INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS BOND WITH 100TH INFANTRY BATTALION VETERANS — LEADING TO THE CREATION OF A PEACE GARDEN AND ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
By Karla Farmer Stouse, Indiana University professor (retired) [Special to the Puka Puka Parade]
The Garden that Serendipity Built. How do Indiana University Kokomo (IUK) students end up at the 100th Infantry Battalion Clubhouse in Hawai‘i in June 2006 learning about haupia, “talk story,” “dog bait,” and the liberation of Rome? Serendipity. And how does that day result in a Peace Garden in Kokomo, Indiana, that honors Pearl Harbor survivors, internment victims, and those 100th Battalion veterans? An additional measure of serendipity plus immense respect, gratitude, and love.
When I brought my “Asian Cultures to Hawai‘i” English course students from IUK on that 2006 trip to Honolulu, we weren’t supposed to visit the clubhouse or those veterans. We thought we would be visiting The East-West Center, but plans changed and a staff member offered to contact Ann Kabasawa [daughter of Raymond Nosaka (B)] about a visit to Club 100. Though not well versed in 100th Infantry Battalion history, I was aware enough to know it would be a great opportunity for the students. Ann responded immediately and offered a meeting. I expected a quick visit on such short notice and told the students that we likely wouldn’t be there long. I marvel at my naivete now.
As we were waiting for our taxis at our hotel, the bellman said, “Club 100? You’re really lucky. Those guys are legends.” We all felt under-dressed for the occasion. (More naivete.) We all wished we were taking more and better gifts than Indiana University hats and t-shirts.
On arrival, it was clear that somehow, in that short time between the first chat with Ann and the departure for Club 100, we had become the honored guests. The students who got into those taxis talking non-stop transformed into intimidated twenty-years-olds uncertain about cultural expectations and unsure why everyone had gone to so much effort for us.
As we waited for the final table setting and arrangement of many, many plates of food, the students and the veterans resembled shy participants at a junior high dance. One student whispered to me, “I don’t know what questions to ask them.” Ann along with Clyde Sugimoto [nephew of Nolan Miyazaki (B)], broke the ice by calling for pictures in front of the 100th Infantry Battalion battalion flag wooden display. Then Drusilla Tanaka [daughter of Bernard Akamine (B)] provided a copy of Japanese Eyes, American Hearts for us, and I asked the veterans to sign the book. Everyone’s shyness disappeared as the veterans crowded around the book and the students offered those Indiana University hats and t-shirts. In a moment, everyone was talking at once.
As we moved to the food, the sharing continued — first one veteran’s story, then another and another. “Talk story” in action. So much history, some heartbreaking memories told without bitterness, many remembrances of good moments and difficult ones. The students crowded onto the sofas to hear every detail of those stories. I stood across the room with Bernard Akamine, his voice quiet as he took me back to his past. I remember the way the sounds in the entire clubhouse carried, and I had to lean in to hear Bernard. Life sometimes blesses us with moments so significant that we can immediately feel their importance.
I did not think about where we all would be in 18 years, with most of those veterans gone on to their rewards and the students scattered to new homes, their careers, their own new families. I did think of the incredible, meaningful weight of history lingering in that clubhouse, of honest insights from humble men eager to tell their stories: the days after Pearl Harbor when suspicion followed them everywhere, Ray Nosaka’s “dog bait” experience, having to wait to enter Rome even though they were there first, coming home to build a clubhouse of their own. The indignities mentioned and the veterans’ clear determination resonated in ways that would take some time for the students to grasp as they wrestled with a new view of American history, one that gave them plenty of questions, some challenging answers, and genuine sadness that they were only just learning stories that should have been acknowledged decades ago.
It was obvious that those moments would define the future and set very high expectations for some of the students. That kind of learning does not occur often — almost never in a regular classroom. We weren’t even supposed to be there. I never lose sight of how easily we might have missed such a transformative experience. Bringing those moments back also brings some tears — awareness of how fortunate we are to have shared that brief time with heroes who never saw themselves as that, good men who earned every bit of the accolades they finally received.
We took that learning home with us. We exchanged the original written version of the final exam for a team project to design a Peace Garden incorporating the cultural symbols we had seen — such as the virtue pillars at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, the Zen garden at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa East-West Center, along with the stories from the veterans — in ways that would honor those we had met during our brief time in Hawai‘i.
