The memories come back in bits and pieces for Shizuya Hayashi.

Sometimes, he tears up. Sometimes, the 88-year-old Pearl City resident cracks jokes.

"I think you have to have a sense of humor to get through that kind of thing," said Mimi Nakano, his oldest daughter.

"That kind of thing" happened nearly 63 years ago during World War II. Hayashi was a private with the 100th Infantry Battalion when he rose amid enemy fire and rushed an enemy stronghold, leading the battalion's charge up a hill.

"We just went crazy," he said.

That exceptional courage earned him the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest honor for valor under fire.

Hayashi's story, along with those of 23 other Medal of Honor recipients, will be shared tomorrow through July 5 at the Visions of Valor exhibit at the Hawai'i State Art Museum. The museum, however, will be closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, so visitors will have just four days to see the exhibit.

Visions of Valor is the first traveling photographic exhibit about the Medal of Honor and features four recipients living in Hawai'i: Hayashi, Barney Hajiro of Waipahu, Allan Kellogg Jr. of Kailua and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.

TriWest Healthcare Alliance, which administers the military's Tricare healthcare plan in Hawai'i and 20 other Western states, and the Hawaii Medical Service Association are sponsoring the exhibit.

TriWest President and CEO David McIntyre Jr. bought the display so he could take it throughout the West to share and recognize the heroism of these recipients and increase awareness about the medal, said Karl Kiyokawa, TriWest's market vice president for Hawai'i.

"There's not a better way to celebrate our freedom this Fourth of July than to see this exhibit and learn about these special men whose bravery, dedication and selflessness led them to our nation's highest honor," McIntyre said in a news release.

The Visions of Valor's full collection is on display in the Pentagon and is composed of 100 portraits, said TriWest Director of Communications Elizabeth Perrine. There are 24 portraits in the traveling exhibit, which will be shown at 30 to 40 locations in the states that TriWest serves.

Inouye said being involved in the traveling exhibit is an honor.

"It serves as a testament to the fact that Americans of all backgrounds and experiences who wear the uniform of our country can rise to meet extraordinary challenges whenever necessary," Inouye said, "no matter the circumstances or cost."

Nakano calls her father a "humble" hero.

"The only way I found out (about his war experiences) was through a friend," Nakano said.

Hayashi, nicknamed "Caesar" by his fellow soldiers, earned his medal on Nov. 29, 1943. On that day, the 100th Battalion was pinned on a hillside in Cerasuolo, Italy, with enemy fire flanking the Allied troops. According to the exhibit's records, Hayashi killed 20 enemy soldiers, though Hayashi himself isn't sure.

"You don't have time to keep count," Hayashi said. "I don't know how many I killed."

Hayashi's uncommon valor came amid grenades and a hail of gunfire. The exhibit's report recounts that Hayashi rose alone, firing his automatic rifle from the hip while he charged and overtook an enemy machine gun position. It details that Hayashi killed seven men in the nest and two more as they fled. He also took four prisoners as the Allies took the hill.

Hayashi spent part of yesterday afternoon talking about his charge up the hill. Most of the time his memory was fluid, but his eyes glazed when he talked of capturing a teenage German boy.

"I couldn't shoot him," Hayashi said. "He looked so young."

Hayashi said the hillside was covered with mines and by the time he and his comrades took the hill, only three of them had survived. Making matters worse, Hayashi said, nobody came looking for them when the battle ended. The three waited all night for reinforcements, "but no one came," he said.

Still, they refused to give up their position.

It took 57 years for Hayashi to be recognized for his heroics. In June 2000, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Hayashi, a second generation Japanese-American, said he never thought twice about fighting for his country.

"Like Daniel Inouye said, 'Don't make shame,'" he said.

Hayashi continues to give back to the community. He's a volunteer at the Ke'ehi Lagoon Memorial complex, created by the Disabled American Veterans of Hawaii. He also continues to support the 100th Infantry Battalion and all of its events. He does not want the unit's legacy to be forgotten.

He also may have helped the 100th win one other battle here at home. That fight came when current members of the 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team were preparing to deploy to Iraq. Army leaders disputed whether the unit should wear its patch because the unit was being attached to the Hawai'i National Guard's 29th Brigade — which wanted the 100th/442nd to wear its patch instead.

When Hayashi found out, he asked the commanding general to do him a favor.

"I want the boys to wear the patch," Hayashi said.

And they did.

Reach Brittany Yap at byap@honoluluadvertiser.com.