New Library Exhibits Focus on Japanese Americans During WWII

On April 5, 1945, Private First Class Sadao Munemori was killed in action near Seravezza, Italy when diving atop a grenade to protect his comrades. Pfc. Munemori was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor, making him the first ever Japanese American and member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) to be given such a recognition. The 442nd RCT was a segregated military combat team made of almost entirely second-generation (or nisei) Japanese Americans, mostly from Hawaiʻi. The unit also included members of the 100th Infantry Battalion, another entirely Japanese American unit, and fought alongside the 92nd Infantry Division, a segregated unit of African Americans. In spite of the anti-Asian prejudice during WWII, the combat team eventually garnered 18,000 individual decorations, including 9,500 Purple Hearts for those wounded or killed in combat, earning them the nickname, “The Purple Heart Battalion.” The 442nd RCT is still the most decorated American military unit of its size and service time in U.S. history. Their motto was “Go For Broke,” a reminder of their willingness to risk everything and win big. 

April 5th is National “Go For Broke” Day, chosen in remembrance of the day Pfc. Munemori sacrificed his life. In recognition of the 442nd RCT, we will be looking back at the history of Japanese and Japanese American internment with a special emphasis on Hawaiʻi. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order authorizing military commanders to exclude civilians from military areas following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although the order did not explicitly mention Japanese or Japanese Americans, it eventually led to the internment of 120,000 individuals across the country to prevent theoretical attempts at espionage or sabotage. Japanese Americans in Hawai’i were largely spared from internment but, tragically, 2,000 members of our community were still sent to detainment camps across Hawaiʻi and the Continent. Those who were left behind were still victims of unfounded paranoia and martial law which subjugated them to curfews, censorship laws, and travel restrictions. Despite the widespread hysteria and prejudice, not a single Japanese or Japanese American in Hawaiʻi or the Continent was ever prosecuted for sabotage or espionage during WWII. 

Before internment camps and the arrival of U.S. forces, Honouliuli was (and still is) the largest ahupuaʻa on Oʻahu. As preserved through moʻolelo, Honouliuli was known for its fertile lands and fishponds. In 1943, local leaders and other influential figures from the Japanese and Japanese American internees in Hawaiʻi were sent to the newly-built Honouliuli Internment Camp. The camp was later nicknamed Jigoku-Dani (Hell Valley) for its isolated location and hot environment. The site was a mix of tents and wooden structures with guard towers that warded off any idea of escape. The camp once held up to 4,000 internees and prisoners, including not only Japanese Americans but German and Italian Americans, as well as prisoners of war. At the war’s end in 1946, the camp was quickly closed. Although the camp existed in memory, the original site was abandoned and left to disappear with time, a reminder of past injustices buried beneath weeds and dirt. 

In 1998, Jane Kurahara, a former librarian and volunteer at the Japanese Culture Center of Hawai’i (JCCH), received a phone call from KHNL. The caller wanted to know more about the Honouliuli Internment Camp, but despite Kurahara’s best efforts, she couldn’t find anything. It wasnʻt until 2002 that Kurahara and fellow JCC volunteer and former librarian, Betsy Young, located the former internment camp site on privately owned farmland. In February 2015, President Barack Obama declared Honouliuli a National Historic Monument. As stated in the Presidential Proclamation, the site serves “as a powerful reminder of the need to protect civil liberties in times of conflict, and the effects of martial law on civil society.”

Throughout 2025, Honouliuli National Historic Site is celebrating its 10th anniversary. They are hosting monthly educational events with a finale program scheduled for January 2026. You can learn more about Honouliuli and its anniversary programming by visiting their website. Although the physical historic site is not currently open to the public, its caretakers are working hard to manage the vegetation to create publicly accessible entryways and preserve its existing historical resources. 

To learn more about Japanese and Japanese American Internment, you can visit our poster exhibit near the library lobby, titled Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and World War II. The posters were created by the National Museum of American History and adapted into their current format by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. You can also view the Honouliuli National Historic Site Pop-Up Exhibit created by the National Park Service. It will feature more information on the historic site alongside unique footage. Both exhibits stand as a reminder of not only past injustices but the indomitable nature of the human spirit. We invite you to visit this April and take a step into history. 

References and Further Readings

• U.S. Department of Defense; Go For Broke: Army Unit’s Motto Now a National Day
• National Park Services: Honouliuli National Historic Site Hawai’i
• The National WWII Museum: Japanese Americans and the Wartime Experience in Hawaii
• Honouliuli ‘Āina Hoʻohuli, University of West Oʻahu Anthropology Online Exhibits 
• Honolulu Magazine; Finding Honouliuli: Rediscovering an Almost-Forgotten Chapter of Hawai’i, History