September 16, 2026
We are saddened to announce that after battling with illness, James Y.S. Yap passed away on August 29, 2026 in Arlington, VA. A proud sponsor of FilVetREP since its founding in 2015, James Yap generously donated to FilVetREP’s education projects and supported its advocacy campaigns for many years.
“James was a passionate supporter and top donor to our program. We are immensely grateful for his commitment and dedication to the cause of Filipino World War II Veterans. Their untold stories continue to be told due in large measure to big-hearted individuals like James. He will be missed by his colleagues and many friends in the community who appreciate his humility, thoughtfulness and generosity. We have conveyed FilVetREP’s condolences to his family,” said FilVetREP Chairman Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret).
James will be interred at the Hawaiian Memorial Park in Kaneohe, Hawaii on Sept. 19, 2026.
The following is his obituary.
James Y. S. Yap was born on July 7, 1952, in Honolulu, Hawaii and passed away on August 29, 2026, in Arlington, VA.
While growing up in Kaneohe, James and his sister Jo-Ann were constant companions, participating in 4H, having combat battles in the living and playing wiffle ball in the backyard. He was a caddy during his teen years and during the summer he worked at the Dole Cannery (a rite of passage for anyone growing up in Hawaii).
He graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in Economics. During his college years and after, he worked part time at the Hilton Hawaiian Village as a bus boy. He worked for the State of Hawaii in the Department of Human Services where he met Marie Blanco. They became incredibly good friends, and it was Marie who convinced him to move to the DC area which he did in 1980. He accepted a position at the Bureau of Labor Statistics where he met his lifelong friends, John Maurello, George Abrahams, and Mary Beth Scaggs, Pat and Tracy Goetz. He met lpo Lung through Marie and spent time at her house when he first moved to the area.
George was his best friend and companion for live theater performances, especially the Grateful Dead. He was an uncle to George and Kate’s children, Michael and Sam. They had good laughs reminiscing about George’s propensity to lose Grateful Dead tickets within minutes of receiving them from James.
He held various jobs within the Federal Government and ended his career as a Financial Analyst Manager with the Naval Sea System Command (NAVSEA) retiring in 2012.
He enjoyed his federal and naval career, and he liked to joke about “rounding the naval ship budgets to the nearest billion.” He treasured the friendships he made throughout his life and career, and he remained devoted to the many colleagues and Deadhead group who became his ohana.
He enjoyed traveling around the country with his parents when he moved to the DC area. He would later attend University of Hawaii road games with his brother Tommy, his nephew Conrad and his wife Lauren. He made an annual visit to Hawaii to see friends and family and made time to eat all his favorite Hawaii foods- Manapua, Halo Halo, laulau, kalua pig, poi and slush floats.
For decades, James managed a team in the Arlington Adult Softball league, recruiting “players”, collecting fees, and purchasing uniforms. He also joined his dear friend and concert buddy, Shirley Brothwell, as a volunteer with the Arlington Little League (ALL), helping manage equipment and supporting and sponsoring various little league initiatives. James annually attended All’s Opening Day where he caught up with friends and enjoyed watching the kids play. He was a die-hard Washington Nationals fan and kept saying he would move back to Hawaii after the Nats won the World Series Championship. The team delivered in 2019, but he stayed in Arlington. He also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, at the Smithsonian Institute as docent for the Kaho’olawe Exhibit in support of the Hawaii.
Congressional delegation to restore and renovate the Island revered by the Hawaiian people and he participated in Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage activities including the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project.
He had an encyclopedic knowledge of music and was eager to hear live music of all kinds. He attended over 100+ Grateful Dead concerts and was an ardent supporter of the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, the Smithsonian Institution, The Edge of the Universe Theater, and the Washington DC Hawaiian community. He was a regular at the Birchmere, Jammin’ Java and a Sunday foreign film club.
He generously donated tickets to performances to his friends and hosted Chinese banquet dinners on many occasions and shared his Wolf Trap parking pass and Circle Lounge donor access freely. He was always a ray of sunshine with his sense of humor, quick wit, unpretentious manner, and kindness to all. He was frugal to a fault and would prefer to give to others rather than spending on himself. He was extremely generous to charities, family, and friends and refused to get knee surgery for his terribly arthritic knees despite increasing disability and urging by friends and family.
He was devoted to Marie’s dog, Anjin, and walked him regularly. He loved baseball, golfing, discussing politics, keeping up with the happenings in Hawaii and he enjoyed his macadamia nut chocolates, ice cream drumsticks, and Peking duck. His home away from home was the Crystal City Sports Pub which he frequented for over a decade.
He lived with generosity, kindness, humor, and aloha, touching everyone fortunate enough to know him, and he was immensely proud of his nephews while grieving deeply over the family and friends he had lost over the years.
He is survived by his brother, Thomas, sister Jo-Ann Lung (David Schwartz), his nephews, Kevin Lung (Melody Chen) and Brian Schwartz, niece-in-laws Donna Matsumoto and Lauren Baucom, grandniece Sabinne Matsumoto and grandnephew Kai Lung. He is predeceased by his sister, Kathleen Thomas and nephews Conrad Hise and Lee Matsumoto and parents Joseph and Margaret Yap.
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The Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP), is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, community-based, all-volunteer national initiative whose mission is to obtain national recognition of Filipino and American WW11 soldiers across the United States and the Philippines for their wartime service to the U.S. and the Philippines from July 26, 1941 to December 31, 1946. For more information about Filipino WWII veterans and how to get involved, visit our website at www.filvetrep.org or find us on Facebook or Twitter.