Hanashi Oral History Program In Hawaii
The Hanashi Oral History Program conducted four interviews in Honolulu from June 28-29at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii (JCCH) in Moiliili. The interview session was a first-time partnership event with the JCCH, who shared its facilities with the Go For Broke National Education Center in exchange for a shared interview session.
For the shared interview session, the organizations were fortunate enough to interview Merry Okano, the wife of a minister in Hawaii. Okano, a Kibei, had moved between Washington state, Japan and Hawaii before World War II. After Pearl Harbor, she and her entire family were sent to several incarceration camps before finally being shipped as part of a prisoner exchange to Singapore, where they spent the rest of the war.
The veterans interviewed included: Frank Tanabe (442nd), Ray Nosaka (100th), and Jun Yamamoto (MIS). All three had some wonderful stories to share about their life experiences and their service during World War II.
The interview crew consisted of the following volunteers: Althea Lagamao, Ted Tsukiyama, Drusilla Tanaka, Cliff Chen, Gaye Miyasaki, Jennifer Mikami, Florence Sugimoto, Tets Hayashi, along with National Education Center staff persons, Tim Yuge and Pam Funai. Brian Niiya, Resource Center Director of the JCCH, spent the weekend with the crew as the JCCH representative and host.
The National Education Center's Hawaii office has been building partnerships with other organizations on the islands for the Hanashi Oral History Program. In April, Hanashi traveled to Maui to interview Maui Nisei veterans. The Maui Nisei Veterans Memorial Center and the Maui Sons & Daughters of the 100th and 442nd partnered with the National Education Center to coordinate and conduct the interviews. The success of Hanashi in Hawaii is largely due in part to these wonderful partner organizations as well as to our incredible volunteers who give of their time and expertise.
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