Island News KITV4ʻs veteran news anchor Jai Cunningham created a 2-part series on THE 100TH featuring our own Kathi Hayashi and Steve Sue. Watch KITV4 Story »
Excerpts:
EUROPE (Island News) — The Purple Heart is the oldest military decoration in the United States, established by George Washington in 1782.
It tells a story about how a segregated battalion, made up of Americans of Japanese ancestry from Hawaii, defined heroism on the battlefield in World War II, leaving a legacy of valor.
The documentary “The 100th, Seeds of Aloha” aims to honor the legacy of these soldiers and their contributions to both military history and the spirit of aloha:
It’s a very proud Hawaii hero story,” said Kathi Hayashi, President of 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans.
“You could not have a more appropriate sign in front of a more deserving building.
It says this building is dedicated to the memory of our comrades of the 100th Infantry Battalion, United States Army, who gave their lives in defense of our country.
Tucked on a small street in Moili’ili is the 100th Infantry Battalion Memorial Building. Inside is a tribute to a remarkable American story… marked first and foremost by extreme bravery. September 1943.
They landed in Salerno, Italy with 1,300 men, and in four months after the Battle of Monte Cassino, they were down to only 421 able to fight because of either being killed or wounded.
Over the coming months, American military history would be made.
The 100th became the first battalion of the full 442nd Regimental Combat Team, but allowed to keep their name 100 Infantry Battalion because of all of the sacrifices and this, you know, citations that they already earned.”
“The 442 only existed because the 100th was so promising in training,” explained Steve Sue, “The 100th, Seeds of Aloha” filmmaker.
It was one of many reasons Sue felt compelled to make the soon to be released documentary.
“These guys were extremely tenacious, and they were extremely good hearted,” Sue said.
“So the premise of the picture is how do you use aloha to make the world a better place?”
Sue, with Hayashi in tow, took a film crew to Europe a few weeks back. They touched the scars of war from over 80 years ago, saw symbolic relics left behind, but heard so much more.
“When we went to Bruyeres, France and went to a retirement home—they’re in their 90s and actually do remember what happened. And when we walked in, they’re singing our state song, Hawaii Pono’i, to us,” Hayashi recalled.
The 100th’s is much more than a war story, with glory on the battlefield. There was kindness, compassion and care when the fighting was over.
“The act where somebody’s giving their K ration chocolate to a kid when they should be eating, it’s actually, literally against the law, right? You can’t share your rations, but they do because they’re compassionate,” Sue said.
Jai Cunningham joined KITV in September 2023. He is a proud graduate of the University of Hawaii. Jai has spent more than a quarter century working in television in Hawaii in roles as diverse as sports reporter, morning show live reporter, and news anchor.