On Sunday, May 4, 2025, the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Clubhouse was excited to hear the from the next generation of Legacy2Action students and some return participants on how they used the values of the 100th to solve problems facing Hawaiʻi. This is the 4th year of this Project Based Learning initiative in partnership between Club 100, ʻIolani School, the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) Center on Aging and Central Pacific Bank.

What we heard from participants and the attendees was it was “a most inspiring day” of hope for the future. We thank Senator Carol Fukunaga, Hawaiʻi State Archivist Adam Jansen, Pacific Historic Parks Program Specialist Taylor Smith, Chairperson of ID8 and producer of Project Shaka Steve Sue, members and guests, for taking the time to hear how students applied the values of the 100th men to their community service project.

In addition, students and the audience were enthralled to meet Dr. Takashi Manago (100th Bn., Co. A), veteran of the 100th Infantry Battalion. At 101 years old, he is an avid supporter of the Legacy2Action initiative, and put his hands together and bowed his head in appreciation of the hard work the students invested to give back to the community and to make the world a better place. Dr. Manago is one of six known living veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion. 

It is remarkable how the youth of today are able to successfully apply values learned by our forefathers in the 100th Infantry Battalion, to help resolve current day community problems. Many of the groups focused in on values such as gambari (perseverance), sekinin (responsibility), giri (sense of duty), gaman (patience and endurance), enryo (modesty), and haji (don’t bring shame to your family name) as they worked on their chosen projects as individuals or in small groups. We are so thankful, as these students invested the time out of the goodness of their hearts. This was not a school project; they did not get a grade or credit – they did it because they have key ingredients of successful high performance individual/teams – passion, drive, and a generous heart. 

The following are samples of presentations of Legacy2Action projects prepared by students from various schools on Oʻahu, and one from California.

Shane Kaneshiro – “New Fallen Warriors of UH ROTC.” Shane shared his research where he found nine more University of Hawaii Army ROTC students, who bravely served our country and ended up making the ultimate sacrifice. For the past 14 years, the University of Hawaii Army ROTC program honored 17 soldiers. Due to Shane’s research , the Army ROTC program will process the nine additional fallen warriors found; thus 26 should be honored in the future. Thank you to four-time Legacy2Action participant, Shane Kaneshiro!

Ryker Yamamoto – “Documenting the Values of the 100th Battalion.” Ryker prepared a 13-minute documentary with highlights of the 100th Infantry Battalion journey during WWII. It includes an interview with Dr. Takashi Manago and Dr. Nolan Higa, son of Thomas “Taro” Higa, both of 100th Battalion Able Company. Dr. Manago described where he was when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Dr. Higa described how his father served on three continents during the same war. Thomas Taro Higa served in Italy, used his language skills to communicate with those in internment camps on the mainland and in Okinawa to persuade civilians to exit caves before they were bombed. Ryker notes, “The story of the 100th Battalion and its feats is one of bravery, camaraderie and, most importantly, one of continuing service.”

Naomi Uejo – “Our Sekinin – Preparing Students for their Future.” Naomi addressed an important topic of helping to prepare students for their future. Much of what is required in job hunting is not taught in school. Students need to hone their skills in order to land a good job. Writing a good resume as well as a professional e-mail without including slang emoji is a must. She spoke about writing mock e-mails to teachers to practice letter writing skills. Naomi exhibits the value of sekinin, or responsibility.

Madeline Lucy Nicholas – “Trashy Habits: Recycling Contamination.” Madeline focused on trashy habits and recycling. Many do want to contribute towards recycling but specific rules need to be followed. Total scrap plastic exports have declined by 40% in the last year mostly due to the U.S.’s high level of recycling contamination. It is important to note that leftover food on any recycled items can contaminate all the items in its vicinity. When in doubt, throw it out is what this group preaches, exhibiting the values of giri – sense of duty and sekinin – responsibility. 

