Help Stacey and Willie Share Lucy Dog's WWII Story

Aloha! My name is Stacey Hayashi and I am a filmmaker/comic book author from Hawaii. I have a passion for telling the story of the 100th Infantry, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most highly decorated unit in US military history for its size and time in combat. The 100th/442nd were AJA, as we say in Hawaii -- Americans of Japanese Ancestry. It's an inspiring true story of overcoming racism and adversity in a difficult time for our nation, and what it means to be an American.

In 2013, I learned that the 442nd's 3rd Battalion medics adopted a puppy in Luciana, a war-torn town in Italy, in July 1944. My dear friend, 442nd veteran Eddie Yamasaki, took the only photos I have seen of her (except for a couple photos in the book about the medics). She was paid for with candy (some kids owned her and a deal was negotiated), fed with an eyedropper, and even had her own dogtags. They named her Lucy (short for Luciana), and she became their mascot. All the medics adored her and she went all over Europe with them, providing immeasurable comfort and joy for those who saw the worst of what happens to soldiers in combat. After the war ended, medic Howard Kozuma brought her back to Hawaii.

I've been wanting to tell the story of Lucy for 11 years, but couldn't find the right artist. Until I met Willie Ito, legendary animator for Disney, Hanna Barbera, Warner Brothers (Looney Tunes), and so on and so forth. I'm so excited to now FINALLY be able to bring Lucy's story to the world and share her with you!