Long-overlooked Japanese American WWII soldier honored with posthumous commission

News admin May 26, 2026 0 Comments

Long-overlooked Japanese American WWII soldier honored with posthumous commission

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – On this Memorial Day, we take time to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, including a World War II soldier whose story was at risk of being forgotten.

In the 1940s, Daniel Den Betsui, like many Hawaiʻi-born Japanese American men, left the islands and deployed to the European theater during World War II.

Before he shipped out, Betsui was a cadet in the University of Hawaiʻi ROTC program.

But Karl Okemura, president of the 442nd Legacy Center and Veterans Club, said Betsui was denied a commission and instead labeled an enemy alien.

“When President Roosevelt allowed the Japanese Americans to volunteer for combat service, he immediately volunteered, and he became a private as a part of the 442nd that fought in Italy and France,” Okemura said.

Okemura said Betsui was likely part of a formation at ʻIolani Palace before marching to Honolulu Harbor to depart for war — what Okemura described as likely his last walk on Hawaiian soil.

Betsui was killed in an explosion in 1944.

“When Daniel Betsui passed, he was 19, so he was unmarried and never had direct descendants,” Okemura said.

Betsui’s remains were returned to Hawaiʻi and he was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Nearly 80 years after his death, the U.S. Army recognized Betsui’s ROTC past at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. During a ceremony earlier this year, Betsui and six others posthumously received commissions as second lieutenants.

Okemura said the moment was meaningful not only for Betsui, but for all Japanese American soldiers whose contributions were overlooked for decades.

“Grateful and very proud, and it allowed us to remember a fallen hero, a fallen soldier that was forgotten for so many years and now remembered and brought to light to the public,” he said.

While family members gathered around photos of their soldiers during the ceremony, no one was present to acknowledge Betsui’s posthumous commission.

“His brothers and sisters had descendants whom we tried to reach out to but unable to convince anyone to step forward to attend the ceremony or to receive the documents that the Army provided as part of the honorary commission,” Okemura said.

Okemura said the 442nd Legacy Center hopes someone from the Betsui family will step forward in the future. In the meantime, he said the group is adopting Betsui as one of their own.

“I think that’s an important lesson to remember to honor those who gave their lives so that we could have what we enjoy today,” Okemura said.

“To repeat this lesson and teach our children, I think is the most important that we can do to honor the memories of all the American patriots in the U.S. military,” he said.