Retiree News

By Pat Gee

Nisei military units that fought heroically in World War II will be honored Sept. 29 at the 19th annual Joint Memorial Service, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

The 9:30 a.m. service is open to the public and organized by descendants of soldiers in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service and 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion.

Volunteers are needed Sept. 28 to decorate graves at Punchbowl, the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe and Mililani Memorial Park.

The program includes a presentation of colors, laying of wreaths, musical performances and a rifle salute. The ceremony will also include a memorial address by keynote speaker Rear Adm. Stephen D. Barnett, participation from the 111th Army Band, student presenters and JROTC cadets.

To volunteer at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 28, contact Arlene Sato at [email protected] to place flowers and flags on over a thousand graves at Punchbowl cemetery. Look for buckets of flowers under the large tent. Wear sunscreen, a hat and comfortable walking shoes. Bring an empty pitcher to carry water to fill the vases.

Also contact Sato to help place over 100 bouquets at the Kaneohe cemetery Sept. 28 and to remove flags at Punchbowl at 9 a.m. Sept. 30.

Volunteers should con­- tact Tsurumi Hamasu at [email protected] to decorate graves at Mililani Memorial Park on Sept. 28.

The 100th Battalion veterans, through their postwar organization, Club 100, first started the annual memorial service on the Sunday in September closest to Sept. 29, when its first member, Sgt. Shigeo “Joe” Takata, was killed in action in 1943. It has been held as a joint memorial service since 2006.

The four units to be honored were mainly composed of American men of Japanese ancestry, or nisei (second- generation immigrants), who fought to prove their patriotism to the U.S. when their loyalty was in doubt. The 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd were the most decorated combined unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service, a Club 100 announcement said.

A livestream of the serv­ice will also be available on ‘Olelo Community Media, online at olelo.org Opens in a new tab and locally on Channel 53.

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