Our Board & Advisors
Our Board
Lynn Heirakuji
President & Board Director
Lynn Heirakuji
President & Board Director
Lynn Heirakuji is the President and a Board Director of the Nisei Veterans Legacy. Lynn’s father, Walter Heirakuji, was a member of the 442nd RCT. Lynn is also the Government Affairs Advisor for the Maunalani Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and supports Nisei Veteran, Veteran, Army, and Japan-Hawaii activities.
Lynn had a 30-year career with the Federal Government in Washington, D.C. She was sworn in as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Personnel Oversight, Manpower & Reserve Affairs, for the U.S. Army Secretariat. Prior to joining the Army team, Lynn was a member of the Senior Executive Service serving as the Deputy Director of the Office of Human Capital Management for the U.S. Department of Agriculture where she provided leadership for Department-level human capital programs. Lynn also served in senior staff and leadership positions at the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, and Commerce.
Lynn holds a Doctorate Degree from Howard University, a Master’s Degree from the University of Denver, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Hawaii.
After returning to Hawaii she worked for the Lieutenant Governor and the Governor as the Director of the Hawaii Fair Share Initiative. She later served as the Associate Director for Administration for the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.
Byrnes Yamashita
Vice President & Board Director
Byrnes Yamashita
Vice President & Board Director
Byrnes Yamashita is the Vice President of the Nisei Veterans Legacy and is also currently serving as the Chair of the Education Committee. He is a retired Navy engineer with over 30 years of military engineering and planning experience in the Pacific Indo Area.
His father Victor was a Nisei soldier in World War II, serving with both the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion in Italy and France.
A charter member of the Sons & Daughters of the 442nd RCT, he has been actively involved with Japanese American organizations preserving and promulgating the Nisei soldiers’ legacy for the past seven years.
In 2014/2015, he took an exhibit on the Nisei soldiers around the State of Hawaii. Most recently, he curated an exhibit on Hawaii Nikkei (Japanese Americans) history and culture that toured Japan and the State of Hawaii as part of the celebration of initial Japanese immigration to Hawaii.
He has also chaired the Joint Memorial Service for three years which is the most important event the NVL sponsors.
“I look forward to furthering the mission of the NVL to take the Nisei soldiers’ story to the general public and to help educate the younger generations of Hawaii and the world. My strategy is to focus on the post-war contributions of the Nisei veterans to shape modern Hawaii into a more democratic and egalitarian society making it an example for societies around the world.”
Phyllis Hironaka
Secretary & Board Director
Phyllis Hironaka
Secretary & Board Director
Phyllis Hironaka is the Secretary and a Board Director of the Nisei Veterans Legacy. Phyllis is the daughter of Sam Sazao Hironaka, 442 veteran, 522 HQ battery, and has been President of the 522B Chapter since 2016. Phyllis is also researching the internment history of her mother Martha (Fujita) Hironaka and Martha’s immediate family at Topaz, UT.
In 2015, Phyllis spearheaded the first showing of the Unlikely Liberators exhibit in Hawaii, sponsored by the NVL. She is also a member of the Sons & Daughters of the 442 Regimental Combat Team.
Phyllis received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her law degree from UCLA. She continues to work as a Deputy Public Defender for the State of Hawaii.
Kristin Alm Kamakahi
Treasurer & Board Director
Kristin Alm Kamakahi
Treasurer & Board Director
Kristin Alm Kamakahi is a Board Director of the Nisei Veterans Legacy. She was inspired to learn more and give back to this organization because of her grandfather, Buzzy Tadao Okazaki, who was a Staff Sergeant in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 100th Infantry Battalion, Headquarters Company. He was originally from Maui and served in Italy.
She is the Director of Staffing and Operations at Remedy Intelligent Staffing, in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she has worked for over ten years. Her current responsibilities include managing the staffing team, providing customer service directly to various local clients, overseeing payroll and benefits processing, and supporting overall operations.
Kristin enjoys giving back to the community. Kristin is currently serving on the board of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i. She is also a past president of the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce and continues to serve on its board. She has served in various leadership roles for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, including as General Co-Chair. She is also a member of the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce and serves on several committees.
Sbe has also enjoyed participating in various programs including the U.S.-Japan Council’s Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) as part of the 2020 Class, the inaugural cohort of the Patsy T. Mink Leadership Alliance (YWCA Oahu), and the first cohort of the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce’s Hawaii-Hiroshima Emerging Young Leaders Program.
Kristin was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She has both a B.S. in Travel Industry Management and a Master in Human Resources Management degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In her free time, Kristin enjoys dancing hula, trying new restaurants and spending time with friends and family.
Lawrence Enomoto
Board Director
Lawrence Enomoto
Board Director
Lawrence “Larry” Enomoto is the Treasurer and a Board Director of the Nisei Veterans Legacy. Larry’s father, Gulstan N.T. Enomoto, was a member of the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Service (MIS). Larry is President of MIS Veterans — Hawaii. He also supports activities of the Veterans of Foreign War, Military Officers Association of America and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.
Larry had a 40-year career of military and civilian government service: air force for 22 years, foreign service for five years, and civil service for 13 years. This included various intelligence-related and other duties at airbases in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Texas, Massachusetts, Alabama and Hawaii; attorney-advisor duties in the U.S. State Department Law of the Sea Office; political-military and consular-related duties at the U.S. Consulate General in Naha, Okinawa; U.S. representative duties to U.N. space-related organizations’ meetings in New York City, Vienna, Bangkok and New Delhi; and co-leader duties for a U.S.–Japan joint initiative to implement a Global Observation Information Network.
