 A fixture of the Waikiki shoreline, the War Memorial Natatorium, represents a vital part of Hawaii's story. The city of Honolulu is now planning the Natatorium's future. Working together, we can save this historic icon. Your voice could make the difference. I remember this place as the Natatorium where we all grew up learning how to swim. Place where our family would come every Sunday afternoon to have a picnic. It is more significant for me in my life having worn the uniform knowing that two of my grandfathers wore the uniform in World War One. The Natatorium is a one-of-a-kind swimming venue built in 1927 to honor the 10,000 Hawaii citizens who served in the First World War. The World War One Memorial that I'm standing in front of right now is built by the people of Hawaii, thinking that it would be here as an everlasting memorial to honor those 9,800 who served and the 102 who were honored here on the stone who died in military service. Their plan was for this to be a living memorial into perpetuity. The Natatorium is a local treasure, a symbol of Hawaii's cultural contributions to American life. Despite suffering a slow decline after World War Two, it has persisted. Today, the Natatorium is a rare reminder of Hawaii's early days when Waikiki was a training ground for its indigenous swimming traditions. We don't want to be the first state to ever potentially demolish a World War One Memorial. We cannot do that. It's a dishonor to all those who fought and died in World War One. It's a basic responsibility to uphold the legacy and intent that our ancestors laid down and conceived of. In Hawaiian, it would be kuleana. Now, there is a plan to revive the Natatorium as a public swimming venue. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has declared the Natatorium a national treasure. Joining local partners to urge the city to give future generations the opportunity to swim where Duke Kahanamoku once made history. New research has shown that the Natatorium cannot only be restored, but that its ocean-fed system can be simplified with greater circulation of ocean water in the swim basin. I think the City and County of Honolulu has done a good job in seeing what the possible options are and they're looking at different preservation options. The Friends of the Natatorium with the support of the National Trust for Historic Preservation have come up with some great design ideas that are sustainable, resilient and would be great for the community. And I think the City and County have seen that and seen that there are possibilities to actually move this forward and provide a healthy and clean swimming venue. There are generations of Hawaii residents who have never had a chance to experience the Natatorium as it was meant to be used, but you can change that. There's nothing that compares to the Natatorium. It's so important to a local person to be able to experience. We are a generation that realizes that this is a gift that was granted to us from the people who came before us and we're trying to save it for the future. We want to give people the chance to swim or do kahanamoku swim, to remember the things that people like Princess Kalanana Ole wanted us to remember and we're trying as hard as we can to preserve that history. Your voice is critical to save this living memorial. Visit savingplaces.org slash Natatorium to add your comments in favor of preserving the Natatorium. Hawaii's National Treasure, Mahalo.