Across the country, there was a call to stand up for veterans and rally at state capitols on Friday.
It was just getting underway as a Honolulu Civil Beat column flagged that the U.S. Army website had scrubbed a page detailing the story of the 442nd Infantry Regiment — the most decorated unit of World War ll, composed of Japanese Americans.
The news did not sit well with one veteran. Retired Lt. Col. Matthew McCarville stood on Beretania Street with about a hundred others. He served 23 years in the Army, including four at Hawaiʻi's Schofield Barracks.
"The 442nd, particularly the 100th 442nd, one of the proudest units in the Army. Young officers, young enlisted men should learn about them. Our citizens should know what they accomplished. It's just a disgrace," McCarville told HPR at Friday's rally.
Some members of the Hawaiʻi congressional delegation pushed back on the web scrubbing. U.S. Rep. Ed Case fired back asking about the omission. Rep. Jill Tokuda began circulating a petition, but before the weekend was over, the Army republished the web page.
Honolulu resident Dee Lani Boushey said that she's disappointed in the lack of veteran support. She shared that her father is a veteran who served in the Army for 20 years.
"I just don't like what's going on, especially with Hawaiʻi, like scrubbing Hawaiian, Filipinos, Japanese. It's just terrible what's happening, because that's part of our culture here. We're a blended culture here," Boushey said.
"I think they need to leave their hands off of all of our history because we don't want to repeat our history that happened like 80 years ago," she said. "There's a lot of stuff going on that's making you kind of, harking back to those times in history. So everybody read your history. We don't want to repeat it."
Hawaiʻi's congressional delegation says this month is the dedication of the new Daniel Kahikina Akaka State Veterans Home in Kapolei.
The 124-bed facility has about half a dozen privately paid residents, but it is still awaiting certification from state health officials and the Department of Veterans Affairs to begin accepting Medicaid and Medicare patients.
The blessing is set for March 26, but it's unclear if VA cuts could delay that process. The delegation has been asking since the Trump administration has indicated it will lay off 83,000-plus VA workers — and it's unclear how Medicaid and Medicare could be affected.
The White House has said it will not cut benefits and is focusing on fraud and waste. Concerns remain about how the reduction in workforce will affect services for the most needy.
This interview aired on The Conversation on March 17, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
