Military Veterans

About 60 incarcerees at Honouliuli had connections to military service, either they themselves served (WWI, WWII) or sons or brothers. The 100th Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) were all represented. One such individual was Sanji Abe who was a U.S. Army veteran of WWI. During his incarceration at Honouliuli, two of his sons served in the U.S. Army. George served with the medical detachment with the 100^th Battalion and Stanley was a linguist with the MIS. Sanji Abe was also the first Japanese American elected to the Senate of the Territory of Hawai'i (Hawai'i was not yet a state and was a Territory of the US).

It is unknown if the guards were aware they were watching over fellow servicemen. However, what is known is that the unit tasked with guarding the Honouliuli Internment Camp was the 372nd Regiment, a segregated unit comprised of African Americans. Also sent to guard the incarcerated civilians were Japanese American, and Korean American soldiers. The Japanese and Korean American guards would help with translating for the Japanese and Korean POWs. The incarcerated Japanese residents and citizens would also provide similar translation services.

The MIS also visited Honouliuli to practice interrogation techniques on the Japanese POWs.