OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1985 VOL. 39 NO.4 Sadao Munemori Luas postumously awarded the Congre ional Medal of Honor. His citation reads: "He tands in the unbroken line of patriots who /w·l'e dared to die that freedom might live grow and increase its blessings. Freedom lives, and through it, he lives­ in a way that humbles the undertakings of most men." - The Hawaii Herald IN THIS ISSUE: 1 President's Message Hawaii Chapler News 19 2 A Fellow Veteran Remembers Rural Chapter News 19 7 Japan's Emperor Honors Longtime Resident Southern California Chapter News 20 9 Editor's Corner News Briefs 21 9 Able Chapter ews Bonsai Club News 22 10 Dog Chapter ews A Sansei Story 23 11 Charlie Chapter News Golf Club News 24 12 Baker Chapter r\e\\'s Dance Club News 25 13 Kauai Chapter News Green Thumbs Club News 27 14 F Company News Cooking Class News 28 15 Headquarters Chapler News Ukulele Class News 29 18 Maui Chapter News s P AR AC O%SE DISCOU PRESCRIPTIO 15CO HAWAII'S OS COMPLIMENTED PRODUCE PUKA PUKA PARADE Official Publication of Club 100, an Incorporated Association of members of the 100th Infantry Battalion. Editorial and Business Office, 520 Kamoku Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96826. Published quarterly and mailed to club members, honorary members, next of kin, Gold Star parents and special friends of the club. Phone 946-4286. PUKA PUKA PARADE STAFF CO-EDITORS .......................... .. ........ KENICHI SUEHIRO KENNETH K. OTAGAKI ASSISTANT .......................... CHARLOTTE MITSUTA I President's Message REPORTING STAFF Able .. ...... ............................................. ................. Tom Fujise Baker .... .......... .. ......... .................................. Thomas Tsubota SEASON'S GREETINGS! Charlie ................. .. ....... .......................... Richard Yamamoto Dog ................................................. ................ Helen Nikaido Easy ................... .... .......... .. ... .. .. .. ..... ........ Richard Yamamoto Year 1985 has been a real short Fox .. ... .. ................ .. .. .... .. ....... .. .... ............. ..... ... Kenneth Higa year! Or so it seems! Many thanks Headquarters ........................................ ..... .. Kenichi Suehiro for all the support that we received Rural .. ................ ... ............................ .. ............... Walter Iwasa all friends. But the many things that Hawaii ....... .................................................... .... James Maeda got our attention but not the action, we Maui ............................... ........................... .. .. ..... Tom Nagata have to pass on to 1986 and the Yamane Kauai ............... .............. ........... .... .... .... ... ....... Ben Morimoto administration. Southern California ................ ... ................... Tad Hashimoto As a finale, I thank also the SPECIAL WRITERS officers and chapter representatives Bonsai Club ........................................... Richard Yamamoto who faithfully attended the monthly Cooking Class .. .... ... ... ...... .... .............. .. .. .. ........... alh Inouye Board of Directors' meetings and Dance Club ........... .............. ............. .. ............... Yasuo Takata contributed their wisdom. Golf Club ...................................... ............. Sonsei ~akamura Green Thumbs ........................................ Mitsuyoshi Fukuda Continuing the previously and Ukulele Cia .......................... ...... ............... Janet Kuwaye & continually discussed subject of the Robert Fukumoto difficulty that we encounter in having our members serve as officers or as BOARD OF DIRECTORS committee chairman. I regret to report CLUB 100 OFFICERS that it's getting worse. Our recent President ..................... .................................. Hideo Kajikawa first-time-around election of officers 1st Vice President ........................................ Hajime Yamane for 1986 - no nominee in the second 2nd Vice President .................. .. .............. Yoshiharu Nishida vice president slot. We are fortunate Secretary .......... ....... .. .......... .. .... ......... .. ... .... Kenneth Otagaki this time in having for "second chance" Treasurer ......................... .. .................. ...... Robert Kadowaki Assistant Treasurer .......... ....... .............. ..... ..... Chester Bada election an acceptance from a member Past President ............................................... Mike Tokunaga who previously has not been active at the mother chapter level. CHAPTER PRESIDENTS Able .... .......... .. ........ .............. ....... ............ Eugene Kawakami A radical thought, maybe! It may Baker ................... ........... .. ............ ................ Masasuke Toma come sooner than we think or want -- our Charlie ..... .... ..... ........... ......... ........ ... ... .... ...... Kazuto Shimizu club being managed by a manager who may Dog .................................................... .. .. .......... Iwao Fujimori or may not be a Club 100 member. Whether Headquarters ........................... ................. Toshio Kunimura that will be good or not, we don't know. Medics .......................................................... Kent Nakamura But for now, it's food for thought! Rural .. ... .... ... ... ....... .. .. ...... .... ........ ....................... Susumu Ota Hawaii .............. ... .......... .. ............. .......... Lawrence Hirokawa May 1986 be a very good year Maui ................................................................. Tom Yamada for all. Kauai ... ................................................. .. ... Muggsy Morikawa Southern California ..... .................................... Sam Fujikawa H. Kajikawa • • • • Executive Secretary................................... Paul Nanamori The following articles are presented to you walked int the with permission for repr ~nt by the Hawaii out handfuls of can Herald. come across. Within tentionally started a s St'.ddenly, it seemed, kids frum everywhere, yelling, push c A Fellow Veteran Remembers for the candy. I don't know what afterwards. We just dumped the candy on Dear Editor, the street and ran. I don't recall what we said to each other on the way back, but As a former buddy of his, I r ead with inter('s t that your next story in the centen­ the experience is one I always remembered. nial series saluting the men of the lOOth It wasn't long afterward that Spud Infantry will be about Sadao Munemori. was killed in action. Spud, as he asked that we call him, joined us only a few months after we Stanley Izumigawa ourselves had joined the outfit as Kula, Maui replacements. We were then near the bombed-out town of Cisterna, in the Alban The Congressional Medal of Honor: foothills on the way to Rome. Sadao Munemori We quickly found that he did not fit An Imin Centennial Series the Men our image of the typical "kotonk." He of the 100th Infantry Bat was very friendly, outgoing, accepting and it didn't take him long to pick up by Ben H. r o pidgin and become one of us. Special to rald There is much about those years that I do not recall but two incidents involving "Aw, you're good Spud I do, if it is of any interest to your Yaeko as she aga'n writer. kid brother Sadao ful tussle, his h to help The first occurred in the Vosges him overco ch less Forest in France just before the '2nd's the fact rescue of the "Lost Battalion. 0' Our And althou h these ten platoon had taken heavy casualties in the sisterly joshings would thick woods and had been pulled back for consciousness through the a brief respite. The night before we were come to find their gr eater e in to go back to the front Spud came to me Yaeko herself. a, d said," I'm not going back up. I don't care what they do to me, I'm not going Sadao Munemori' s fa ther, Ka taro back up. I don't care what they do to me, had migrated from Hiroshima to California I'm not going back up!" Not knowing what after the turn of the century. His wife else to do I just heard him out and res­ Nawa, followed shortly with their baby, ponded something like, "Don't worry. Yuriko. Then came the rest of the family: You'll be all right." Isao (Bob), Yaeko, Sadao and Kikuyo (Keech), all born in Los Angeles. Before down the next day we went back up and he was right there. Kametaro died in 1938, so he was spared the agony and the humiliation of The other happened in April, in or the forced relocatio near the town of Carrara, about the time people t of President Roosevelt's passing. inland c Dece rbor. Spud and I were at company headquarter (I don't remember why) and ere to 0 0 - citizens a the lines the next day. e t'ced 5 .y was swept 0 cartons of Ch~ tstmas candy which d ring March. Then were unwanted. It was early e ren ng d r son Bob, and two ea~h loaded up a musette bag with the ca Japan) , the family the Manzanar relocation center. Sadao, who By then the 100th had been in combat had volunteered for the Army a month before in Italy for nine months, having entered Pearl Harbor, had been inducted just the the Italian theater in September 1943 at month before and was in an Army training Salerno Bay, south of Naples. By J anuary, center. it was engaged in the tremendous battle for Cassino, the town with the towering His first two years of military Benedictine monastery standing guard over training were spent in such scattered the southern gateway to Rome. The beach­ locations as Arkansas, Illinois and head at Anzio was designed as an "end­ Minnesota. In January 1944, he was sent around" maneuver