Lead Story – Touched By War

Dan Nakasone
Special to The Hawai‘i Herald

As a child, I remember seeing a photograph of a young man in what looked like a Japanese uniform next to the butsudan (Buddhist shrine) in my grandparents’ home in Wahiawä, where we lived. When we moved to our own home, the butsudan — and the photograph of the young man — came with us and was again placed next to the shrine. I often wondered: Who is this person, and why is his picture in a place of such prominence in our home?

I did not know it then, but a seed had been planted. Finding out who this person was and what happened to him became a quest later in my life. What emerged from that quest has been the most rewarding experience of my life.