Pfc. Alvin Yoshitaka Kataoka, June 4, 1944

Drowned in an accident while training at Camp Savage, Minnesota
Alvin's father immigrated in 1907 and became a sugar cane farmer in Kamaee Mauka.  Alvin was raised there and participated in many Hakalau community activities. He went to Hakalau School, graduated from Hilo High in 1941 and was a student at the Honolulu Business School at the time he volunteered in January 1944.  Before departing, he was honored by the Hakalau community along with 4 others at a Chicken Hekka dinner. 
PFC Kataoka was stationed at Camp Savage, Minnesota Military Intelligence language school in training to prepare for interrogating prisoners of war and translating captured documents in the Pacific theater of war. He died in a drowning accident at a nearby lake on June 4, 1944. 
 
Memorial services were held in the Kamaee Mauka hall where several speakers commemorated his life. He was survived by his parents, 3 brothers and 2 sisters.  He was finally put to rest at the Veterans Cemetery in Hilo in February 1950.
For the Hakalau Kuleana, our responsibility is to care for the land, the people, and the culture. We are guided by cultural values of YESTERDAY: Engage in collective effort. Look out for each other. Honor hard work. Show respect for those who came before us. Aloha and Mālama `Aina. In 2021, Akiko Masuda added two more values to the list: Consistently show up. Whatever has to be done, jump in and do it!