Ian Yamamoto – “Using Native Plants to Prevent Fires.” Ian [great-grandson of George Yamamoto (100th Inf. Bn., Co. A) continued on with project topics of the past dealing with our environment. This year, he spoke about using native plants to help prevent fires. There are native plants that are drought resistant. I was especially drawn to his research on the ʻĀweoweo plant which can go months without water. It is heat, wind, and drought tolerant. It can also be consumed by humans. Imagine if we had this plant in the midst of all fire zones.

Amber Nosis and Arianna Romualdo – “Senior2Senior.” Amber and Arianna promoted programs to help seniors with dementia to have contact with high school students to bring joy into their lives and reduce the problem of kupuna loneliness. This team focused on the 100th value of giri, or obligation, to make a positive difference. The service would be performed in a day care community center. Both girls have done singing, art projects, and ‘talk story’ sessions with patients. Their main goal is to bring smiles to senior citizens by volunteering two times a month.

Czylah Ranchez-Saramsoing & Isabella Na – “Temptations Cookbook and Magazine.” Czylah and Isabella encouraged people to develop a healthy relationship with food applying the concept of haji (avoiding shame, or haji, to protect the family name) and value of enryo (modesty). They don’t want to force anyone or shame them into changing their eating habits. They want to use education to show that it is important to fuel our bodies, not just to look good, but to feel good. At the break-out table, they shared samples of healthy snacks that proved healthy food can also be yummy! 

Kii Tagai, Rachel Zane and Vesper Gaines – “Food Insecurity.” This group tackled the difficult task of preventing food insecurity on our island. They promote buying local or consuming home grown products thereby enhancing a sustainable future for the local people. They participated in a Sustainability Fair and their action plan is to work with existing organizations to help people struggling with food insecurity. Kii represented ‘Iolani’s “My Life, My Island, My World “class. Her group’s “Food Insecurity” project used all the values of the 100th Infantry Battalion and more. Their list included: giri – duty, meiyo – honor, chuugi – loyalty, haji and hokori – shame and pride, kuni no tame – give your all to your country, gambaru – endure/persevere, shikata ga nai – accept the circumstances, kodomo no tame ni – for the sake of the children, oyakoukou – respect of parents, on – obligation, and kansha – gratitude. 

Eleanor Ede, Yiru (Lily) Jin – “ Lantern Link.” Eleanor and Lily created a website with warning to keep elders reminded to pause before purchasing or clicking links. They plan to have informative activity sessions on training senior citizens to learn how to safely use and what to trust on the internet.

Joey Dai and Griffin Gadre – “Addressing The Brain Drain.” Joey and Griffin found this is happening right here in Hawaiʻi. What is it? It is the emigration of the state’s skilled and educated residents, often young professionals, to the mainland or elsewhere. The cause of this is basically the high cost of living in Hawaiʻi, but people would return if opportunities were provided to them. Stronger moves need to be made to support local businesses. After the session, one of our members said he would like to help build business in Hawai‘i using some of the good ideas presented today. He admits that he was part of the “Brain Drain” as he could not find suitable jobs that paid well in Hawaiʻi. 

Vincci Kwan, Maggie Cheng, Kamy Kaneshige – “Perseverance in Health Care.” This group found women are often misdiagnosed for health issues since trials are often conducted on men. They want to create pamphlets to encourage women patients to ask questions based on the experience of others, who battled similar diseases. 

In addition to the projects presented at the Clubhouse on May 4, 2025, the following projects were submitted, but the presenters had schedule conflicts, thus could not attend:

Sam Allen – “Save the Sea -Art Awareness Project.” Sam creatively used trash found along the beach as an art model to remind the public to properly throw trash in proper containers. 

Josie Draper & Alicia Gagnon – “Kindness Rocks Garden.” – Josie and Alicia taught children about Emotional Learning by helping them to paint rocks for a kindness garden with gambari – to give it their all and to do their very best. 

