Journey of Heroes

JOURNEY OF HEROES was created to raise awareness of the Nisei soldier, most specifically the exploits of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team, and to do so in a modern, engaging, and accessible format for a wide audience. It is a comprehensive, historically accurate, 30-page book highlighting the achievements of the United States’ most highly decorated unit for its size and time in combat through 70 years of history, from pre-WWII to present day. The book is internationally acclaimed, having been in the media in Italy and Japan as well as the US, and has made appearances at numerous Japanese American and/or Nisei veteran museums and cultural centers, army museums and historically significant sites, and has exhibited at the prestigious Comic Con International in San Diego in 2013.

Stacey T. Hayashi is a Hawaii-based serial entrepreneur and founder of the successful PainaGirl family of websites, which includes Hawaiian Wedding Shop. A former software engineer before starting her own company, Ms. Hayashi is one of the earliest pioneers in the development of internet-based businesses focused on the manufacturing and distribution of Hawaiian products, and brings a formidable set of planning, operational and marketing skills to both her technology-based businesses as well as the multitude of social and advocacy enterprises that she devotes her time to. Her interest in Japanese American and Hawaii culture led to the development of a multimedia project celebrating the heroism and cultural significance of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The internationally-acclaimed and historically accurate manga “Journey of Heroes,” which she wrote and published in 2012, serves as the basis for her ultimate project: an eight-part miniseries to properly honor and commemorate the men of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team and other segregated Japanese American units. Ms. Hayashi is an expert on the history of the nisei soldiers of WWII and is a popular speaker at many related events.