Herbert Isonaga was born in 1921 in Koloa, Kauai. His parents, Tokuichi and Kazuyo Isonaga, owned Isonaga Store in Koloa. Herbert attended Koloa School and Kauai High School where he was elected senior class president. After graduating, he spent some time in Oregon to help on his uncle's strawberry farm and also attended university there. He returned to Hawaii in 1941 to become a student at the University of Hawaii and work part-time for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Herbert participated in the discussions and planning of the Varsity Victory Volunteers (VVV), and he joined the VVV to be a part of the war effort. The VVV was attached to the 34th Combat Engineers Regiment at Schofield Barracks. Work crews were organized among the 169 men, and Herbert volunteered for the kitchen crew. When the army issued a call for nisei volunteers, a majority of the VVV, including Herbert, enlisted in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. At Camp Shelby, Herbert was assigned to the antitank platoon of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion. After several months of training, Herbert shipped out to Italy. In Europe, Herbert saw combat as part of the antitank platoon and fulfilled additional duties such as hauling rations and ammunition and assisting in bringing wounded to the aid station. After the end of the war in Europe, Herbert was recruited for the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), but before he could attend MIS Language School Japan surrendered and he was released from service and returned to Hawaii. He continued his college education at the University of Hawaii with GI Bill benefits and after graduation opened a bookstore near the university. Later he ran Herbie's Drive-in, and after selling that business he went into real estate. He married Sue Kobatake in 1949 and the couple had three children. Herbert passed away on April 1st, 2009.