People: George Yoshida
Hawaii native finds home in Colorado, fulfillment in helping others
By Joe Nguyen
July 24, 2007
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Inside the conference room, dozens packed to watch Yoshida receive his award. A television news cameraman stationed his equipment at the back of the room as seats quickly filled, forcing many to stand in the back.

“What a pleasure it is for us to honor you today,” said Jim Moses, chairman of the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award committee.

Along with the award Yoshida received a $3,000 prize, which he donated to the Asian Pacific Development Center.

“The number of years you have spent helping others is impressive. The number of organizations you volunteer for is overwhelming. And you are a mentor, a reporter, you work on projects for kids in Aurora ... and the list goes on and on,” Moses said. “And on. And on.”

Chuckles from the crowd rose up in response to the additional comments.

“George has certainly demonstrated the spirit of selfless volunteerism that Minoru Yasui embraced and has left an indelible mark,” Moses said. “We celebrate this wonderful human being and thank him for the many ways our community is a better place for all people.”

Photo by Joe Nguyen George Yoshida was the recipient of the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award for April 2006.

George Yoshida was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. The island is paradise for those who live there.

“There's a saying in Hawaii that goes, 'Hawaii No Ka Oi,'” he said. “It means Hawaii is the best and there's no other place like it.”

He said as a child, he remembered seeing Japanese fighter planes fly overhead en route to attack Pearl Harbor.

“I climbed up (a mango) tree and watched the airplanes, and said, 'Jesus, this is realistic!'” he said. “ ... You could see the Japanese planes with the red rising sun shooting their machine guns.”

He said that could recall two distinct memories from World War II. The first was of the FBI coming to his house and taking his father away for interrogation. His father returned later that night, but didn't talk about what had happened.

“He took it to his grave,” Yoshida said.

The other memory was of Boys' Day – a Japanese holiday that focuses on respecting children's personalities and celebrate their happiness. But with the war, his parents got rid of many artifacts that commemorated it.

“On the outbreak of the war, what my folks did was destroy (the artifacts),” he said, “burned it and buried it.”

After the war, Yoshida attended both English and Japanese-language schools.

“I graduated from high school from Japanese school, but my Japanese is terrible,” he laughed. “I've forgotten most of it." >> continue