Nisei Veterans Memorial to Host Cultural Day Event

The Nisei Veterans Memorial Center will host “Cultural Day” at the Stanley Izumigawa Pavilion located on the NVMC campus in Kahului on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017 from 4:30 to 7 p.m.

The event will focus on perpetuating the Japanese culture and will honor all veterans. Attendees will enjoy entertainment from Maui Taiko, and will feature games, crafts, food booths, mini book fair by Barnes and Noble and tea ceremony by the Rinzai Zen Mission. Guests can also light a candle for a loved one at sunset.

The free public event is being led by Baldwin High School senior Tiara Kobayashi-Bautista.

“My senior project centers around the idea of informing people of my age about our country’s Nisei Veterans who fought for the United States even while the country questioned their loyalty,” Kobayashi-Bautista said.

Her grandfather, Stanley Kobayashi, served as one of the many soldiers in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. These soldiers proved their loyalty on the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific, becoming the most highly decorated unit in US Army history for its size and length of service.

The Education Center will remain open so guests can visit the final day of the “One Puka Puka: The Purple Heart Battalion” Exhibit.

NVMC’s mission is to ignite the potential in people by inspiring them to find the hero in themselves through the legacy of the Nisei Veterans.