“For many… veterans… fight for democracy and freedom, only to come home and be denied the ability to buy homes or start businesses… Sakae Takahashi and fellow veterans Daniel Inouye and Elton Sakamoto took advantage of the GI Bill of Rights to further their education... In 1948, Takahashi returned to Hawaii with a law degree… A lot of guys had difficulty getting mortgage loans… we should have a bank to help out those struggling in the community... Frustrations with the social inequalities mounted and they concluded that the time had come to form a bank that could help all of the minority groups in Hawaii… Central Pacific Bank opened its doors the morning of February 15, 1954… Companies like Uyeda Shoe Store… Heeia Pier… Kaimuki Pharmacy Thrifty Drug Stores, and ABC Stores… example of CPB’s influence in Hawaii.”
-A Legacy of Service, publication of Central Pacific Bank, 2014 |
1954 Central Pacific Bank board members including veterans Daniel Inouye and Sakae Takahashi. (A Legacy, 2014)
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(Masaoka, 2015)
“When statehood was finally achieved in 1959, in spite of considerable opposition in Congress, some of the credit went to the Texas Congressional Delegation… all acknowledged the 442nd rescue of the Texas “Lost Battalion” in France during WWII as having influenced their decision.” |
“Mike Masaoka, Japanese American Citizens League leader and lobbyist… When the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was formed, Masaoka became the first to volunteer and urged other Nisei to enlist as proof of their loyalty… Masaoka became a lobbyist in the postwar years on behalf of Japanese Americans in bringing changes to U.S. immigration and naturalization policies… His lobbying efforts have been credited for the success of the McCarran-Walter Immigration and Naturalization Act that allowed the Issei to become eligible for citizenship for the first time in 1952.” |
“In 1958, I married U.S. Army soldier, Glenn Nobuyuki Tahara, son of Joichi Tahara. I was very happy to became a U.S. citizen in 1962." “In 1969 when my mother went to apply for passport, she was told she is not a U.S. citizen. We always thought she was an American citizen because she was born in Hawaii and she was voting. We did not know by marrying a foreigner she was no longer a U.S. citizen… She applied to Immigration and they reinstated her citizenship… She swear to take the Oath Of Allegiance.” |
(Pearl, 2016)
(Oath of Allegiance, 1969)
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