Da 100th Infantry Battalion Thursday Wine Gang

06/16/2026

So awesome!

In remembrance of his fellow WWII Nisei veterans, centenarian Ed Nakamura (Military Intelligence Service) represented their legacy, in particular the late Yosh Nakamura (442nd RCT) — in cut-out form — around the soon-to-open Go For Broke Plaza & First Street Residences.



📷 Tracy Kumono

06/16/2026

About the 100th.

America didn’t trust one of the most decorated units in military history.

June 12, 1942: The all-Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion was activated in Hawaiʻi.

At a time when many Americans questioned the loyalty of anyone with Japanese ancestry, the men who would become the 100th were already serving in the Hawaiʻi National Guard.

While thousands of Japanese Americans on the mainland were being removed from their homes and incarcerated behind barbed wire, the soldiers of the 100th were preparing for combat.

In Italy, they quickly earned a reputation for courage, discipline, and determination. Their casualty rate became so high that they became known as the “Purple Heart Battalion.”

Army leaders who had once doubted Japanese American soldiers were soon asking for more of them.

Together with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th became part of the most decorated unit of its size and length of service in U.S. military history.

quietamericans.com/100th-infantry-battalion

06/13/2026

Profile of 442nd veteran Henry Takitani

In hope that his service would aid in getting his father released from internment, Henry T. Takitani enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after he graduated from H.P. Baldwin High School in 1944. As fate would have it, his unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, K Company, landed in Naples, Italy on the day that Germany surrendered. He would downplay his service in his later years, always mentioning that he had never seen combat. At the urging of his 442RCT comrades, he ran for and was elected to the Hawaii state House of Representatives in 1968 and served as a state Senator
from 1970 to 1980.

The NVMC is honored to be the repository of over 200 special collections of Maui’s Nisei Veterans. We thank the veterans and families for entrusting us with these precious items to share with current and future generations.

If you have any questions about the archives or are considering a donation of items to the Center, please contact Archive Director Melanie Agrabante at (808) 244-6862. Mahalo for your support.

06/12/2026

Looking for young adults from 18-32 who want to learn more about Buddhism.

🌺 If you know a young adult 18-32(ish) interested in connecting with others their age around Jodo Shin Buddhism, please share this with them!

🤙The Young Adults Retreat 2026 promises to be a fun and meaningful two days based at the Buddhist Study Center in Honolulu over Labor Day weekend, Sept 6 & 7.

Details and registration: https://bschawaii.org/events/young-adults-retreat-2026/2026-09-06/

06/12/2026

Even at Honouliuli National Historic Site, incarcerees honored the ancestors during Obon season.

June marks the beginning of Obon season around the Hawaiian Islands. The season combines many beliefs and cultures with the idea that the deceased return to the material world for a brief time. During Obon, bon odori festivals are commonplace. Bon odori is a style of dance originating in Japan. Often times during these festivals, the traditional Japanese drum, the taiko, is played to increase merriment during the dances or for ceremonial purposes.

The first recorded bon dance in the United States happened in Hawaiʻi. In 1885, 900 Japanese immigrants arrived to work the sugar plantations. That same year, laborers at a plantation in Wainaku on the Big Island organized the first American obon. They danced in the cane fields. (https://historichawaii.org/article/the-o-bon-tradition-in-hawaii/)

At Honouliuli Internment Camp, many incarcerees, despite their bleak circumstances, still participated in this tradition of Obon. The only artifact known to have the name of the camp written on it - ホノウリウリ監禁所 - is a taiko drum from an Obon service held within the camp. In August 15, 1944, Bishop Zenkyo Komagata beat on this taiko drum during the service, a telling reminder that despite their incarceration, they were true to the traditions they held dear.

06/10/2026

A profile of one of the non-AJA officers in the 100th, Jack Johnson.

He had red hair and freckles.

The Japanese American soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion called him one of their own.

June 9, 1913: Major John “Jack” Alexander Johnson Jr. was born in Los Angeles.

Raised in Hawai‘i, Johnson understood the local culture and spoke Pidgin. As executive officer of the 100th Infantry Battalion, he trained with the men, joked with them, and earned their trust.

When the battalion deployed to Italy, he went with them.

On January 25, 1944, during the brutal fighting at Monte Cassino, Johnson was killed while leading from the front. He was 30 years old.

The men of the 100th never forgot him.

Today, he remains one of the few non-Japanese officers remembered as part of the battalion’s family.

Read more:
quietamericans.com/jack-johnson

06/09/2026

Film screening on the Big Island

For the 80 Years of Closure Commemoration of when Honouliuli Internment Camp closed, the National Park Service in partnership with the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, Kinetic Productions, and Pacific Historic Parks, will be bringing special film screenings of "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" on all neighboring islands.

"Voices Behind Barbed Wire", a film by Kinetic Productions, tells the story of Japanese-Americans living in Hawaiʻi after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and how their families were affected by martial law. Following the film will be a panel discussion with Ryan Kawamoto, director of the film, Carole Hayashino, President Emeritus of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, and Christine Ogura, Superintendent of Honouliuli National Historic Site.

There is no registration required to attend and seats for the screening will be first come first serve.

In June, in partnership with the Japanese Cultural Center of Kona and the Kona Japanese Civic Association, the film will be shown at the Kona Elks Lodge 2616 on Hawai'i Island. There will also be a Honouliuli NHS pop-up exhibit display at the Kailua-Kona Public Library all month in coordination with the film.

EVENT DETAILS:
"Voices Behind Barbed Wire" Film Screening
June 21, 2026, 12:30-3:00pm
Kona Elks Lodge, 75-170 Hualalai Rd., Kailua-Kona

Photo courtesy of Ryan Kawamoto/Kinetic Productions

06/09/2026

442nd veteran, the late Yosh Nakamura, shares a wartime experience.

06/09/2026

As expected, all Honouliuli tours are already full but you can join the wait list.

The Honouliuli NHS team has been overwhelmed by the amount of attention, support, and excitement the opening of tours brought the past couple days. The desire to visit the park by our community is not going unnoticed by us!

While we are sorry to announce that 2026 tours are full and understand there may be some disappointment, please stay tuned as we hope to announce the 2027 tour dates near the end of this year. We hope to increase the number of tours given in 2027 as our team of volunteers grow!

Waitlists are still open. Please check our website's Public Tour Information page to see updated approximate numbers of our waitlists: https://www.nps.gov/hono/planyourvisit/public-tour-information.htm

Even if you were unable to make it to a tour this year, we hope that we will see all of you at our many community events for the 80 Years of Closure Commemoration as well as table events in our community. Keep following our page to learn about these events and where our team will be around the island chain in 2026.

Mahalo nui loa for all the aloha, love, and support for our small park.

Photo courtesy of Hawaii's Plantation Village