How did Hawaii’s first group of nisei soldiers — who averaged only 5 feet, 4 inches tall and 125 pounds — of the 100th Infantry Battalion in World War II become one of the most decorated military units in U.S. history?

Through stubborn tenacity and courage under fire, they fought to prove that being a loyal American had nothing to do with their size or race, said Kathi Hayashi, education chair and treasurer of Club 100, a veterans group. By 1944 they had earned the nickname “the Purple Heart Battalion” after suffering a staggering amount of casualties to defeat the enemy.

On June 29 the club will celebrate the 82nd anniversary of the 100th’s formation on June 12, 1942. The segregated unit was made up of nisei (second-­generation Japanese) soldiers whose patriotism was questioned after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.

“We feel the story of the 100th is a Hawaii-heroes story, not just one for descendants to be proud of,” said Hayashi, whose late father, Tokuichi Hayashi, belonged to the battalion.

The 100th’s proud legacy should be carried on by youth who could be taught the values that made the battalion exemplary, such as quiet perseverance (“gaman” in Japanese), a sense of duty or obligation (“giri”) and not bringing shame on the family name (“haji”), Kathi Hayashi said.

The motto of Club 100 is “For Continuing Service.” The club was organized by nisei soldiers on the battlefront in 1942. Each soldier contributed $2 per paycheck to help support veterans and their families after the war, Hayashi said. The group’s clubhouse in Manoa later became “like a sanctuary” for returning soldiers to share their innermost feelings, find camaraderie and spend time in family activities.

But by 2022 the club was on the verge of being shut down because of a lack of interest, with no future generation ready to take over its mission. Fortunately, Hayashi was elected to the board that year, and she developed a Legacy2Action program for students to learn the soldiers’ values and leadership skills while giving back to the community.

Challenged to identify a problem facing Hawaii and create a solution, over 100 students participated this year, supported by co-sponsors Central Pacific Bank, the University of Hawaii Center on Aging and ‘Iolani School. They worked on some 20 projects, such as fire ant control, stewardship of the Kukaniloko royal birthing stones in Wahiawa, gender inequality and food insecurity.

“I’m proud to say, we now have lots of interest and a lot of young people that want to learn about the 100th and why they, along with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, were the most decorated in U.S. military history,” she said.

This year Club 100 has “adopted” student Shane Kaneshiro, a Legacy2Action participant for the past three years, Hayashi said. As editor of The Pinion, McKinley High School’s student newspaper, Kaneshiro has demonstrated a passion for preserving the nisei legacy in many ways.

For his project this year, Kaneshiro created a documentary spotlighting how McKinley students contributed to wartime efforts during World War II, a period that has fascinated him since he delved into the school’s newspaper archives as a freshman.

“My generation, like my friends and classmates, don’t know any of these stories. If I ask them about the 100th and the 442nd, they have no idea what it is. … They don’t even know who Daniel Inouye is,” he said, indicating the late U.S. senator who lost his arm in Italy while fighting with the 442nd. “They don’t even know about these famous people who helped change Hawaii,” he said, referring to the political and economic advances made by nisei veterans after returning from the war.

Of all the values exemplified by the nisei veterans, he’s most inspired by their ability “to persevere with patience and dignity. You have to persevere through hardship, sometimes in silence. … Not complaining, just work hard.” It’s a quality Kaneshiro can relate to through his own struggle with learning disabilities as he became a reporter and then editor of his school newspaper.

Now a senior, Kaneshiro has won journalism awards, become an advocate for his school and for veterans, and been a member of the Junior ROTC for four years. His goal is to become a historian for the Hawaii State Archives.

Kaneshiro has interviewed several nisei World War II veterans since 2022 as part of projects sponsored by the Honolulu Star-­Advertiser, the Nisei Veterans Legacy and other media.

An interview with Dr. Takashi Manago a while back developed into a friendship that has extended to include Kaneshiro’s close-knit family. The retired Honolulu dentist, now 100 years old, is one of 10 known veterans of the 100th alive today. Although Manago is hard of hearing and needs help communicating through his daughter, Kaneshiro has enjoyed talking story for hours about Manago’s war experiences. He has sewn Manago a red, white and blue quilt lap cover and pillow as tokens of affection.

A native of Captain Cook on the Big Island, Manago said he served toward the end of the war, from 1944 to 1948, but was on the front line for only about four weeks as a litter bearer in Livorno, Italy, carrying the wounded to safety during the night as bombs and bullets exploded around him.

“I didn’t have tough time,” he said repeatedly, compared with those who fought in the crucial months-long battle at Monte Cassino in 1944. He spoke at length about “the original 100 boys, the old-timers,” who suffered brutal casualties while defeating the Germans who controlled the historic monastery atop a rocky hill.

“The Japanese boys went up the hill; the 100 boys did a good job. They were brave — go for broke — that’s why I give the 100th a lot of credit,” Manago said.

Hayashi, a retired Verizon executive, said the harrowing battle of Monte Cassino was where the 100th earned its nickname, the “Purple Heart Battalion,” and lost over half of its soldiers. Because its numbers were so depleted, in June 1944 the battalion was attached to the 442nd and redesignated the “100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry.” Due to its outstanding record in military training and in battle, the battalion was allowed to keep its “100th” designation, she said.

“Club 100 members believe the 100th, formed in 1942, paved the way with their superior training record for the 442nd’s formation in March 1943 as an all-­volunteer unit made up of two-thirds Hawaii nisei and one-third from the mainland,” Hayashi said. “Its subsequent unparalleled combat record proved nisei could be trusted in battle, which paved the way for the 442nd to join them in Italy,” Hayashi said.

The units together earned seven Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations — the highest unit award; 21 Medals of Honor; 29 Distinguished Service Crosses for individual achievement; over 4,000 Purple Heart medals; and the Congressional Gold Medal award, which is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. Congress, she said.

From a broader perspective, Hayashi said the 100th laid the groundwork for future laws for equality by demonstrating that they deserved the same rights as all Americans regardless of race, citing the desegregation of the military in 1948 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

GET INVOLVED

Find out more about Club 100’s 82nd-anniversary banquet on June 29 at 520 Kamoku St., at 100thibv.org or by calling 808-946-0272.