Film showings mark veterans' reunion

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

"Journey of Honor," which follows Hawai'i veterans who visited World War II battlefields in Italy, will air Saturday on PBS. Advertiser library photo

The film festival continues through Thursday, with some war-themed films previously broadcast on television presented for the first time on a theater screen.

Most screenings, at the Art House at Restaurant Row, coincide with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team's 60th anniversary reunion today through Sunday in Honolulu.

Through a community partnership, PBS Hawai'i also will broadcast two war-themed specials Saturday night to show a new generation of students part of their heritage and a part of Island and world history.

A third venue, the Doris Duke at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, will feature a documentary, "A Tradition of Honor," Saturday afternoon. The film, with yonsei (fourth-generation) co-producers Craig Yahata and David Yoneshige, pays tribute to the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service.

The screening will be followed by a panel of vets from those units, though the booking is not officially part of the veterans' anniversary celebration.

"We hope the film festival will bring students and folks from the 60th reunion together to share in a common experience," said Stuart Yamane, who produced the award-winning PBS film "Journey of Honor," airing Saturday on TV. The documentary tracks a dozen veterans from Hawai'i on a return visit to the WWII battlefields of Italy.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to see some really terrific films and also to build a sense of community," Yamane said of the festival.

Yamane was invited by a University of Hawai'i blue-ribbon group led by Michael Lestz, senior adviser for global affairs, and Mariko Miho, associate vice president of the UH foundation, to help honor the nisei vets. Yamane involved Don Brown, programming and marketing director of the Art House, to help showcase the new documentaries as well as earlier works.

"Outreach is an important part of what we do," said Mike McCartney, PBS Hawai'i president. "We want to be more than a television station to Hawai'i, we want to be a vital community resource."

War-themed films

On PBS Hawai'i

• "Uncommon Courage," 8:30 p.m. Saturday
• "Journey of Honor," 9:30 p.m. Saturday

At the Art House at Restaurant Row

• "Uncommon Courage," 4:30 p.m. today, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. Thursday
• "Journey of Honor," 7 p.m. today, 9:30 p.m. Sunday, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday
• "Rabbit in the Moon," 9:30 p.m. today, 7 p.m. Sunday, 4:30 p.m. Monday
• "On the Home Front," 1:30 p.m. Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Sunday, 7 p.m. Monday, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday
• "Beyond Barbed Wire," 4:30 p.m. Saturday, 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, 7 p.m. Wednesday
• "Go for Broke," 7 p.m. Saturday, 9:30 p.m. Monday, 7 p.m. Thursday
• "The Color of Honor," 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. Thursday

Note: Regular admission fees apply

At the Doris Duke at the Honolulu Academy of Arts

• "A Tradition of Honor," 12:30 p.m. Saturday

$15 general; $12 seniors, veterans, students and Go for Broke Foundation members

(310) 328-0907