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Posted: Monday, April 17th, 2006 5:23 AM HST

New state medal to be awarded

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) _ A new state award, the Hawaii Medal of Honor, will be given to 120 service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan on Tuesday. Forty-eight families are expected to attend the award ceremony. The ceremony will be held in a rare joint session of the Legislature. The award will be given to service members who were residents of Hawaii, stationed in the islands, attended colleges here, or were members of the Hawaii National Guard when they died. The medal is believed to be the first in the country issued by a state honoring service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The medal features the state coat of arms and the Maltese Cross, which depicts four axes of the globe to represent Hawaii as the crossroads of the Pacific. (Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.)