on the morning of 7 december 1941, the empire of japan attacked pearl harbor, marking the beginning of world war ii for the united states. after the attack, japanese-americans and those of japanese descent faced prejudice at home. chaos ensued in the hours that followed the pearl harbor attack, but the 298th and 299th hawaii national guard prepared for an invasion, cleared the rubble, donated their blood, and aided the wounded. however, three days after the attack, the units' rifles were stripped from them because of the ethnicity of members; eventually those rifles were returned. nisei that were a part of the rotc program at the university of hawaii were discharged from the hawaii territorial guard. those former members eventually formed the varsity victory volunteers.