New postage stamp unveiled, Nisei honored

LIHU‘E — The unveiling was not a big production Friday.

But the honor the Go for Broke Soldiers commemorative stamp represents is big, as Norman Hashisaka, a veteran with the Military Intelligence Service during World War II, represented WWII veterans, including those from the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442 Regimental Combat Team from Kaua‘i.

The small group influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic health and safety guidelines was pulled together by Carolyn Morinishi and Faith Shiramizu of the Stamp Our Story Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i, to not only watch the virtual unveiling by the U.S. Postal Service, but also by Gov. David Ige, whose parents were veterans of the era represented by the stamp.

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” said Lynn Heirakuji, president of the Nisei Veterans Legacy and a co-chair of the Stamp Our Story Hawai‘i Organizing Committee.

“There is a big story behind this little stamp. But it’s more than a history lesson. It holds powerful lessons for this and future generations. Thanks to the work of the ‘Stamp Our Story’ founders and all of the support from local organizations, the legacy of the Nisei soldiers and their contributions during and after the war will always be remembered.”

The Stamp Our Story campaign started in 2005 by three Japanese-American women from California — Fusa Takahashi, Aiko O. King, and the late Chiz Ohira — who endured incarceration in U.S. detention camps during WWII and were determined to tell the Go For Broke soldiers’ story through a postage stamp.

“There are Kaua‘i connections to this stamp, too,” said Mayor Derek Kawakami, whose uncle Norman Hashisaka represented the World War II veterans present in the collection of people ceilinged at 25 due to the pandemic rules. “The husband of Chiz Ohira was Hawai‘i resident Ted Ohira, a 100th Battalion/442 Regimental Combat Team veteran from Makaweli, now known as Kaumakani.”

The issuance of the Go For Broke forever stamp brings recognition from the U.S. Postal Service of the contributions of the Japanese-American soldiers who numbered about 33,000 in the U.S. Army during World War II, states information from the USPS.

These Nisei eventually formed into what became one of the most distinguished American fighting units of WWII, the all-Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

“The Nisei soldiers of the 442d Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion are exemplary role models who displayed perseverance, bravery and aloha. This stamp includes their motto ‘Go for Broke,’ which became the basis for their teamwork and victories on the battlefield,” said state Rep. Nadine K. Nakamura. “Their achievements live on as part of our collective memories of this turbulent time in our history.”

Thousands of other Nisei served as translators, interpreters and interrogators in the Pacific Theatre for the MIS, nearly a thousand served in the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion, and more than 100 Nisei women joined the Women’s Army Corps.

The stamp art is based on a photograph of a member of the 442nd RCT, Shiroku “Whitey” Yamamoto, who was born in Ninole, Hawai‘i Island, in 1923. He was in high school when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, and when school was suspended for several months, Yamamoto volunteered with the Civilian Conservation Corps that built Saddle Road that connected Kona to Hilo. He eventually joined the 442nd RCT.

Designed by Antonio Alcala, the Go For Broke Japanese American Soldiers of World War II stamp is being issued as a forever stamp, the USPS announced. This forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First Class mail one-ounce price.

“We will always be grateful to Mr. Yamamoto and all of the 33,000 AJA soldiers who served with dignity,” said Mae Isonaga, co-chair of the Hawai‘i Stamp Our Story organizing committee. “They fought for their county, for a better future for their families. It’s our responsibility to ensure their story is told with the ganbaru — the desire to strive and persevere — spirit, striving for equality and justice for all.”

The Go for Broke stamp is available at all post offices, and at store.usps.com.

“Each time we put something in the mail, the stamp of Mr. Yamamoto will inspire us to live like the Nisei soldiers and create a better world today,” Heirakuji said.

“The community efforts to bring this ‘Go for Broke’ forever stamp are to be applauded,” said state Rep. Della Au Belatti.

“This stamp not only honors the bravery and dedication of our Japanese American Nisei soldiers; it reminds us of our obligation to carry on the legacy of these soldiers to fight for a more-equal and just world,” she said.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.