On June 17, 1980, the bodies of two air ambulance personnel, pilot James "Kim" Nolan, 32, and paramedic Mark Adolpho, 25, were recovered on a Kaua'i cliff where their plane crashed two days before.

Among the search party was Mandy Shiraki, who had been with Adolpho at The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu when the call came in to fly to Kaua'i to pick up a critically ill patient.

Decades later, on Feb. 2, 2004, the bodies of three air ambulance personnel, pilot Ron Laubacher, 38, Honolulu firefighter and paramedic Joseph "Danny" Villiaros, 39, and Emergency Medical Services district supervisor Shiraki, 47, were recovered on a Big Island mountain where the plane crashed two days earlier in stormy weather en route to pick up a patient.

Among the members of that search party was Hawaiian Airlines pilot Rick White, one of Shiraki's best friends. White was also close with pilot Peter Miller, 32, whose air ambulance crashed on Maui on March 8, 2006 while flying to pick up a patient. Also killed in that crash were flight nurse Brien Eisaman, 37, and medical technician Marlena Yomes, 38,

Yesterday, White was one of about 150 friends and relatives who gathered at Kailua Beach to honor those fallen public-safety personnel, as well as Frank Tahere, 60, who died in March of 2003 from injuries suffered in a Liliha ambulance crash while tending a patient.

White, a former air ambulance pilot and the main organizer of the vigil, spoke of the connection of the "EMS family."

"Mandy was my instructor in my emergency medical technician training class — and there are probably thousands of people in Hawai'i who can say that," said White.

"And Peter Miller was my daughter's flight instructor, and he was a very, very close friend — a regular figure at our family dinner table."

Shiraki, Miller, Adolpho and their like are often unsung heroes, said Ray Makalia, associate pastor for His Highest Praise International in Honolulu and a former Honolulu firefighter, who spoke at the service in the park pavilion.

"These people risk their lives," said Makalia. "Sometimes it's easy to risk your life for your loved one and your children. But to do it for somebody that is a stranger — that's really love."

Love was a recurring theme among the those in the gathering. Although tears were shed, the mood was more celebratory. Two words on a banner pinned above the memorial table filled with photos, memorabilia and articles summed up the sentiments:

"Never Forget."

Frances Shiraki, 76, certainly won't forget.

"Mandy was always funny," she said with a fond smile. "He always wanted to do things. He was Curious George. And, mostly, he loved to help people. Even when he was little boy. He always wanted to help people."

Iris Latronic smiled broadly when she recalled her kid brother by two years, "Danny" Villiaros.

"Danny was an all-around guy," she said. "He loved everybody. He loved people. He loved life. He loved his job. He loved everything. But he loved helping people — that was his number one thing."

After the prayer service, some surfed or paddled canoes out to sea where they threw flower petals as two antique airplanes flew overhead.

"We're here to celebrate the lives of these people and the sacrifices they made," said Lawrence "Boogie" Molina, 32, a flight paramedic with Air Med Hawaii, who also helped organize the memorial.

"We should never forget what these people have done."

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.