Jaisa Griffin, Lilli Crowley, Shayna Silva – “Helping the Homeless.” This group feels homeless are treated without respect instead of understanding that they need help . They ran a collection drive and created self-care packages, which they distributed with a community outreach program. They also conversed with those experiencing homelessness so they can feel like they are being heard. Their giri, or sense of duty and obligation to help others, was felt by the homeless community they served.

Xandra-Carmen Domingo – “Hawaiian Children’s Storybook: ‘Kaimana.’” Xandra felt the need to create a children’s book to spread awareness about pollution. She felt is is her sekinin or responsibility to do so. 

Qingquin Chen – “Electricity Conservation Proposal.” Qingquin felt we should use technology to turn lights off when they are not needed. 

Brady Serikaku, Kai Chen, Sage Matsumoto and Breydan Hu – “Invasive Reef Fish in Hawai‘i.” This group learned how to identify and fish for invasive reef fish.

Emma Nishikawa & Haylen Tam – “Homelessness.” Emma and Haylen created a keiki project for Kahauiki Village to create a safe environment, embracing the 100th value of kodomo no tame ni – for the sake of the children and gambaru – to endure/preserve. 

Brennan Yamamoto & Sadie Chan – “Hydroponic Towers.” Brennan and Sadie’s project was to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. They explored hydroponics as a more sustainable way to grow crops without fossil fuel consumption, applying 100th values of giri – helping the community, kansha – gratitude, and gambaru – dedication/perseverance to never give up. 

Jacob Shaw, Ace Hostelley, Archie Nutchalern – “Invasive & Native Species in Our Streams.” This group worked to make a positive difference in the community by catching invasive species to remove them from stream systems. They applied 100th values of kuni no tame – helping our country/community and local marine life, and gambaru – to dedicate themselves on this project to make a difference.

Flora Liao – “Building Stronger Communities: Aloha Pathways for Immigrants in Hawaiʻi.” Flora found that the recent Chinese immigrants have difficulties connecting with the American community. She would like to make a website so Chinese immigrants can easily find resources and programs. 

Kayla Ling – “The Most Loyal Traitors.” Kayla made a 10-minute documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mAw2P2NSGo) about the Hawaiʻi 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. She won the State of California National History Day competition for her category, and will be competing in the National competition in June. She was thankful to learn about the 100th values, especially ganbari - to give it her all and to try her best. Kayla is our first out-of-state participant in our 100th Legacy2Action program. She is from the Bay Area of California. 

Thank you to all who participated, and we invite continued participation by students next year, to share status of their implementation or to provide another project to be considered. 

It was wonderful to hear great ideas from students on how they solved the problem they identified using the 100th’s success values. Students and the audience shared feedback that they truly enjoyed, and were inspired by all the positive ideas for change and the ties to the values of the 100th Infantry Battalion. The day was extra special with 100th/442nd veteran, Dr. Manago, sharing his appreciation for all the students’ hard work.

It was a treat to hear directly from film producer Steve Sue of Project Shaka, about how impressed he was with the students’ ideas, and of his announcement that he is making a movie about the Hawaiʻi nisei, starting with the Hawaiʻi-born 100th Infantry Battalion, called “The 100TH: Seeds of Aloha.” (https://100thfilm.com/) The movie is not a battlefields movie, but one of overcoming obstacles, planting seeds of positive change and sharing the values the students embodied in their Legacy2Action projects.

All this following the motto of Club 100: For Continuing Service!

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This article has been reprised from the May 2025 Puka Puka Parade newsletter article, written by Elsie Yoshimura [daughter of Thomas “Taro” Higa (100th Inf. Bn., Co. A)] and Kathi Hayashi [daughter of Tokuichi Hayashi (100th Inf. Bn., Co. A)]. Back issues of the Puka Puka Parade can be viewed online, courtesy of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa eVols digitial repository — the most recent issues available to the public can be viewed here: https://hdl.handle.net/10524/66742. For more about the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Puka Puka Parade, please visit https://www.100thibv.org/post/puka-puka-parade-newsletter.