to be a complete master list of who is buried at Pu'ukamali'i. A survey done by cemetery expert Nanette Napoleon shows the approximate location of the unmarked graves.

In 1901, the land below Natsunoya Teahouse in 'Alewa Heights was leased to the territorial government for the burial of inmates who died in the government asylum. The territory bought the land in 1917. The state got the land, but not much information. Over the years, prison work crews came every few weeks to mow the grass and remove trash.

Some of the graves at Pu'ukamali'i are recent. Girelli says families like hers have large plots, and when someone dies, they are brought to be buried with their 'ohana. She remembers the WWI graves were at the mauka end of the cemetery, closest to the teahouse.

Girelli's uncle, a WWI veteran, used to take care of the cemetery, not as an official employee, but more from a personal sense of duty. This feeling of obligation has passed down to her, and she is passing it down to her descendants. Once, when the grass in the cemetery got as high as the chain link fence, she summoned her grandsons to bring weed whackers and take care of it.

There was a time in the late 1980s when the state considered digging up the graves at Pu'ukamali'i to turn the land into a park, but there was sufficient public outrage and the plan was dropped in 1991.

A few things have changed for the better in recent years. A chain link fence now keeps the cemetery from being used as a parking lot. The grass is mowed, the weeds minimal. The state put up a sign with both the name Pu'ukamali'i and the older name, Kalaepohaku, so that families looking for their ancestors can find the cemetery.

Girelli and Kam want validation of what they believe is there. Though the names corresponding with each grave may never be known, they envision a memorial plaque listing the Hawai'i men who served in WWI who are buried on that 'Alewa hillside. Girelli would like to talk with families who might have information on Pu'ukamali'i, and she wonders if someone who served on a prison work crew cleaning the cemetery all those decades ago knows what happened to the rows of headstones she remembers.

This Veterans Day, she'll be up there again with her flags and her banner and her family. It's part of the mission. Kam has signed on with the same kind of determination. For him, it's about not wanting fellow soldiers to be forgotten.

"When I see those graves," he said, "I picture myself in there and I would want my 'ohana fighting for me."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.