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Corporal Yasutoshi Takushi

Takushi's yearbook photograph. He is wearing a jacket and tie.
  • Unit: 780th Field Artillery Battalion
  • Date of Birth: August 13, 1929
  • Entered the Military: July 24, 1951
  • Date of Death: December 1, 2017
  • Hometown: Maui and Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
  • Place of Death: Creve Coeur, Missouri
  • Award(s): Bronze Star Medal, Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars, UN Service Medal
  • Cemetery: Section 2A, Grave 137. Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri
Contributed by Katherine Arterburn and Max Merchiori
Mentored by Mrs. Katherine Hoerner
Belleville East High School
2024/2025

Early Life

Yasutoshi Takushi was born in Huelo, Hawaiʻi on August 13, 1929. His mother and father, Augi and Kamata Takushi, were Japanese immigrants and the parents to seven children. 

The family made their living working on a pineapple plantation on Maui. In 1930, Augi was a laborer and field worker. Ten years later, he was still a field worker, and his wife, Kamata, was working as a trimmer in a pineapple canning factory. By 1950, Yasutohi’s older brother, Yasukiko, worked as a spray boom operation on the pineapple plantation. 

The Takushi family, living in Maui, Hawaiʻi, in 1930. National Archives and Records Administration.
The Takushi family, living in Maui, Hawaiʻi, in 1940. National Archives and Records Administration.

Homefront

Takushi spent much of his pre-Korea years amid the vibrant landscape of Maui, Hawaiʻi,, an area which was largely dominated  by fishing, pineapple production, and sugar cane farming. After World War II, unionization, expanding employment opportunities, and growing private land ownership eliminated plantations. 

As business owners looked for new ways to earn money, tourism became increasingly more prevalent, with Maui’s first hotel opening in 1946 in conjunction with a mass exodus of 24% of Maui’s population between 1940 and 1960 as farm jobs grew scarce while access to the mainland became more accessible. Throughout this period, an ongoing labor movement allowed for an elevated quality of life as schools improved, public services became more prevalent, workers rights strengthened, and wages elevated amidst the shift from plantation work to hospitality.

Pineapple field in Hawaii, c.1910-1925. Library of Congress (93510998).

Military Experience

On July 24, 1951, Takushi was drafted into the Korean War. According to his daughter, Carla Bennet, when he left Hawaiʻi, the person in charge of Hawaiian recruits told another official that they needed to stop sending people of his “kind” to the front lines because it was “unfair.” Takushi carried out his duty. 

During the war, Takushi trained as an automobile mechanic, repairing Army Jeeps and other military vehicles. He honed his mechanical skills with courses in tracked vehicle mechanics in Ordnance School and was assigned to the 780th Field Artillery Battalion.

The battalion deployed for Korea. They operated eight-inch howitzers. During Takushi’s service, this battalion created a “hybrid cannon” at the 38th parallel and fought in the Haean Basin, Kajon-Ni, and Taeam-sam Ridge. Records indicate that he was injured. On February 22, 1953, he was flown back to Hawaiʻi from Haneda Air Force Base in Japan and hospitalized. On April 23, 1953 he was discharged from the U.S. Army for service in the U.S. Army Reserves.

In July, Takushi, released from the hospital, was presented with a Bronze Star Medal from Colonel Kendall J. Fischer at Fort Shafter.

After Takushi’s service in the war, he continued his service in the Army Reserves.

A newspaper article lists 20 men from Maui departing for Honolulu to join the Army. Honolulu Star-Advertiser, July 23, 1951.
Photographs from a member of the 780th Field Artillery Battalion in 1952 in Korea. On the back of the photograph is written, “this is what they have been making us do.” Courtesy of Janet Gayle Johnson McCalla.
Newspaper article detailing awards to be presented at Fort Shafter, Hawaiʻi.  Honolulu Star-Advertiser, July 18, 1953.
Photograph of Yasutoshi Takushi (fourth from left, wearing a Hawaiian shirt) receiving his bronze star at Fort Shafter, Hawaiʻi. Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 21, 1953.

