#World War II

San Jose Taiko’s highly acclaimed Swingposium is coming to Maui, offering audiences a powerful, immersive performance that illuminates the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

The US Navy successfully removed over 150 tons of World War II-era concrete mooring platforms from the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, significantly reducing stress on the historic structure.

“Defining Courage,” an immersive live show honoring Hawai‘i’s Nisei soldiers of World War II, comes to Maui for the first time with a performance at Baldwin High School on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available online.

The Secretary of the Army has posthumously promoted seven second-generation Japanese American soldiers, known as Nisei, who were former University of Hawaiʻi Army Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets, to the rank of second lieutenant.

“Shikata Ga Nai” – a Japanese phrase meaning “It cannot be helped” – is also the title of a powerful, feature-length independent film making its Maui premiere on Saturday, April 12, at 1:30 p.m. at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center’s Stanley Izumigawa Resource Center, located at 665 Kahului Beach Road.

Veterans were honored for their military service during a Veterans Day program Monday at Maui Veterans Cemetery in Makawao. The ceremony include the presentation of flowers at monuments for the Vietnam War, Korean War, World War I and World War II by members of the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Maui Division.

The USS Missouri Memorial Association, in partnership with the OBON SOCIETY, celebrated a pivotal moment in peace and reconciliation with the formal transfer of custody of three Yosegaki Hinomaru—unique heirlooms created for Japanese servicemen by their parents, family and friends. This event, held on Oct. 3, honored the ongoing unity between the United States and Japan, 79 years after World War II officially ended aboard the USS Missouri.

The story of the pilot training that took place at Puʻunēnē field during WWII and throughout the island of Maui has been captured in a new exhibit at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum on Ford Island, Oʻahu. The exhibit will be dedicated on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. in Historic Hangar 37.

US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono reintroduced legislation to award Fred Korematsu the Congressional Gold Medal for fighting against the illegal incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and for being a staunch defender of civil rights.

Sen. Hirono wants the US Immigration Services to rescind the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate the Filipino WWII Veterans Parole Program.

A Zipline company in Haʻikū and the County of Maui have reached an agreement to end a dispute over permits and subsequent notices of violation.  

Pearl Harbor Survivor Ray Emory, 97, died on Aug. 20, 2018 in Idaho. He dedicated his life to identify the remains of more than 100 servicemen at Pearl Harbor.

The American Veterans Hawaiʻi organization received a grant from the National Park Service to help preserve the history of the ʻEwa Plain Battlefield.

Richard Barcheski, who is also a World War II veteran and former Hawaiian Airlines pilot, attributes his secret for living so long to “Two things”

The legislation seeks to ensure that surviving Filipino WWII veterans are fully eligible for benefits. There are an estimated 17,000 now in their 80s and 90s.

The bill, HR2737, recently crossed a critical milestone and, after decades of attempted recognition for Filipino World War II veterans, Rep. Gabbard said the bill is “closer to passage than ever before.”

President Barack Obama signed the Congressional Gold Medal for Japanese American Veterans Act into law yesterday, honoring 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service for their heroic service and sacrifice during World War II. “This well-deserved Congressional Gold Medal honors the Nisei veterans and demonstrates the greatness of our […]

The U.S. House passed an Interior Appropriations bill that helps to secure $12.3 million for six Hawaii projects.  Congresswoman Mazie Hirono lobbied for the inclusion of the projects that at aimed at enhancing wildlife habitat, combating invasive species, protection island waters, and preserving historical sites. Another highlight of the bill was the inclusion by Senator […]