Larry earned four academic degrees: Juris Doctor from University of Hawaii School of Law at Manoa, Master of Laws from the University of Washington Law School in Seattle, Master of Public Administration from Auburn University at Montgomery, and Bachelor of Arts from Sophia University (Jochi Daigaku) International Division in Tokyo, Japan. Each degree was awarded during or between periods of his U.S. government service.
Jennifer Okubo Polido
Board Director
Jennifer Okubo Polido
Board Director
Jennifer R. Okubo Polido is a Board Director of the Nisei Veterans Legacy. Her grandfather, Yoshiichi Matsuo, was a Sergeant in the 442nd RCT, 100th Infantry Battalion, C Company, originally from Kona, Hawaii.
Jennifer is an attorney and has her own law practice, specializing in estate planning, and probate and trust administration. Jennifer’s past experience includes an associate attorney position with the Law Office of Stephen H. Reese, trust administration at First Hawaiian Bank’s Personal Trust Division, serving as a law clerk for the Honorable Colette Y. Garibaldi (criminal felonies) and as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney.
Jennifer R. Okubo Polido was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and is a graduate of Pearl City High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Human Resource Management from the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business, and received her law degree from the Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon.
Jennifer is passionate about helping others through her profession and volunteers throughout community. In addition to serving on the Board of the NVL, Jennifer volunteers with Project Dana and engages in pro bono work with the Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii as a volunteer attorney. She is also the Membership Development Committee Chair for the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce. She is also a member of the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Caitlin Shishido
Board Director
Caitlin Shishido
Board Director
Caitlin Shishido is a Board Director of the Nisei Veterans Legacy. She has served on the NVL membership committee and has aided with NVL Instagram postings. Her involvement in nisei veteran organizations was inspired by her grandfather, Yukio Naguwa who was in the 442nd RCT, I Company and was originally from Hilo, Hawaii.
Caitlin is a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Honolulu. Caitlin is originally from Wailuku, Maui and graduated from H.P. Baldwin High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Puget Sound, a Master’s in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington, and a Master’s and Doctorate degree in Zoology with an emphasis in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has done research all over the world from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Caitlin has also previously worked for Washington Sea Grant in Seattle.
In addition to being an NVL Board Director, Caitlin is a member of the Sons & Daughters of the 442nd and serves on the Alumni Council and as the Hawaii Regional Club Chair for the University of Puget Sound. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and family and taking their 2-year old corgi, Cheddar, to the beach and on hikes.
William Wright
Board Director
William Wright
Board Director
Dr. Wright entered military service in 1956, going from high school to Ft Jackson, SC for basic training. In 1957 he entered the US Military Academy at West Point, NY, graduating with a BS in Engineering in 1961, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt in the USAF. He served in intelligence operations in various locations, and commanded a joint service intelligence team during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Bronze Star and U.S. Army Unit Award for Valor for action during the Tet Offensive of 1968.
Returning from the war, he attended Texas A&M University and received a PhD in Computer Science with Operational Analysis. Subsequently he was engaged in space operations roles, retiring in 1981. Dr. Wright then served in management positions at the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company in Seattle, WA, retiring in 1995 as the Chief Computing Architect.
He then worked as a consultant to Microsoft and other companies in the computing technology, manufacturing, electrical power, transportation and oil and gas sectors. In 2000, he headed a start-up software company, which he sold in 2005 to became a full time consultant to the Department of Homeland Security, focused on counter nuclear terrorism. He retired from this service in 2015, and has since devoted his time to veteran organizations for Americans of Japanese ancestry, principally the Sons and Daughters of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Nisei Veterans Legacy of Hawaii. Dr. Wright is the son of 442nd RCT veteran, Col William P Wright.
The results of some of his work can be seen on the NVLChawaii.org website. He also gives talks and presentations on the background and history of the WWII Nisei contributions to America, with emphasis on the core values that make their legacy compelling.
Warren Yamamoto
Board Director
Warren Yamamoto
Board Director
Warren M. Yamamoto is a Board Director of the Nisei Veterans Legacy (NVL). He is the son of original 100th Infantry Battalion soldier Richard F. Yamamoto.
Warren graduated from Kaimuki High School where many of his classmates were also descendants of veterans from the four nisei units. He received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and his Masters of Science in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He began his career as a consultant and then went to the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services from where he retired.
In the early 1990’s, Warren was asked to form a descendant’s unit of Club 100, the veterans’ organization for the 100th Infantry Battalion. He and his group of veteran’s descendants formed the Sons and Daughters of the 100th Infantry Battalion as the successor group to Club 100, with Warren serving as the Sons and Daughters’ initial President. The Club eventually changed from a Veterans Club tax status to a social club status and the Sons and daughters’ role changed to more education oriented. The Sons and Daughter renamed themselves the 100th Infantry Battalion Legacy Organization. Warren has been administering the Organization’s scholarship program for the last several years.
Our Advisors
Wesley Deguchi
- Past President, Nisei Veterans Legacy
- Member, Sons & Daughters of the 442nd RCT (past President)
- Design Principal, Alakea Design Group
Warren Haruki
- President, Grove Farms, Inc.
- Former President, Hawaiian Telephone Co.
- Serves on several boards of directors
James Hirai
- Deputy Executive Director, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies
- Retired Brigadier General, U.S Army with over 30 years of command and leadership experience
Gary Okuda
- Civil and Commercial Litigation lawyer
- Partner, Leu Okuda and Doi
- Member, State Land Use Commission
Barbara Tanabe
- Former television news anchor
- President, Hoakea Communications
Suzanne P. Vares-Lum
- President, East-West Center
- Retired Major General, U.S. Army — Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, USINDOPACOM