“How serious are you about this?” a student asked.
“If you do a great job,” I said, “I promise you we will make sure that the garden gets built.” They did a great job. They created a final design in less than an hour, the most productive committee work I have ever seen. They agreed to 10 virtue pillars (one per student), three benches, two peace poles with “Peace” inscribed in multiple languages, a small water feature, multiple bamboo poles to encircle the garden space, lots of trees and plants, one Japanese-style gate, and one bell to hang from that gate.
During the next two years of trying to make that promise a reality, it did occur to me that I probably should have thought at least for a moment about what we were stepping into. But a lot of unplanned goodness smoothed the rough spots into numerous positive memories.
When a site for the garden could not be located on our campus, we prepared for a protracted negotiation with the Kokomo Parks Department to use a local park — they embraced the idea immediately without hesitation, agreeing that a Peace Garden would make a strong statement and would honor people who deserved the appreciation.
Concerns about local veterans’ support for a Peace Garden with Japanese connections disappeared when members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) volunteered to help select the garden location — they knew the stories of the 100th Infantry Battalion, whom they called “genuine heroes.”
Our 30-day construction deadline with the Parks Department gave us not only focus but also no options, even when rain slowed the work more than half of those days — and additional faculty, staff, and locals showed up to help meet the deadline.
Funding from the Community Foundation, an Indiana University grant, a student-written grant, and generous donors who offered time and expertise fulfilled the budget and construction needs — in addition to bonus funding for flags flown over the U.S.S. Arizona and a wheelchair-accessible concrete sidewalk encircling The Peace Garden.
Three of the students who designed the garden were able to return after graduation to help build it for that entire 30 days, bringing friends to help — two years after our Hawai‘i visit, many of those who met with the 100th Battalion veterans were also able to return for the grand opening, joining a VFW Honor Guard, Parks Department board members, and more than 50 others from our campus and the community.
At the official opening in June 2008 on the grounds of Darrough Chapel Park in Kokomo, Indiana, the students shared what they had learned in Hawai‘i, the Parks Department representatives offered their appreciation, and the VFW Honor Guard reminded everyone that peace is a costly endeavor worthy of remembrance. The 100th Infantry Battalion veterans were with us in spirit that day as the virtue pillars of “Perseverance” and “Forgiveness” flanking their bench reminded us of their challenges and accomplishments, of the stories we heard and the men we will never forget.
At the conclusion of the opening ceremony, the students went to the Japanese Gate to signal the Garden’s opening by ringing the bell. Our most serendipitous find, the bell was crafted from an empty 105-millimeter howitzer shell found in a small antique store in a very small Indiana town. The idea was inspired when someone anonymously put a bell in my campus mailbox from a group that turns weapons into tiny bells. That came just a few weeks before The Peace Garden’s opening, when we were still trying to figure out what kind of bell we would use. Since the opening, the bell has endured lot of testing. Its sound is beautiful every time.
The Peace Garden honors the concept of peace and World War II heroes — Pearl Harbor survivors, internment victims and the men of the 100th Battalion. In the 12 years at this original site, the garden hosted many students providing service or learning the history of the groups honored there. It was also a frequent gathering spot for park patrons and IU Kokomo students. Perhaps its most distinguished guests were Drusilla, her husband Stan, and son Tyler Tanaka, bringing Hawai‘i to us as they paid tribute to Bernard Akamine and all of the veterans with flowers, prayers of remembrance, and ringing the bell.
In 2019, the Parks Department decided to reclaim the space occupied by The Peace Garden to expand the park’s other offerings. With assistance from that office (and another measure of serendipity), a suitable new home for The Peace Garden was found closer to downtown Kokomo at Jackson Street Commons, a Housing First residence for displaced veterans.
The Peace Park reopened at its current location in August 2020. Those veterans have embraced the opportunity to serve the community and continue the tradition of honoring other veterans. The Peace Garden now sits at an intersection of the Kokomo Heritage Industrial Trail and a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It gets much more foot traffic than in its previous location, and The Peace Garden is cared for by veterans who have weathered challenges of their own.
