History

Richard Borreca Special to The Hawai‘i Herald In 1968, Rona Adams, a retired Army captain now living in Kailua, O‘ahu, was serving as the head emergency room nurse for the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon. Memories of that experience rushed back to her this past May during a Honolulu memorial service marking the 50th anniversary....

Dan Nakasone Special to The Hawai‘i Herald It was noon on Sept. 27, 1948, when the USS John Owen made landfall at White Beach, the U.S. naval facility on the eastern coast of Okinawa island, near the tip of Katsuren peninsula. Onboard the ship was a precious cargo of 536 pigs that had survived the....

They Strengthened Their Bond as Brothers After Serving Opposing Sides in the Battle of Okinawa By Byrnes Yamashita Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Do you sometimes think about how a simple twist of fate changed your life and the lives of others? As the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the end of World War....

Jodie Chiemi Ching Commentary Because I am a writer for The Hawai‘i Herald and an Okinawan performing artist, people might think that I’m the type of mother who forces my two sons, 14-year-old Gavin and 12-year-old Cameron, to attend or participate in Japanese and Okinawan cultural activities. Actually, I rarely do. I try to encourage....

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko Have Redefined the Imperial Family Kevin Y. Kawamoto Special to The Hawai‘i Herald After the last of their three visits in the 1960s, Akihito and Michiko did not visit Hawai‘i again for 27 years. When they did return again, much had changed in their lives. By 1994, they had raised....

“Images of America” Series Highlights the Old Plantation Town’s Living History and Heritage Kevin Y. Kawamoto Special to The Hawai‘i Herald You can learn a lot about the history of a place through books and oral histories, photographs and video documentaries. But one way to really experience that history, firsthand, is through its architecture and....

Dance Sensei Shares Memories of Kennedy Theatre’s First Kabuki Performance Jodie Chiemi Ching The last time Hawai‘i residents were treated to an authentic kabuki performance from Japan was half a century ago, in December of 1963. So, fans of the centuries-old theatre art are probably counting down the days until March 2 when kabuki returns....

Memorial Day: Remembering Our Fallen Heroes Byrnes Yamashita Special to The Hawai‘i Herald What is Memorial Day and why do we commemorate it? Many people think of it as a long weekend that marks the start of...

Grandma Nonaka’s Legacy Still Lives Carolyn Morinishi Special to The Hawai‘i Herald “Kyö wa Odaisan yo. Pau kaukau, we go.” Takano Nonaka of Hanapëpë, Kaua’i, or Baban as her grandchildren affectionately called her, was as committed to spirituality as she was to her family. Every month during the 1960s, she would call to her grandchildren....

Gail Honda Special to The Hawai‘i Herald The following interview write-up is the second of seven that will be published in The Hawai‘i Herald this year in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Honouliuli Internment Camp. It is part of a series titled, “In Their Own Words.” In 1980, I was....