Eulogy

Following his military service, Yasutoshi Takushi attended college at the Indiana Institute of Technology, where he participated in the Bowling Club and Hawaiian Club. Soon after, he began working at Fire Fenders, an automotive shop. 

He continued his interest in mechanics, designing astronaut simulators for McDonnell Douglas and, later, the Boeing Corporation. He married Barbara Sue Warnky and he raised two children, Carla and David, in Creve Coeur, Missouri. He stayed active in his church, Atonement Lutheran in Florissant, Missouri, until his death on March 14, 2017.

Yasutoshi Takushi’s yearbook picture at the Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1957.
Yasutoshi Takushi joined the Hawaiian Club at the Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1957. He is standing in the back row, fourth from the right.
Yasutoshi Takushi as a Veteran. Courtesy of Carla Bennett.

Commemoration

Yasutoshi Takushi died on March 14, 2017. He rests at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Takushi left behind a family in a country made better because of his innovative work, storied life, and selfless service.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

“20 Maui Men Will Enter Army Tuesday.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser [Honolulu, HI], July 23, 1951. Newspapers.com (259203823). 

“10 Awards To Be Presented At Ft. Shafter.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser [Honolulu, HI], July 18, 1953. Newspapers.com (258539486). 

780th Field Artillery Battalion B Battery – Korea – 1952-1953. Photograph Collection. 1952-1953. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jgjm/albums/72157627408786867/with/6087355957. 

Bennett, Carla. Email interview with author. January 8, 2025.

Decorations for Service. Photograph. Honolulu Star-Bulletin [Honolulu, HI], July 21, 1953. Newspapers.com (280403529). 

Hawaii. Maui. 1930 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

Hawaii. Maui. 1940 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

Hawaii. Maui. 1950 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

Kekiongan. Indiana Institute of Technology, 1955. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

Kekiongan. Indiana Institute of Technology, 1957. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

Yasutoshi Takushi, DD-214, Department of the Army. National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.

Yasutoshi Takushi. Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S., Arriving and Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959. https://ancestryclassroom.com.

“Yasutoshi Takushi.” Legacy. Last modified March 15, 2017. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.legacy.com/funeral-homes/obituaries/name/yasutoshi-takushi-obituary.

Yasutoshi Takushi. U.S., Phone and Address Directories. https://ancestryclassroom.com/. 

Secondary Sources

“Barbara Sue Warnky Stuckman.” Find a Grave. Updated August 22, 2020. Accessed March 5, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/214703942/barbara_sue-stuckman. 

“Economic History of Hawai’i” Economic History Association. Accessed November 13, 2024. https://eh.net/encyclopedia/economic-history-of-hawaii/. 

Hames, Jacqueline M. “Forgotten Fire: Bitter Cold, a Big Gun, Initiative to Spare.” U.S. Army. Updated July 27, 2010. Accessed March 18, 2025. https://www.army.mil/article/42897/forgotten_fire_bitter_cold_a_big_gun_initiative_to_spare.

“History of Labor in Hawaii.” Center for Labor Education and Research University of Hawaii-West O’ahu.  Accessed November 15, 2024. https://www.hawaii.edu/uhwo/clear/home/HawaiiLaborHistory.html

“Maui Island History.” Maui County Last modified March 2008. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3231/History. 

“The Impact of World War II on Hawaii.” Maalaea Town.  Accessed November 15, 2024. https://maalaea.com/impact-of-world-war-ii-on-hawaii/.

“Yasutoshi Takushi.” National Cemetery Administration. Accessed October 6, 2024. https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ngl/result#results-content.

“Yasutoshi Takushi.” Veterans Legacy Memorial, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed March 5, 2025. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/YASUTOSHITAKUSHI/0847F79. 

“Yasutoshi ‘Yasu’ Takushi.” Find a Grave. Updated March 15, 2017. Accessed December 28, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177394531/yasutoshi-takushi.  

This profile was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.