Kenneth M. Higa

F and C Company

Kenneth Higa was born in 1918 in Kekaha, Kauai, the western most town in Kauai. After ninth grade he did not have transportation to go all the way to Lihue for high school, so he quit school and started working at the age of 14 in the sugar plantation. He quickly got promoted to the warehouse with the responsibility of ordering supplies until he entered the army in November 1941. He was an original member of the100th, F Company.

Higa was injured in May 1944 in Anzio and was transferred to many different hospitals. Talented in sketching, he created many pictures which were displayed on the hospital walls. After the war he attended business school and then worked as an office manager. At the age of 40, he decided to quit work and pursue his dream of getting an education. He got his GED, left HawaiI and went to college on the mainland. After graduating from Missouri State University, he worked as a CPA in Honolulu. Later, Higa taught accounting at Kapiolani Community College, retiring in 1983. He and his wife traveled extensively and were admired for their graceful ballroom dancing.