Department of Defense

World War II activation remembered

In anticipation of the United States’ involvement in World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called on National Guard units across the nation to help fill the ranks of the newly expanded active Army . Hawaii’s 298th and 299th Infantry were two of the National Guard units called out.

The Hawaii units were tapped in the second increment of the presidential callup which inducted soldier from as far away as New York and Puerto Rico. The 298th, stationed at the Honolulu Armory, was commanded by Col. Wilhelm A. Andersen. Col. Gordon C. Ross was commander of the 299th, then stationed at lolani Barracks. Both infantry units were to serve for a 12-month period. (This period was later extended an additional 18 months.)

On Oct. 15, 1940, the two units’ 1,700+ members reported to Schofield Barracks for intensive training and preparation. Patriotism was high and there was wides spread support for the Guardsmen. To assist the young men in settling into their station camps, local residents and organizations collected donations to help pay for the soldiers’ personal items not provided by the Federal Government. The local media proudly referred to the men of the 298th and 299th as “Hawaii’s Own.”

On Dec. 8, 1941, a Hawaii Guardsman captured the first Japanese prisoner of World War II. On guard duty at Bellows Field, Master Sgt. David Akui captured Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, commander of a two-man midget submarine. Sakamaki had swam ashore after being grounded during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the morning earlier.

– 1990 July – September Pūpūkahi pp. 8

Guardsman captures first Japanese prisoner of war

In the predawn hours of Dec. 8, 1941, Corporal David M. Akui, 21, of the 298th Infantry, was on active duty patrolling the beach at Bellows Field, Oahu, when he spotted what he thought was a turtle n the offshore darkness. As the object came closer, however, Akui realized it was a man swimming ashore. Akui challenged the Asian man and ordered him to halt. Bayoneted rifle in one hand, Akui cranked up the field phone with his free hand and called his commander, Lt. P.C. Plybon. Plybon and his party arrived immediately and the exhausted stranger was tied up and driven away.

At daybreak a dark, bulky object was sighted on the reef about 1 1/2 miles offshore. A reconnaissance plane determined the object to be an 80-foot Japanese midget submarine, one of five twoman subs assigned to attack Pearl Harbor the previous morning. It turned out that Akui had captured Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, the commander of midget submarine number 19 and the first Japanese prisoner of World War II.

Later investigation revealed that a damaged gyroscope and depth charges from two American destroyers had prevented Sakamaki’s sub from entering the harbor. The sub was setting out for a rendezvous point off Lanai when its crew collapsed from fatigue and the sub washed onto the reef near Kaneohe.

Akui declined several opportunities to meet with Sakamaki during and after the war. A dedicated military man, Akui went on to fight in the Central Pacific campaign and in the India-Bunna campaign with Merrill’s Marauders. He served almost 20 years in the Guard and rose to the rank of master sergeant. He left the Guard in 1959 to join the Navy Reserve, retiring as a chief utilities man in 1975.

Akui passed away in 1987 His wife and four children live in Kaneohe.

– 1991 October – December Pūpūkahi pp. 8

Hawaii Guardsmen capture prisoner of war number one

By Retired Master Sgt. Stephen M. Lum

It was more than a year since the Hawaii Guard was mobilized (Oct. 15, 1940), as German and Japanese military forces were invading Europe and the AsianPacific Theatres. The United States was drawn into World War II with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Hawaii National Guard Soldiers from Co. G, 298th Infantry Regiment were doing their pre-invasion mission of guarding the northeastern sector of Oahu on Dec. 7, 1941.

“That morning we noticed smoke rising from Kaneohe Air Base,” said Cpl. Thomas Kiyoshi “Kewpie” Tsubota, American of Japanese Ancestry Guardsman. “A plane with a red ‘hinomaru’ beneath its wings (Japanese Zeros) flew over. We thought it was just maneuvers until the machine gun firing (our gunners returning fire) strafed near Bellows Airfield. Then we knew it was for real.”

Guard Soldiers were dispatched to “nearby” Diamond Head’s Fort Ruger to secure ammunition, Bellows was not authorized to have large amounts of ammunition.

Private Quirino F. “Joe” Oligario was as at his lookout in the hills of Waimanalo in the pre-dawn hours the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked when he saw something off the shores of Bellows beach. The Waimanalo-raised Guardsman could not leave his post so he radios his Co. G headquarters. Joe died at age 82 in Hawaii in 1997. He was a staff sergeant when he was deactivated.

The incident is investigated by a jeepload of Co. G Heavy Weapons Platoon Guardsmen led by Lt. Paul. G. “Playboy” Plybon and Cpl. David M. Akui. Hawaiiborn native Hawaiian Akui sees an object off shore (which turns out to be a Japanese midget sub) and then spots a body on the beach. He then grabs a M1 Garand rifle from the jeep and fires a warning shot between the legs of the body. The survivor regains consciousness, opening his eyes to the barrel of Plybon’s M1911 45 caliber pistol and Akui’s rifle. Plybon would die during the war in the South Pacific.

Japanese Imperial Navy Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, survivor of a two man Haramaki 19 Midget Submarine, is captured by the Guardsmen and becomes the United States’ prisoner of war number one. Sakamaki says to Guardsmen in broken English, “I am cold.” Tsubota tried to question Sakamaki who refused to answer in either English or Japanese. Tsubota becomes the first Nisei (second Japanese generation Hawaii-born) to engage in interrogation of a Japanese POW in World War II.

Sakamaki spends most of his incarceration at Camp McCoy, Wis. After the war he is released and began working at Toyota Motor Corporation. He became president of its subsidiary in Brazil in 1967. He died in Japan in 1999 at the age of 81.

The second sailor from the two-man sub was Japanese Petty Officer 2nd Class Kiyoshi Inagaki. Inagaki’s mangled body washes on the beach three days later and Tsubota used his blanket to cover the body of the dead engineer. Inagaki, whose death is attributed to injuries and drowning, is taken away and buried.

Nisei Pvts. Seisho Okuma and Takuya “Roy” Terada, and Cpl. Tsubota, are AJAs Guardsmen who were at the Bellows beach incident but not mentioned in most published and online reports. They go on to be part of the 100Th Infantry Battalion that first trains at Camp McCoy, Wis.

Okuma, like many second generation Japanese, is almost mistaken for an “enemy” Japanese National because his English was very poor. He survives the battles in the European Theatre, but died in 1953, at age 36. Terada, who had witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor the day, before is mentioned in a Hawaii Herald article and “The Anguish of Surrender – Japanese POWs of World War II” by Ulrich A. Strauss, and became a Japanese linguist with the Military Intelligence Service. Tsubota’s Japanese language education is noted and he is “volunteered” to be a trained interpreter/translator with the MIS and is one of 14 AJAs to volunteers to serve with the Merrill’s 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional). At the time of this article he is still alive, wrote his account and it was published in the Hawaii Herald and is available on the 100th Bn. website.

Akui also went on to be a part of Gen. Frank Merrill’s Marauders, fighting in Burma (Myanmar). After the war, Akui continued his Hawaii Guard service until 1959, when he enlisted in the in Naval Reserve. He died in 1987 at age 67.

The damaged HA-19 brought to Pearl Harbor. The sub is shipped to the U.S. mainland for intensive study by naval intelligence and later used for War Bond rallies. It is presently at the National Museum of the Pacific War, “the Nimitz Museum,” in Fredericksburg, Texas, hometown of Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz.

– 2016 November Pupukahi pp. 6-7

Hawai‘i Army National Guard Veteran’s Family Visits Bellows 81 Years After Historic Event

State of Hawaii, Department of Defense, Public Affairs Office | Courtesy Story | October 15, 2022

Pvt. Takuya “Roy” Terada helped capture the first Japanese POW of WWII at Bellows beach the day after the horrific attack on Pearl Harbor. A Japanese two-man midget submarine was beached on the shore and a Hawai’i National Guard patrol was the first on-site. Pvt Terada was a member of the 298th Infantry at the time and played a part in that historical event.

