Martina Kekuewa Fuentevilla, a lifelong resident of Kona, Hawaii, was born on September 30, 1908, in Honaunau, South Kona, Hawaii. Raised by her kahu hanai, a system of guardianship commonly practiced in Hawaii, she lived separately from her mother, who resided with Martina's grandparent. Throughout her life, Martina held various jobs, including a coffee picker, tobacco stringer, hat weaver, and entertainer. She began her career as an entertainer at a young age, playing music with her aunt, Mrs. Kelekolio. In 1927, she married Leon Labadios Fuentevilla, with whom she had six children.

Peter Martin, Portuguese-Hawaiian, was born in Kalihi on June 29, 1905. His family owned a taro patch in the area behind the present Kalihi Union Church. As a youth, Peter was active in neighborhood sports and was a member of the Kalihi Thundering Herd barefoot football team in the 1920s. He attended K~lfhi-Waena School and completed the tenth grade at McKinley High School. Peter then began working as a sailor on an inter-island lighthouse boat, transporting gas tanks to different lighthouses. In 1932, Peter secured a job as a streetcar and trolley conductor for Honolulu Rapid Transit.

Sabas T. Jamito, Tagalog, was born in Camarines Norte, Philippines on January 12, 1912. At the age of five months, he and his family immigrated to the Big Island of Hawaii. Until 1922, when the family moved to Hilo, Sabas lived on various sugar plantations: Papaaloa, Paauilo, Ookala, and Olaa. While in Hilo, Sabas helped his father in the sugarcane fields and earned money as a shoe shine boy. He attended Kapiolani School, Hila Union School, Hilo Intermediate, and Hila High. In 1929, Sabas began his boxing career in Hilo, making five dollars a fight.

Yen Cheung Au, Chinese, the sixth of sixteen children, was born in Waiahole, Oahu on March 7, 1894. His father was a rice farmer in Waiahole. Yen Cheung helped his father in the fields by scaring away the birds which threatened the rice crops. He also helped the family by catching fish and shrimp.