He more than kept his word. Soon after the war ended he finished college on the Mainland and returned to his home on Kaua'i to become the second male Filipino teacher in Hawai'i. He later became the first Filipino principal and a district administrator.

Since retiring from the Department of Education in 1976, Los Banos, 80, has continued his educational efforts. But instead of teaching in the classroom, he is teaching a wider audience about the heroic efforts of the Filipino soldiers who fought to free the Philippines from the Japanese during the war.

Raised by a father who came to the United States from the Philippines through the U.S. Navy and growing up on a Kaua'i plantation where children of all ethnicities frequently engaged in mock battles, Los Banos said, "We were destined to become warriors."

He and his five brothers would turn to the military, along with many other boys who grew up on the Hawai'i plantations.

Los Banos' father attended Stanford University while stationed in California, and later continued his studies at the University of Hawai'i. While his father worked on plantations in Wahaiwa and on Kaua'i, his mother operated a laundry. Both instilled in their sons a strong work ethic and the conviction that education was the key to getting out of the plantation.

"My parents were hard-working people and gave us the best education they could," he said.

Although Los Banos' high school years were interrupted by the war — his school was turned into a hospital and students turned from academics to digging tunnels, unloading ships and lining the island with barbed wire — by recommendation of his principal, he was able to graduate and attend the University of Hawai'i.

He was a year into his studies when his older twin brothers, Alfred and Bernard, were drafted into the Army. "I knew I was next, so I decided to join them," he said.

The brothers crossed paths several times during the war until Los Banos found himself in a Filipino-only regiment bound for the Philippines to aid in the mop-up efforts after the Philippine islands were liberated from Japanese occupation.

The "Hawai'i Boys," mostly teen-agers, and proud of their nationality, greeted their assignment with puzzlement. Los Banos recalled thinking at the time: "Hey, hey, we're American citizens." He added, "We felt strange we were in a segregated unit."

By the end of the war, however, the Hawai'i Boys were proud to call themselves Filipinos after learning how the native Filipino soldiers served as Gen. Douglas MacArthur's eyes and ears and were instrumental in helping the United States reclaim the Philippines.

"They were 400 of the cream of the crop," he said of the Filipino soldiers. "They were the ones that gave information to MacArthur about the strength of the guerrilla outfit."

For those like Los Banos, being stationed in the Philippines also allowed them to connect with family that had remained in their homeland. Los Banos was able to meet 200 of his father's relatives, who all posed for a group photograph.

After the war, American-born Filipino soldiers were able to take advantage of the GI Bill and pursue higher education. "Frankly, it was the war that was our freedom," Los Banos said. "It gave us confidence and a new sense of direction in what our life could be and should be."

While his brothers went on to successful military careers, Los Banos pursued degrees in physical education at Springfield College in Massachusetts, then Columbia University in New York.

Later he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship that allowed him to start a physical education program at a Thailand university, and also to teach physical education to the country's royal children.

While Los Banos rose in the ranks at the Department of Education, his wife, Mary, a native of Minnesota, started The Children's House in Pearl City, which has grown to be one of the largest Montessori schools in the state and now has branches as far away as Asia.

His wife's success allowed Los Banos to pursue a different path once he retired. While the war was a gateway for many Filipino-Americans to a rise in socioeconomic status and prominence, many native Filipinos were not so lucky.

Though promised American citizenship and accompanying veterans rights for aiding the U.S. war effort, those promises were rescinded when the Philippines gained independence in 1946. Decades later, many of these veterans are still seeking healthcare benefits, pensions and survivor and burial rights they had expected.

"I am ashamed of our government," Los Banos said. "They were promised citizenship and other benefits and others still don't have full benefits."

Los Banos has gone further than just speaking in support of these veterans. He was associate producer and project adviser for the award-winning documentary "An Untold Triumph," which tells the story of the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments. "We wanted to give the Filipinos pride in what they accomplished," he explained.

While the war helped Los Banos' generation bridge the gap between their immigrant parents and successful Filipino-Americans to come, Los Banos gives a nod to that first wave of Filipino immigrants.

"They were bold enough to leave their country for a better life," he said.

Los Banos, who grew up in a plantation camp where most of the laborers were single older men, added, "I think they gave many of us the work ethic: 'If you have to do something, do it well. And if you want to get out of the plantation, get educated.' "

This group of immigrants, Los Banos said, prompted his own generation to maintain ties with the ancestral home by forming supportive groups and clubs that kept the culture alive for Filipino-Americans.