Hiro Higuchi (1907-1981) was born in Hilo, Hawaii, on 31 January 1907, to Kwan and Tsuya Higuchi. He was the fourth of five children. His father Kwan Higuchi converted to Christianity while attending Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, and became a Congregational clergyman. In the 1890s, Kwan came to Hawaii as a Christian missionary to the plantation workers, and his first church was in Paia, Maui. He later moved with his family to Hilo.

Hiro Higuchi attended Oberlin College from 1925-1929, and graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1930. He earned a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California in 1934. Higuchi then returned to Hawaii, where he served as a pastor at the Waipahu Community Church until 1952.

While attending USC, Higuchi met Hisako Watanabe of Los Angeles, and the couple married on 15 August 1935. Hisako was a social worker, and later became a teacher and then a public school principal. The couple had two children, Peter Kwan and Jane.

During World War II, Higuchi volunteered to serve as one of two chaplains attached to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a volunteer unit comprised of Japanese Americans that was formed in January 1943. Following his enlistment, he attended the U.S. Army Chaplain School at Harvard University in the fall of 1943. In November 1943, he joined the soldiers of the 442nd R.C.T. for intensive training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. In June 1944, the 442nd arrived in Italy, where it joined with the 100th Infantry Battalion, a Japanese American unit that had been fighting in Italy since September 1943. The 100th/ 442nd R.C.T. participated in fierce fighting in Italy and France, and at the war’s end it was the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its length of service and size.

As chaplain of the Second Battalion, Higuchi did not engage in battle, though his duties enabled him to experience firsthand the nature of war. He provided comfort and solace to the troops, held religious services on the front lines, transported the wounded and dead from the battlefield, comforted injured soldiers at first aid stations, wrote letters to the families of those killed in action, held memorial services, and performed various administrative duties.

By the time he was relieved from active duty following the end of the war, Higuchi had two battlefield commissions, and had attained the rank of captain. In December 1945, Higuchi returned to his family on Oahu, where he continued his work with the United Church of Christ. He then returned to Oberlin College where he received a Master’s in Divinity in 1952. Higuchi served as a chaplain in the Army Reserve, retiring at the rank of colonel in 1967.

Throughout his career, Higuchi was actively involved in building and repairing churches, and engaging with the community. In 1952, he became the pastor of the Waimea Christian Church on Kauai, where he also helped the community construct a swimming pool. Upon returning to Oahu, Higuchi served as the chaplain at the Oahu Prison in 1955. He also helped to build churches in Pearl City, Manoa Valley, Lanai City, Waialua, and at the Waimano Home.

In addition to his work as a minister, Higuchi was also active in the community. He served on the State Health Insurance Board, the Easter Seal Society of Hawaii Board of Directors, the Mayor’s Ethics Committee, the White House Conference on Aging, and he was a member of the University of Hawaii Alumni Board. He was active in the Lions Club, holding numerous leadership positions. Higuchi also maintained close contact with his fellow veterans as a member of the 442nd R.C.T. Veterans Club, Disabled American Veterans, and an honorary membership in the 100th Veterans Club.

Higuchi earned recognition for his service in the community, including being named State Father of the Year in Religion in 1961, and Alumni of the Year by the University of Hawaii in 1967. He received an Award of Recognition from the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ in 1967, and was recognized by the Hawaii State Legislature and the Honolulu City Council.

Hiro Higuchi died on 7 November 1981 at the age of 74. He is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) in Honolulu.

For additional biographical information, please consult Men and Women of Hawaii, 1972: A Biographical Directory of Noteworthy Men and Women of Hawaii, Betty Finley Buker, ed., (Honolulu: Star Bulletin Printing Co.): 244-245.