Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 2, 1 February 2002 — Aloha is alive [ARTICLE]

Aloha is alive

Prior to World War īī, most Japanese~Americans were living in the three West Coast states (no aloha) and in Hawai'i (aloha). When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, it gave the (no aloha) states an excuse to imprison 120,000 Japanese~Americans, with no due

process. Although the Japanese~Americans were made the only U.S. scapegoats in WWĪĪ and imprisoned, many volunteered in the U.S. Army and fought and died to prove their loyalty. Hawai'i (aloha) in its most fear~ ful, darkest period after the bloody attack, kept ealm and cool~headed with its strong and firm aloha'ohana spirit that shone bright and clear in the hearts of Hawai'i's people. Wartime leaders and the military general and civilian advisors kept Hawai'i JapaneseAmericans out of prison camps and opened the armed service for them to prove their loyalty. The 100th Battalion and the 442nd regimental combat team became WWII's most highly decorated unit. īt made Hawai'i proud. Hawai'i's aloha spirit is not a myth, it's real and alive in the hearts of most (not all ) people in Hawai'i that accept all as one 'ohana. The big, bloody war proved that Hawai'i is truly the "Aloha State," Long live the Aloha Spirit in Hawai'i nei. Carl Hamashige Līhu'e