Shiro `Kash' Kashino, Decorated War Veteran

Kodomo No Tame-ne, which means "for the sake of the children," is the motto that Shiro "Kash" Kashino lived by. It that placed him in the battlefield to fight for his country and, most of all, to prove his loyalty.

Mr. Kashino, decorated with six Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star for gallantry, was one of the most accomplished soldiers of the Second World War.

He was part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit of Japanese-American soldiers. Many of the soldiers in this unit had volunteered from internment camps. Mr. Kashino was one of them.

He died Wednesday (June 11) after a six-year battle with cancer. Mr. Kashino was 75.

Born in Seattle, Mr. Kashino was an all-city football player at Garfield High School and after graduation worked in a hardware and tackle store. All that would change.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor took place. Mr. Kashino was only 20 years old when he found himself, along with thousands of others, placed in internment camps. It was here that he met his wife of 51 years, Louise Kashino.

"I was pretty crazy about him from then. He had a tremendous personality," said Louise Kashino, referring to their first encounter at the temporary camp at the Puyallup fairgrounds.

From there the couple was transported to the permanent camp in Idaho called the Minidoka Relocation Camp.

Shortly after their arrival Mr. Kashino volunteered to be part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which took part in the liberation of a French town called Bruyeres, helped rescue the "Lost Battalion of Texan Soldiers," and broke through the Gothic Line after scaling the Italian Apennines.

According to his daughter, Debbie McQuilken of Kirkland, he was not only fighting for the liberation of these groups, but was fighting for "the sake of the children."

"My generation has had every opportunity available to us and we credit what my father's generation did," McQuilken said. "They opened the door by proving their loyalty."

Louise Kashino attended business college in Chicago and eagerly awaited his return. In 1945 they married.

After years of facing closed doors, Mr. Kashino eventually established a career in the automobile industry as a car salesman. Since 1975, he worked as a car salesman for Bill Pierre's Ford City in Lake City and was in management for the past 10 years.

McQuilken said that as she was growing up Mr. Kashino didn't talk about his past publicly. However, when he was diagnosed with cancer he realized he had a message he needed to convey.

"I think when he realized he had cancer he was more interested in telling his story," McQuilken said. "He wanted to leave a legacy for Japanese Americans to have pride in who we are."

He did this through telling stories that showed the bravery and courage of those Japanese Americans who fought in war, according to McQuilken.

Mr. Kashino was a past commander of the Nisei Veterans Committee and remained an active member until his death. One of his proudest accomplishments was helping to establish a Japanese-American veterans monument at Lake View Cemetery in 1949.

Mr. Kashino is also survived by daughters Kris (Stan) Hiraoka of Kirkland and Bev Kashino of Seattle; granddaughters Kari, Traci, Marisa and Shina; and sister Fumiko Tomita of Oakland, Calif.

Services are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church, 3001 24th Ave. S. in Seattle.