 Pitman was a hapa @-@ <unk> , of part Hawaiian and part Caucasian descent . His father was white and his native @-@ born mother was also part Caucasian from her own mother , who was the daughter of Captain Cox and a Hawaiian <unk> . Despite his mixed @-@ race ancestry , Pitman avoided the racial segregation imposed on other Native Hawaiian volunteers in this period . Most Native Hawaiians who participated in the war were assigned to colored regiments , but Pitman 's fair skin color meant he was able to serve in a white unit , indicating that unit assignment may have been influenced by how dark Hawaiians appeared . Historians Bob <unk> , James L. <unk> and others claimed Pitman was placed in the colored regiments because of his mixed race , but regiment records indicate otherwise . 
