You no doubt never heard of someone named Earl Finch. Need to be of Japanese ethnicity living in Hawaii to have any interest in him. I recall his reputation, and saw an article yesterday in the local Star-Advertiser to recall this bit of memory.
But first, I had a particular joy of life (you need to read my posting of yesterday) last night. For reasons that defy any sure explanation, I slept 11 straight hours without waking up even once. The last time this happened, not sure, but certainly, maybe more than a third of a century ago, if ever. My speculation is that my walking exercise program was the primary reason, (did three mile-long walks), plus a sense of mild euphoria about my present life.
Also, too, no worries on my mind. The only conflict is that there are three University of Hawaii sport teams playing in roughly the same frame, and a UFC fight involving the only local person of any noteworthiness:
Don't miss UFC 326: Holloway vs Oliveira 2, live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 7, 2026. The early prelims start at 5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT, followed by the prelims at 7pm ET/4pm PT, and the main card at 9pm ET/6pm PT. The entire card can be streamed live on Paramount+.
All this complication was made possible by me now having access to new streaming channels, Paramount+ and ESPN+. Of course, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is also too brutal for me, and I don't remember the last time I even watched this sport.
One more aside: the war in Iran.
- The price of oil is now at just around $90/barrel.
- Was wallowing at $65/barrel until this war.
- Only five years ago, the price topped at $120+/barrel.
- Go to the right column and click on WHAT IS THE PRICE OF OIL--WTI Crude Oil.
- According to Google AI, gasoline will roughly be $4/gallon (mind you, this is what Hawaii normally pays, even when oil was $65/barrel) when WTI crude trades between $90 and $110/barrel.
- In other words, oil companies have wide flexibility to maximize their profits.
In the meantime, keep an eye on how many ships actually pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Current indications are that hundreds of them are awaiting something more assuring than the current status.
According to Google AI, this current conflict with Iran is costing the USA between $890 million to $1 billion/DAY.- Munitions replacement alone is costing us $758 million/day.
- And no matter what Trump says, we are seriously depleting our replacement reserves.
- They also cost a lot. Watch this video.
- That Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THHAD) missile we use to intercept Iranian missiles/drones EACH cost $13 million. Patriot PAC-3 interceptors cost around $4 million, each.
- The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) costs anywhere from $3.5 million to $20 million each.
Tomahawk cruise missiles cost between $1.2 million and $3.5 million each.- Each B-2 Spirit bomber costs between $130,000 and $150,000 per hour to operated. You'd think we had a hundred or more of these, but the entire fleet consists of 19 Spirits.
- Iranian drones are said to cost $20,000 each.
So while we spend a lot of money and time (takes 5 years to catch up at the current rate of usage) to provide munition replacements, we need some complementary strategy.- Looks like Israel and the U.S. will soon begin to coordinate tactically manned-missions in addition to bombings.
- These forays could be air-protected while invading troops take out nuclear, command and other enemy enclaves protected from munitions.
- Attempts will be made to arm enemies of the Supreme Leader (the overwhelming local population appears to be anti-Supreme Leader) by sending teams of militia to provide this form of input.
- Iraeli and American military casualties will escalate into the hundreds. Unless the war suddenly ends.
Now on to Earl Finch, called a one-man USO, who supported nisei soldiers in World War II by Bob Sigall in his Rearview Mirror column yesterday.
- Remember Pearl Harbor? I don't because I was only a little more than a year old when Japan attacked this port on 7December1941, but my mother told me she was holding me in her arms and pointed to the smoke emanating from this bombing.
Two things happened.- Local Japanese men of the right age volunteered to fight for the USA.
- As it was Japan that did the invasion, any Japanese person in the country was a suspect, and internment camps were established to hold perhaps 2000 local citizens, who seemed important, and most were eventually sent to mainland camps. More than 120,000 American Japanese throughout the USA.
- Turns out that throughout WW2, Japanese born in the U.S. were totally loyal. From Google AI:
Despite intense suspicion and the incarceration of approximately 2,000 community leaders (about 1.5% of the population) in Hawaii, no evidence of illegal, traitorous activity was ever found.
Here are the key details regarding the Nisei experience in Hawaii:
- No Sabotage: Thorough investigations by the FBI and military intelligence concluded that there was no sabotage or subversion by local Japanese during or after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Mass Loyalty: While over 10,000 Japanese Americans in Hawaii were arrested and interrogated during the war, this was largely due to fear and suspicion rather than evidence of wrongdoing.
- The "Enemy Alien" Label: Despite 37,000 Issei (first-generation) being declared "enemy aliens," not a single one was found guilty of an overt act of sabotage under U.S. laws.
- Military Service Proof: Thousands of Nisei from Hawaii served in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, becoming one of the most highly decorated units in U.S. history, directly contradicting fears of disloyalty.
- Internal Disruptions: The only "crimes" frequently cited were minor violations of martial law regulations, such as breaking curfews or blackout restrictions.
