TV bosses behind hit show Hawaii Five-0 have apologised to America's World War II veterans for filming an upcoming episode during their Pearl Harbor anniversary tribute last week (begs05Dec11).
Dozens of Pearl Harbor survivors and military officials congregated at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu last week to remember the lives lost during the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian naval base in 1941.
However, the group became enraged when a Hawaii Five-0 film crew neglected to alter its shooting schedule out of respect for the deceased and instead forged ahead with filming a scene in which series star Alex O'Loughlin visited his fictional father's grave.
And now Hawaii Five-0's executive producer, Peter Lenkov, has offered up an apology to the veterans and visiting service members, who were "unintentionally offended when our events coincided".
Lenkov has released a statement which reads: "Any rudeness by our staff can only be attributed to haste to finish our work, not a lack of respect for men and women who have served and sacrificed for their country. And for that, too, we sincerely apologize to any that were offended.
"We recognize the privilege of filming in Hawaii and we are acutely aware of the deserved respect for its culture, history and the reverence that should be afforded to all of our veterans, particularly those who served so nobly in Hawaii and at Pearl Harbor. "