Uploaded November 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Masato Doi was born on the Big Island, Hawai'i, in the town of Pāʻauhau on February 4, 1921. While a student at the University of Hawai'i, he enlisted in the Hawai'i Territorial Guard. In February 1942, Masato registered to join the U.S. Army and was sent to Schofield Barracks on O'ahu. On May 2, 1944, he was shipped overseas to Europe as part of the 442nd RCT Anti-Tank Company where he fought in the Rome-Arno Campaign, Southern France Campaign, Rhineland-Maritime Alps Campaign and the Po Valley Campaign.
After the war ended, Masato contemplated joining the MIS in post-war Japan, but then decided to stay on the mainland where he enrolled at Columbia University and Columbia School of Law. Upon graduating, he and his wife, California native, Sachiko Yamada, moved back to Hawai'i in 1950 and raised their two children.
In addition to his private law practice, Masato continued to serve his community in Honolulu as a Territorial Representative, on the Board of Supervisors and on the City Council. He also served as a District Judge until his retirement in 1978, and he volunteered at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, Project Dana, and the Institute for Human Services. In this September 2003, Hanashi Oral History interview clip, Masato reveals what he feels is the legacy of the American soldiers of Japanese ancestry (AJA) who served in WWII.
Masato Doi was born on the Big Island, Hawai'i, in the town of Pāʻauhau on February 4, 1921. While a student at the University of Hawai'i, he enlisted in the Hawai'i Territorial Guard. In February 1942, Masato registered to join the U.S. Army and was sent to Schofield Barracks on O'ahu. On May 2, 1944, he was shipped overseas to Europe as part of the 442nd RCT Anti-Tank Company where he fought in the Rome-Arno Campaign, Southern France Campaign, Rhineland-Maritime Alps Campaign and the Po Valley Campaign.
After the war ended, Masato contemplated joining the MIS in post-war Japan, but then decided to stay on the mainland where he enrolled at Columbia University and Columbia School of Law. Upon graduating, he and his wife, California native, Sachiko Yamada, moved back to Hawai'i in 1950 and raised their two children.
In addition to his private law practice, Masato continued to serve his community in Honolulu as a Territorial Representative, on the Board of Supervisors and on the City Council. He also served as a District Judge until his retirement in 1978, and he volunteered at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, Project Dana, and the Institute for Human Services. In this September 2003, Hanashi Oral History interview clip, Masato reveals what he feels is the legacy of the American soldiers of Japanese ancestry (AJA) who served in WWII.
