Sakae Takahashi ( ja, 高橋栄, December 8, 1919April 16, 2001) was a Japanese American politician from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Early life and education

Takahashi was born on December 8, 1919, in

Makaweli Kaumakani (literally, "place in the wind" in the Hawaiian language) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 749 at the 2010 census, up from 607 at the 2000 census. History Kaumakani was off ...

. He grew up on a sugar plantation and attended

Waimea High School Waimea High School is a public high school in Waimea on the island of Kauai in the state of Hawaii. It was established in 1881 and serves grades 9 through 12. It is the westernmost high school in the United States of America. The school mascot ...

. After high school he studied at the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

on a scholarship and joined the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

Career

After graduating from college, Takahashi joined the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

and became a second lieutenant in 1941. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served as a member of the

100th Infantry Battalion The 100th Infantry Battalion ( ja, 第100歩兵大隊, ''Dai Hyaku Hohei Daitai'') is the only infantry unit in the United States Army Reserve. In World War II, the then-primarily Nisei battalion was composed largely of former members of the Haw ...

. He was the only survivor of 190 men during the battle of

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

. By the time he was discharged in 1946 he had risen to the rank of major. After leaving the army Takahashi studied law at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

. When he returned to Hawaii after graduation he worked as an attorney. He was elected to the

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

in 1950. Takahashi was elected to the Territorial Senate in 1954, and remained there when the territory became a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. He convinced

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative f ...

to enter politics that year, beginning the

Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954 The Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954 is a popular term for the territorial elections of 1954 in which the long dominance of the Hawaii Republican Party in the legislature came to an abrupt end, replaced by the Democratic Party of Hawaii whi ...

. He served in the senate until 1974, and as a delegate to the 1968 Constitutional Convention. He also worked with several other Japanese Americans to form

Central Pacific Bank Central Pacific Bank is an American regional commercial bank headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was founded by Koichi Iida, a Honolulu business leader, with assistance from Sumitomo Bank in Japan. Mr. Iida was President from 1954 to 1960. It ...

, which he served as the chairman of for 17 years. He also served on the boards of several other organizations. Takahashi died on April 16, 2001.

References

External links

Archival collection held by the Japanese American National MuseumOral history interview held by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
* Oral history interview held by the University of Hawaii at Manoa {{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Sakae 1919 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American politicians People from Kauai County, Hawaii University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Rutgers University alumni American military personnel of Japanese descent American politicians of Japanese descent Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent Members of the Hawaii Territorial Legislature Military personnel from Hawaii United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army reservists