Values — July 21, 2009 22:24 — View Comments Written by: Jan

Talking Story with Hawaii’s Living History: Manabu Hongo

Hawaii’s Living History

dad small Talking Story with Hawaii’s Living History: Manabu Hongo

I grew up thinking that the word “doki” was a common word used by everyone in Hawaii. As it turns out, no one else except our family, seemed to know what “doki” meant (Waiakea speak for “kiddo”)! This was my first and earliest introduction to Waiakea’s culture, the neighborhood where my father grew up in Hilo, Hawaii.

Manabu Hongo, was born on the Big Island of Hawaii on October 11, 1924 and grew up in Waiakea Town in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. He attended Waiakea Kai Elementary and then Hilo Intermediate and High School. Manabu—or “Mana” as most everyone refers to him—recalls that he was a part of the Pirates Athletic Club, and it was while in this club, that they made up their own language. The youth would twist words around so that others—like the Lincoln Wreckers—wouldn’t be able to understand what they were saying:

Awe uyou og?
Where are you going?

I on toge nemo.
I don’t have money.

Og lute I on toge rettgaci.
Go tell I don’t have cigarette.

After high school, Manabu went to auto mechanic school. While there, Mana recounts how he heard an announcement on the radio station that had been playing in the background:

“So I heard on da radio, dey were calling Japanese Americans to volunteea. Dey were saying dat dey were going to create a unit, a regiment, an all Japanese American combat unit. Afta I heard dat, I asked Mr. Able, my boss, I asked permission to attend to a personal matter. I left school and I went to da draft board to enlist.”

He did so without discussing his decision with his parents or friends. It was 1942 and he had just turned 18. When asked why he and others of his generation made such a decisive move, seemingly without much thought or angst, my father stated very matter of factly:

“Why? We felt we had to prove that we were just as American as everybody else. Dats all.”

Perhaps part of this simple conviction stemmed from the fact that Manabu’s father, like many Japanese Americans, was interned during WWII. Mana recalls:

“I was out playing basketball at the Waiakea Settlement. When I came home, the house was a mess. Dey [the soldiers] searched the house for proof that grandpa [my father’s father] was helping da enemy. Dey upturned everything, papers, insurance records—grandpa was an insurance salesman, see, and he had a lot of contacts all over da island so he was suspected of aiding da enemy—anyway, da papers were strewn all over da floor. Den they took him away. We heard a rumor that da government took da prisoners away by boat, dat dey had to drive on Kamehameha Highway to get to Hilo Harbor, da families lined the streets to see if our family members went by. We went out a couple of times to see, but we didn’t see grandpa.”

momdad dinner Talking Story with Hawaii’s Living History: Manabu Hongo

Whatever his reasons, Mana became a part of the 14,000 Japanese Americans who volunteered for what was to become the historic 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He trained with the 442nd at Camp Shelby Mississippi where he earned the nickname “chow hound” and was assigned as a rifle man and runner. Later, Mana was part of the 3rd wave replacement for the 100th Battalion, where he was assigned to Company C. Platoon Sergeant Johnny Miyagawa from Maui designated him as the company’s bazooka-man. Mana was awarded the purple heart, a war honor that helped to make the 100th/442nd the most decorated American unit in WWII.

After the war, Manabu came back to live and work in Hawaii, after a brief time of schooling in New Jersey, where he met my mother Helen Nishimoto, a Waikiki native. They settled in Hilo, Hawaii, and along with his brother Masanori Hongo, took over the Hongo Nursery, an orchid flower business originally owned by my grandfather, Torakiyo Hongo. My parents eventually made their way to Oahu and set up shop in Honolulu, where they ran Hongo Nursery as well as a lei greeting service called “50th State Greeters” until the mid 1970’s. In later years, my father worked for the State of Hawaii as a janitor and retired in the early 1990’s.

Today, Manabu Hongo lives with my mother on Oahu’s North Shore and in between enjoying his children and grandchildren, still finds time to spend with his army buddies at Club 100 in Honolulu.

To read more about the all Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Battalion follow these links: