Join us for the 20th Annual Joint Memorial Service (2025)

20TH ANNUAL JOINT MEMORIAL SERVICE

Honoring the U.S. Soldiers of World War II who served in the 100th INF BN, 442nd RCT, MIS, and 1399th

HONOLULU, HI – On Sunday, September 28, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., the 20th Annual Joint

Memorial Service, honoring the U.S. Soldiers of World War II who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), Military Intelligence Service (MIS), and 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion, who died in World War II or have since passed on, will be held at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

The service is free to attend and is open to the public. The ceremony will be filmed by 'Ōlelo Community Media.

The 20th Annual Joint Memorial Service will be held on September 28 (9:30 a.m.), at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

▶︎ History of the Joint Memorial Service:

On September 29, 1946, the veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion, the first Japanese American segregated unit to fight in Europe, held a memorial service in Hawaii to honor their comrades who died in the war, for whom a formal memorial service or ritual could not be held in the heat of battle. The 100th Infantry Battalion veterans, through their post-war organization, "Club 100," has continued to organize or participate in an annual memorial service held for their fallen comrades, on the Sunday in September closest to September 29, when the first member of the battalion, Sgt. Shigeo “Joe” Takata, was killed in action in 1943. Held as a joint memorial service since 2006, the service now honors all of the men who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service, and the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion, who died in World War II or have since passed on.

The four units were mainly comprised of American of Japanese ancestry (AJA) men who were Nisei, born to first generation Issei immigrant parents from Japan. Although only five feet, four inches and 125 pounds on average, they were giants in combat, with brains and hearts to win battles that others could not, spreading Aloha that is still remembered in the small towns they liberated from enemy oppression. The 100th and 442nd would become one of the most decorated units in U.S. military history.

The men saw the horror of their homeland being bombed in the December 7, 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Most had never left the islands at that point, but the 100th/442nd would see combat halfway around the world in Europe, and the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) would save countless lives in the Pacific by using their linguistic skills. The 1399th remained in Hawaii playing a crucial role in strategic military construction projects.

AJA soldiers in World War II.pdf

Download PDF • 195KB

The program includes a presentation of colors, guidon procession, presentation of wreaths by military veterans organizations, a Memorial Keynote Address, and a rifle salute.

The 20th Joint Memorial Service is organized by the Sons and Daughters of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 442nd Veterans Club, and the 442nd Legacy Center, and is presented by these groups along with the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans (Club 100) and the Military Intelligence Service Veterans Hawaiʻi. These groups are primarily made up of descendants and family members of the men who served in the units they represent. They proudly work to preserve the identities and traditions established by the units they honor.