Our Mission

 
To preserve, perpetuate and share the legacy of Americans of Japanese Ancestry who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II.

Learn More

Watch vignette of former President Heirakuji speaking about the relevance of the Nisei soldier legacy during NVL’s July 2021 live-streamed educational program.

Enduring
Enduring Hardships of the Plantation System Before WWII
Japanese and other ethnic groups faced difficult working and living conditions.
Learn More
Japanese workers, Kilauea Sugar Plantation, Kauai (ca. 1912). (Photo: Hawaiian Historical Society, H.W. Thomas Album)
Proving
Proving their loyalty after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu
Nisei soldiers fought bravely on the European battlefields and provided a strategic advantage in the Pacific.
Learn More
100th/442nd RCT in formation after rescue of the “Lost Battalion” (1944). (Photo: U.S. Army)
Waging
Waging a Second Battle on the Home Front
Nisei veterans worked with other ethnic groups to make Hawaii a more equitable society.
Learn More
Hawaii Congressional delegation with Governor John Burns and President Lyndon Johnson, Honolulu, Hawaii (1960s). (Photo: Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library)
Enduring
Enduring Hardships of the Plantation System Before WWII
Japanese and other ethnic groups faced difficult working and living conditions.
Learn More
Japanese workers, Kilauea Sugar Plantation, Kauai (ca. 1912). (Photo: Hawaiian Historical Society, H.W. Thomas Album)
Proving
Proving their loyalty after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu
Nisei soldiers fought bravely on the European battlefields and provided a strategic advantage in the Pacific.
Learn More
100th/442nd RCT in formation after rescue of the “Lost Battalion” (1944). (Photo: U.S. Army)
Waging
Waging a Second Battle on the Home Front
Nisei veterans worked with other ethnic groups to make Hawaii a more equitable society.
Learn More
Hawaii Congressional delegation with Governor John Burns and President Lyndon Johnson, Honolulu, Hawaii (1960s). (Photo: Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library)
previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow
Diverse group of elementary age school girls are standing outdoors with hands over hearts. Children are smiling and reciting the Pledge of Allegience to the American flag.

The Legacy — Why it Still Matters Today

The Nisei soldiers fought the hard fight on the battlefields and on the home front. They instilled the core values taught to them by their Issei parents who immigrated to Hawaii in the late 1800s seeking a better life.

Read More

NISEI SOLDIERS: AMERICAN PATRIOTS

Four Hawaii Nisei veterans share their World War II stories.

100th-Takashi_Kitaoka

100th: Takashi Kitaoka

Takeshi Kitaoka awoke on Dec. 7, 1941 to the sounds of an explosion, followed by another. Outside his Kaimuki home, there was chaos in the sky, with strike planes soaring toward Pearl Harbor.

442nd-Robert_Kishinami-2

442nd: Robert Kishinami

Robert Kishinami saw planes soaring above his Haleiwa neighborhood and realized it wasn’t a military maneuver with zeroes and tracers. They were real bullets, a declaration of war.

MIS-Herbert_Yanamura-2

MIS: Herbert Yanamura

Herbert Yanamura was just a carefree high school kid in Kona — the son of a coffee farmer originally from Japan — when the call came for volunteers for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

1399-Richard_Okamoto

1399: Richard Okamoto

As part of the 1399 Engineer Construction Battalion, Richard Okamoto’s war experiences are not heroic battle stories. Yet like fellow Nisei, when his country called, he didn’t hesitate to rise up.

Contact Us

We'd love to hear from you!

Please enter your name.
Please enter a subject.
Please enter a message.
Send

Request for Newsletters

The NVL issues two newsletters: The NVL News which is a paper and electronic publication providing comprehensive updates about the organization, ongoing projects, and upcoming events. And the Ganbari which contains brief articles and is transmitted only electronically.

If you are interested in receiving future electronic copies of newsletters, send an email to: inquire@nvlchawaii.org