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AARP Hawai`i Sponsors “Defining Courage” Live Show at Hawai`i Theatre

The “Defining Courage” performance coming to the Hawai`i Theatre is hard to define, but well worth seeing.

It’s the story of the World War II nisei soldiers, many of them from Hawai`i, who fought discrimination at home and tyranny in Europe and the Pacific. The story of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service translators has been told before in movies, books and news accounts.

But seeing “Defining Courage” performed live with video on a big screen, narration, and music tells the story in an innovative and impactful way. Journalist David Ono and co-producer Jeff MacIntyre filmed the battlefields of Europe and Japan where the nisei soldiers fought and talked to survivors and the children of veterans to share the story of how the 100th Battalion and 442nd formed in Hawai`i and of their courage and bravery.

AARP Hawai`i is helping to bring the show here – it’s the first time “Defining Courage” is being performed outside of Los Angeles. Tickets are available at DefiningCourageShow.com.  We’re sponsoring the show as part of our efforts to support veterans, military caregivers and diversity. It’s especially worthwhile for younger audiences who may not know of the history of the nisei soldiers. But anyone who appreciates a live show, compelling story and history will benefit from going.

The first show on March 18 is sold out, but a second show on April 23 has been added.

Ono says he hopes audiences leave the show with an appreciation for the courage not just of the soldiers, but within all of us.

“At those moments when I feel I need a dose of courage, I think about these guys,” Ono says.

“There are so many things that require us to be courageous in life – health, a cancer diagnosis, fighting racial discrimination,” he continues. “As bad as you may think your situation is, it’s nothing compared to what they went through. They still managed to rise to the occasion. It goes so far beyond a history lesson.”

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