Mrs. Sundberg was the wife of wealthy American Ralph Sundberg, and the mother of Elsie Sundberg. She and her family lived in the American territory of Hawaii, and were trapped there when the Empire of Japan invaded and occupied the Islands in 1941-42. Mrs. Sundberg permitted her daughter to date young Japanese-American Kenzo Takahashi, in part because Kenzo was the son of a fisherman, and the Sundbergs would have access to some meat. However, when Kenzo saved Elsie from three drunken Japanese soldiers, the Sundbergs were legitimately pleased with Elsie's choice of suitor.