Eighty-one years later, Carolyn Terada was on the same beach where her father stood. Terada’s trip to Waimānalo’s Bellows beach was inspired by honoring her mother, who just turned a 100.

“I thought it would be a special gift to show her where dad served at the beginning of WWII,” Carolyn Terada said. “I felt so many emotions being on the beach that my dad patrolled. I was overcome with pride for his time in the service, I was humbled by so many that gave their lives for our freedom and a bit saddened by those that don’t understand the sacrifices our men and women have given us.”

Carolyn Terada said that her father did not talk too much about his service and being in the military but did find some humor in his assigned location during the war.

“…I have to laugh that my dad got guard duty for such a beautiful beach,” said Terada. “I’m a bit surprised that he wasn’t swimming or lounging on the beach.”

PVT Terada, who had witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor the day before is mentioned in a Hawai’i Herald article and “The Anguish of Surrender – Japanese POWs of World War II” by Ulrich A. Strauss, and became a Japanese linguist with the Military Intelligence Service.

Here is an excerpt from PVT Terada himself about the Dec. 7, 1941, attack and what happened shortly after:

“A friend picked me up at 8:00 am to go on a pass. We went merrily on our way through Schofield Barracks with bullets flying all over from strafing planes and confused GI’s hiding behind bushes. We drove along the burning hangars and planes at Wheeler Field and stopped along Kamehameha Highway, less than a mile where the Arizona was docked, and watched the bombardment in silent fury, confusion and terror.

Returned to company headquarters where we were picked up and taken to our guard position along the shoreline where we spent the next six months in bunkers dug out of sand. It was a little scary at first, especially when we captured the first Japanese Prisoner of War the day after Pearl Harbor. He was a lieutenant of a 2-man sub which got grounded on the reef after getting bombed by a Navy plane.

The six months we spent at the outpost was boring. Nothing to do between guard duties, except to frolic on the beautiful white beach, swimming in clear blue ocean and fish in waters where civilians were not allowed. We even convinced a doctor to let us use his beach home for rest and relaxation until the company commander found out about this arrangement. He ordered us not to use the facility while he was using it.”

Japanese Imperial Navy Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki was one of two crewmembers of a Haramaki 19 midget submarine who tried to enter Pearl Harbor before the main attack but had a broken gyrocompass and ended up on a reef. It had survived a bombing run and depth charges from U.S. forces and then limped to the beach at Bellows. Sakamaki spent most of his incarceration at Camp McCoy, Wis. After the war he was released and began working at Toyota Motor Corporation. He became president of its subsidiary in Brazil in 1967. He died in Japan in 1999 at the age of 81.

Carolyn Terada reached out to the Hawai’i National Guard about base access at Bellows and why she wanted to see that spot. Coordination was made with the 298th Multi-Functional Training Regiment to assist with the visit. Maj. Sean Dodge, Operations Officer, 298th MFTU was a part of the HING escort team and ensured the visit was special.

“It’s not often we get to recognize a Hawai’i Army National Guard WWII veteran on the site of such a significant event,” said Dodge. “We presented Carolyn with a Regimental coin and a patch that her father would have worn.”

When Carolyn showed her mother the pictures of her visit, she was thrilled about the opportunity her daughter had to visit the site and the welcome that her daughter received.

“She had heard the story of the capture of the POW but the way my father told it, she wasn’t always sure he wasn’t kidding,” said Carolyn Terada. “If it weren’t for her frail health, she would have come.

She wants to thank everyone for the medallion (coin), she has it displayed with my father’s flag and Army picture.”

Terada, her husband Tim, and friends Mike and Wendy Waitt were able to visit the beach at Bellows where the midget sub was found and PVT Terada patrolled in the 40s, view a plaque commemorating the capture of the sub and also tour the Reservation Center at Bellows where they have WWII artifacts and pictures.

“I wish I had been more curious earlier to ask dad about his experiences, and to thank him not only for his service but for providing a great life for our family,” said Terada. “And then I’d give him a big hug!”

– 2022 Winter Pūpūkahi pp. 7-8