Japanese American Veterans Association

10/11/2026

Hawaii veterans return from first Honor Flight
HNN Staff
Oct. 11, 2026

“HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Twenty-five veterans from Hawaii returned home after the state’s first Honor Flight. The group included veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars. The Honor Flight Network offers veterans nationwide an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. The veterans visited war memorials in the nation’s capital, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.”

Twenty-five veterans returned to Hawaii after visiting Washington, D.C., memorials on the state’s first Honor Flight.

10/11/2026

Honor Flight veterans receive surprise mail call on return to Hawaii
KITV
October 11, 2026

“The 25 veterans on the inaugural Hawaiian Islands Honor Flight returned home to Hawaii after visiting Washington, D.C., and Seattle. Their homecoming included a surprise mail call, with handmade cards from local keiki, family members and friends offering messages of gratitude and aloha.”

The 25 veterans on the inaugural Hawaiian Islands Honor Flight returned home to Hawaii after visiting Washington, D.C., and Seattle. Their homecoming included a surprise mail call, with handmade cards

10/07/2026

“Back to the Future” JAVA Explores Southern California’s Aviation Heritage at the Western Museum of Flight

On Friday, September 4, 2026, the Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA) Western Region sponsored a tour of the Western Museum of Flight at Torrance Municipal Airport Zamperini Field for JAVA Membership. The outing followed the monthly Buddhahead Breakfast Club at King’s Hawaiian Restaurant. This is an outcome from a recently conducted JAVA Membership survey to determine FY 2027 Strategic Plan for region. Kudos to JAVA General Counsel and Marine Vietnam Veteran David Miyoshi for his coordination.

09/29/2026

This morning, volunteers honored our 100th Infantry Battalion soldiers by placing flowers and flags at more than 1,000 graves at Punchbowl, as well as decorating graves at Hawaiʻi State Veterans Cemetery in Kāneʻohe, Mililani Memorial Park, and other cemeteries on Oʻahu.

A heartfelt mahalo to everyone who gave their time, energy, and aloha, and braved the weather to honor our soldiers. 🌺

Please join us tomorrow, Sunday, September 27, at 9:30 a.m. at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl for the 2026 Joint Memorial Service, honoring the soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service, and 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion.

We hope to see you there.

For more information about the service please visit our website: https://www.100thibv.org/post/2026-joint-memorial-service

#第100歩兵大隊

09/29/2026

09/28/2026

Punchbowl memorial ceremony honors Nisei service members
Kevin Knodell
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
September 28, 2026

“As the veterans of World War II pass on, some of their descendants in Hawaii are committing to preserving their history and inspiring future generations.

On Sunday, family members of Japanese American veterans from Hawaii gathered at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with local leaders and other dignitaries to honor the legacy of the U.S. Army’s 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 1399th Engineer Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service.

David Turner, a retired preacher and the grandson of Lt. Col. Farrant Turner — the first commander of the 100th Infantry Battalion, gave the invocation, telling attendees gathered in Punchbowl crater that ‘the day comes now as the breaths of the survivors become fewer and fewer, and the story of those men of the 100th, the 442nd, the MIS, and the 1399th becomes our story.’

He told them ‘(it’s) our story, not just to tell of their valor, but our story as well, to tell of the lives that they lived, that shaped that valor, and then shaped the rest of their lives.’”

As the veterans of World War II pass on, some of their descendants in Hawaii are committing to preserving their history and inspiring future generations.

09/28/2026

Annual Punchbowl memorial service honors Nisei WWII veterans
Annalisa Burgos
Hawaii News Now
September 27, 2026

“HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Dozens gathered for the 2026 Joint Memorial Service, honoring Japanese American World War II veterans Sunday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

The service began at 9:30 a.m. and paid tribute to the decorated Nisei soldiers from the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service (MIS) and 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion who fought for freedom and against discrimination.

Veterans and their families shared the importance of remembering the soldiers’ sacrifice and legacy for future generations.”

The Joint Memorial Service pays tribute to the Nisei soldiers from the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service (MIS) and 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion.

09/24/2026

Glenn Uejio tends to veterans at Tripler
John Berger
Sept. 23, 2026
Honolulu Star-Advertiser

“Glenn Uejio graduated from Kalani High School in 1965, earned a degree in music education from the Eastman School of Music in New York, and enlisted in the Marines — partly for himself, partly for his father. The war in Vietnam was raging, and instead of waiting for his number to come up in the draft, he would have at least a little control over his future. And there was his father, 'a member of the 442nd generation,' who had volunteered for service in World War II. But with a bad heart and flat feet, he’d been a civilian for the duration. Uejio’s father had watched his friends go off to war; some of them didn’t come back.”

Glenn Uejio graduated from Kalani High School in 1965, earned a degree in music education from the Eastman School of Music in New York, and enlisted in the Marines — partly for himself, partly for his father. The war in Vietnam was raging, and instead of waiting for his number to come up in the dr...

09/19/2026

George Ariyoshi remembered as visionary leader in turbulent times
Dan Nakaso
StarAdvertiser
September 19, 2026

“[Gerard] Akaka reminded those gathered that Ariyoshi was named after George Washington, graduated as class president from McKinley High School in 1944, and joined the war effort serving in the U.S. Military Intelligence Service along with other young Japanese-Americans from Hawaii and the U.S. mainland who fought prejudice to prove their loyalty to America by serving in the MIS, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Battalion.”

Former Gov. George Ryoichi Ariyoshi — Hawaii’s longest-­serving governor and America’s first governor of Japanese ancestry — was remembered Friday night at the state Capitol as a visionary leader who helped steer Hawaii from a plantation-­based U.S. Territory into a modern era of diversifi...

09/19/2026

A Legacy in Motion: JA Veterans March in Nisei Week Grand Parade
David Miyoshi
Rafu Shimpo

“On Aug. 16, Japanese American military veterans once again stepped onto the streets of Little Tokyo — not simply as parade participants, but as the living continuation of a proud tradition.

They represented service across generations, from the Korean War and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. Different eras had shaped them, and different uniforms had once identified them.

Yet as they marched together in the Nisei Week Grand Parade, they shared a common purpose: to honor those who came before them, stand beside those who served with them, and ensure the Japanese American record of military service remains visible to the generations that follow.”

By DAVID MIYOSHI On Aug. 16, Japanese American military veterans once again stepped onto the streets of Little Tokyo — not simply as parade participants, but as the living continuation of a proud tradition. They represented service across generations, from the Korean War and Vietnam to Iraq and Af...