In the middle of the Midwest a long way from where the story started, designed and built by students, faculty, and staff fortunate to meet the men who would not quit at Monte Cassino, supported by Kokomo veterans who know and honor the stories of “The Purple Heart Battalion,” The Peace Garden has started another chapter as it continues to honor those Nisei who fought for the right to defend our country. We know it will endure in respectful, grateful, loving tribute to those heroes.
100th Infantry Battalion Veterans “Talk Story” Oral History Project. In June 2013, I brought another IU Kokomo student group to visit Honolulu to interview 100th veterans for a video. Laura Brown, Bethann Duly, and Holly Manns were able to make the journey to O‘ahu with IUK faculty Ria Lukes and me plus professional videographer Ashley Lukes, Brian Brown, and Jeff Stouse. Once again, the families and 100th veterans provided tremendous aloha and great food at Club 100.
Interviews with Kenneth Higa (C), Edward Ikuma (HQ), and COL (Ret) Albert Farrant “Bert” Turner [son of LTC Farrant L. Turner (HQ)] gave them a chance to share their stories. Some offered new information or details that friends and families hadn’t heard. The students later mentioned that they felt privileged to be trusted with those important recollections — Kenneth Higa sharing that he was wounded and photographed for Look Magazine on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack; Bert Turner discussing his father’s influence; Edward Ikuma telling of Monte Cassino. Thanks to guidance provided by Navy CAPT (Ret) Gary Ikuma [son of Ed Ikuma (HQ)] and Randy Kuroda [son of Haruto Ronald Kuroda (B)], the veterans felt comfortable in offering details of those defining moments.
The IUK group also attended the 100th Infantry Battalion 71st Anniversary Banquet to celebrate with the veterans and their families. Hearing the families’ perspectives of their fathers/grandfathers’ experiences provided insights about not just the hope, but also the determination to continue the legacies of the 100th veterans, and to share the history and continue the service ethic they learned from those men.
As we were leaving, someone pulled us aside and said, “You need to talk to Jack.” Jack Nakamura (B) was sitting outside the banquet hall waiting for his ride and agreed to let us film him. In his delightful, playful way, he recounted his story of falling asleep during guard duty in a bar, waking to find his rifle and all of the German soldiers still there. He talked of seeing his enemies as potential friends if circumstances had been different, telling them they would have drinks together if they had known each other before the war. Later, when the students discussed what they had learned from all of the interviews, they focused on the lessons shared: duty, honor, sacrifice, forgiveness. It didn’t take long in the presence of these veterans to understand how important it is for the stories and their lessons to continue.
More than a decade later, those who visited from Indiana are still talking about that trip and those veterans. As a result of our time with 100th Battalion veterans and their family members, Indiana University Kokomo now has completed initiatives such as The Peace Garden, establishing a research archive and finding aid database specifically created to help scholars learn more about the 100th Infantry Battalion, and producing oral history videos of the four 100th veterans interviewed in 2013. We remember and appreciate them. We will also continue to share the lessons taught by the 100th Infantry Battalion and the veterans who became our friends.
PPP Editor’s Note: On January 15, 2025, we were happy to welcome Karla Farmer Stouse and husband, Jeff Stouse, back to the 100th Infantry Battalion Clubhouse during their Hawai‘i vacation. Welcoming Karla and Jeff were Drusilla Tanaka, Jan Sakoda [daughter of Gary Uchida (HQ)], Amy Kwong [granddaughter of Eugene Kawakami (A)], and Isami Yoshihara [brother of Hisashi Yoshihara (A)]. The 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans (Club 100) Communications Committee will be working with Karla to produce a finalized video with the interviews conducted in 2013 with Kenneth Higa, Edward Ikuma, COL Bert Turner, and Jack Nakamura. Please contact the Clubhouse office for more information on this project. Indiana University’s official Peace Garden video may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGytY70Fw4I.
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This article was published in the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans (Club 100) February 2025 Puka Puka Parade newsletter, written by Karla Farmer Stouse, Indiana University professor (retired). Back issues of the Puka Puka Parade can be viewed online, courtesy of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa eVols digitial repository — the most recent issues available to the public can be viewed here: https://hdl.handle.net/10524/66742. For more about the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Puka Puka Parade, please visit https://www.100thibv.org/post/puka-puka-parade-newsletter.
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