Their numbers are dwindling, but their courage and service will never be forgotten, and so on Sunday, Japanese-Americans who served in World War II were honored at Punchbowl.

The AJA veterans’ joint memorial service is held every year on the last Sunday of September, in memory of the first American of Japanese ancestry killed in action during the war — Shigeo “Joe” Takata of the 100th Infantry Battalion.

Sunday’s ceremony included speeches by some of the soldiers’ children, a gun salute and wreath laying.

Rich Morishige of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team said “less and less boys coming out — in fact, today 10 to 15 of the 442. They all dying, one of those things cannot help.”

In addition to the 100th battalion and the 442, the public memorial service honors members of the military intelligence service and the 1399th engineer construction battalion.