George Toshio Inouye

Able Company, 100th Infantry Battalion

George Toshio Inouye was born in 1917 in Pepeʻekeo, Hawaiʻi, the eldest of seven children. After finishing the eighth grade, he left school to help support his family. He was a field worker on the sugar plantation, until he fell from a 25-foot embankment.

Following his fall, Inouye moved to Hilo and lived with his aunt and uncle Kiyosaki who were owners of the Kiyosaki General Store. He was immediately put to work as a delivery boy. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Mitsue “Mitzi” Yanabu, a sales clerk at the nearby Pick ‘N Pay Market.

When the United States entered World War II, Inouye volunteered for the U.S. Army, joining the unit that would become the famed 100th Infantry Battalion. Serving in Italy as a machine gunner, he fought on the front lines through the brutal campaigns from Salerno to Monte Cassino. He was severely wounded twice during combat and spent two years in hospitals in New York, and later and Menlo Park, California, recuperating from his injuries.

Despite needing crutches, Inouye returned home to Hilo between hospital stays to marry Mitzi. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon driving around the island of Hawaiʻi, and spending a few days in Kona before he returned to Menlo Park to continue rehabilitation. During this last hospitalization, Inouye completed business courses which prepared him to start his own wholesale produce business.

After his discharge from the U.S. Army, Inouye returned to Hilo to take over the Kiyosaki General Store with his partner, Isamu Kanekuni, a 442nd veteran. They eventually changed the name of the company to the Veterans’ Produce Exchange — a fitting tribute to their shared service and friendship.

Tragedy struck in 1960 when a tsunami devastated downtown Hilo and completely destroyed their business. Through will and determination and the assistance of the Small Business Administration, Inouye and Kanekuni rebuilt their business and achieved lasting success.

Outside of his business, Inouye was involved in many community organizations. Besides being an active member of Club 100, he served as the Hawaiʻi State Commander for the Disabled American Veterans. Inouye was also active in the Hawaiʻi Democratic Party, and for many years was Representative and then Senator Daniel Inouye’s field representative on the island of Hawaiʻi.

Despite the lingering effects of his wartime leg injuries, Inouye and his wife enjoyed ballroom dancing together. He was known as a good singer and a talented public speaker, often serving as an emcee at social functions, community gatherings and veterans’ events.

George and Mitzi raised four children — Kerry, Colleen Iwata, Newton, and Eric — all of whom made their homes in Hilo.

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