American flag flies proudly again over Oahu veterans clubhouse

News admin October 21, 2026 0 Comments

American flag flies proudly again over Oahu veterans clubhouse

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The red, white and blue is flying once again at the 100th Infantry Battalion Memorial Building in Honolulu.

A new flagpole is in place thanks to apprentices with the Hawaii Laborers Apprenticeship and Training Program and Green Thumb Landscape, who stepped in after a troubling discovery.

“We found out last year, we saw a little dribbling of orange from our 70-year-old flagpole and when they removed the cover, they saw a big hole, a big puka that was almost 25% was puka through. And we were like, oh my God, and called for some estimates. And they go, oh, just to start would be like 17,000,” said Kathi Hayashi with the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans.

It would have cost the veterans group thousands of dollars to fix its aging flagpole, but an act of aloha saved them from spending the money.

After discovering the flagpole was severely rusted, the apprentices dug it out and replaced it with a new one to honor the soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion.

“The military does fight for our freedom, so we always got to acknowledge them and appreciate your guys’ time and your guys’ service to give us guys our freedom and to give this little um community service back. It’s not just for a lifetime, but it’s a memory forever,” said Peter Ganaban with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 368.

“In our society today, you don’t have a lot of people jumping up saying I love this country and for what you did for Kathi here, it tells a story,” said retired Army Col. Edward Crookshank with the Oahu Veterans Council.

It is a gesture that connects to the legacy of the 100th Infantry Battalion itself — Japanese American soldiers who, despite discrimination, fought for what the American flag represents.