Well, in any case, back to Finch:
- Initially, these Japanese nisei were not trusted by the U.S. government.
- In 1943, most of these Japanese Americans who could enlist went to Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi for basic training, which was not exactly a welcoming place for Asian men and other minorities. Many of the soldiers were spat on and insulted by these Mississippians.
Hattiesburg to Honolulu
“They just didn’t understand, that’s all. They were good people. I felt sorry for them. Their way of life had long gone, but they didn’t know it. They still clung to the long dead past. I was often asked why I did what I did. I was accused of being a homosexual, a draft dodger. Name it, and I was labeled. I guess I felt that those boys at Camp Shelby needed a friend. They were Americans, away from home. I had no ulterior motives. I just liked them, that’s all.”
— Earl M. Finch
However, niseis found one man waving his hat and shouting welcome to them....Earl M. Finch, a 28-year old cattle rancher who owned a store in town. He became known as the Patron Saint of the Japanese-American GI by the Saturday Evening Post.- One day, Finch saw two soldiers looking into store windows, and invited them to Sunday dinner with him and his mother. He learned that thousands of these young niseis had been greeted with slurs and abuse, and couldn't even enter stores and restaurants in town.
- So Finch rented a vacant space and organized the first Japanese American USO canteen, arranged for a dance and rented three Greyhound buses, bringing 150 nisei women and chaperones to two Arkansas internment camps, 300 miles away.
- A band was hired, and there was dancing till midnight.
- At the end, these boys sang Aloha Oe as their guests boarded buses to dormitories.
- At breakfast the next day, they sang To You Sweetheart Aloha, as the buses left for Arkansas.
- He later arranged for Christmas and New Year's parties, feasts and sightseeing tours to New Orleans, DC and New York.
- At his own expense he brought in "local" food.
Late Senator Daniel Inouye at the age of 17 remembered the first time he saw Finch at Camp Shelby was only one white man shouting welcome. Inouye said.
“Here was a man who started a one-man civil rights movement without fanfare, without demonstrations, without violence. And I think, in many ways he was successful. We thank God that Earl Finch was there to greet us in Mississippi.”
- When these Niseis were sent to Europe, MORE THAN 1500 OF THEM asked Finch to be the executor of their estates if they were killed in combat. Finch logged over 75,000 miles visiting wounded GIs in hospitals and some of their families in internment camps.
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team (I joined the 442nd as a reserve a quarter century later) became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history with their counterpart 100th Infantry Battalion.- I worked for Senator Spark Matsunaga, who was one of the first volunteers, and carried a German shrapnel in his knee from a war wound in Europe.
- These two military units were awarded more than 4000 Purple Hearts (Matsunaga was one of them) and 4000 Bronze Stars.
- Senator Inouye had his Distinguished Service Cross upgraded to a Medal of Honor in 2000. He lost his right arm in combat.
- Watch this 2023 2-hour Gala honoring these Go for Broke guys.
When Finch was asked why he did so much for the nisei soldiers, he said: They, more than most American, English or French servicemen, know what they are fighting for.- Said the Saturday Evening Post, Finch befriended 10,000 lonely Japanese Americans with no more reason than affection for an unjustly accused and misunderstood minority.
- After the war, Finch continued to fight for AJA rights, helping veterans get jobs and loaned money to many to got into business themselves. Hundreds of them named their first son Earl.
So in 1946, these GIs raised money to bring Finch to Hawaii.- A 100-car motorcade took him to a hero's welcome at Iolani Palace and City Hall, where he was given a key to the city.
- Over 25 days on 5 islands, 15,000 came to see him.
- Finch a year later moved to Hawaii and opened a candy store and other businesses.
He teamed with Ralph Yempuku and Tom Moffat to produce 34 "Show of Stars" rock and roll concerts in the Civic Auditorium: Buddy Holly, Everly Brothers, Paul Anka, Chuck Berry, the Coasters, the Shirelles and many more, selling 680,000 tickets.- Finch at the age of 49 suddenly died of a heart attack in 1965.
- Governor John Burns said:
After the war, Earl adopted Hawaii as his home and Hawaii adopted him as one of its own. Earl was a shining example of the true spirit of aloha. We shall surely miss him.”
Finch was buried at Diamond Head Memorial Park on August 25, 1965. His headstone, a simple bronze plaque, only lists his name and the dates of his birth and death. Missing are his countless acts of kindness and the thousands of lives that he touched. But Earl Finch, who just wanted to be a good friend, would have had it no other way. That is not Finch's headstone. A 2015 Rearview Mirror explains this.
Said Sigall:
The story of the 442nd and Earl Finch reminds us that change often begins with individuals who choose to stand up for truth or justice when everyone else is silent.
One student said, “Perhaps the most lasting lesson is to stand up for what you believe in, and find a mission that engages you deeply enough to devote your life to it.”
Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com or sign up for his free email newsletter at RearviewMirrorInsider.com.
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