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Nisei Soldiers part 2 | Memorial Day 2023
306th HQ Intelligence Detachment, XXIV Corps, Leyte, Philippines, November 1, 1944. Front row, l to r: George Shimotori, Saburo Okamura, Thomas Sasaki, Francis Yamamoto Herbert Nishihara, Warren Tsuneishi. Back row, l to r: Hiroshi Itow, Joe Nishihara, Lt. Richard Kleeman, TSgt George Takabayashi, Lloyd Shimasato.
(Signal Corps photo)
When the first graduates were sent to the Pacific and landed in Australia, they were part of the Americal troops. Many were sent to help with the fighting on Iwo Jima, which MacArthur felt was taking far too long to complete. Some stayed and worked with the Australian troops and others went to British or Canadian units. (Canada also had their own S-20 Japanese Language School in Vancouver, British Columbia to train interpreters.) Only the U.S. Navy rejected the linguists. Admiral Halsey did in fact understand their importance and requested some MIS’ers for his fleet, but as a whole, Nimitz and the rest of the navy wanted to continue using their own intelligence personnel. (A very serious mistake in Leyte Gulf.)
Nisei at work in Manila, 1945
It was difficult to locate the Nisei that worked G-2 specifically for the 11th Airborne and when because the men were rarely ever put on the official rosters. A MISer could train with the 11th Airborne on New Guinea and by December he was in Burma or up in the Aleutians. They were as difficult to track as the 11th A/B themselves. One Nisei found himself stuck at the Panama Canal, not at all certain what he was supposed to do there.
Ben Hazzard (mustache) w/ the 306th Language Detachment
But, I did manage to locate a fair number of fellow paratroopers from Smitty’s division: Clarence Ohta and John Nakahara jumped with the 11th on Luzon. George Kojima, Koshi Ando and James Harada were with the 503d Regiment. Harry Akune jumped on Corregidor without any training, injured his ankle and went to work translating immediately. He was later at Atsugi airfield with MacArthur. After the service he went back to college.
314 HQ Intelligence/96th Infantry Div.
There was also: Robert Kimura and Mitsuo Usui; Takeshi “Jim” Fujisaka (lived in Fresno, CA and passed away 7 Sept. 1996); Tetsuo Koga; Norman Kihuta (with the 511th G-2 was discharged 6 Jan. 1946); Mike Miyatake went back to his customs job after his discharge; Akira Abe took his parachute training, flew to New Guinea and continued with the 11th A/B throughout Leyte and Luzon. Jiro Tukimura and Eddie Tamada were also noted in the records.
Nisei saving lives by flushing out caves.
In February of 1943, the Taiyo Maru, a Japanese transport ship, was sunk and a lifeboat washed up on Goodenough Island, north of New Guinea;s eastern tip. On that boat was a document that included a list of 40,000 Imperial Army officers from Hideki Tojo on down. These papers, once translated, gave the rank of each officer, unit assigned, the order of battle and the amount of men in each of these units. This information along with documents previously acquired and translated established the exact location of all Japanese units. This work alone was worth the time and effort of forming the MIS.
While their families were confined, more than 33,000 Japanese Americans played a major role in the war effort. Many of them loved their country enough to risk their lives in combat. For others, it was the chance to prove their loyalty and the honor of their families; this they did as members of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team fighting up the rugged Italian Peninsula and across Southern France. Others interrogated Japanese prisoners and translated Japanese documents in the Army’s Military Intelligence Section in the Pacific and China-Burma-India Theaters. Over eight hundred Japanese Americans were killed in action serving their country.
Click on images to enlarge.
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MEMORIAL DAY
I usually prepare a post just for Memorial Day, but after looking through those I did in the past, I felt I should just leave a link for those interested in honoring our fallen. Those who fell giving you the freedoms you enjoy today. Thank you.
https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/?s=memorial+day
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Farewell Salutes –
Frederic M. Ashler – Hamburg, IA; US Navy, WWII
Richard Dow – Albuquerque, NM; US Army, WWII
Alexander Dreyfoos Jr. – W. Palm Beach, FL; US Air Force, Commander of photo recon lab / FL cultural icon, founder of the Dreyfoos Center
Gary Kent – Walla Walla, WA; US Navy / actor, stuntman, director
James Litherland – So. Williamsport, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 2nd Lt. # 325585, 359/303 Bomb Group, B-17 co-pilot, KIA (Le Translay, FRA)
Wilbur A. Mitts – Seaside, CA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Navy Torpedo Squadron-20, radioman # 351669, USS Enterprise, KIA (Malakal, Palau Is.)
Leroy C. Nordby – Nisswa, MN; US Army, 187th RCT
Richard D. Rigdon – Bowling Green, KY; US Army, NATO, 187/101st Airborne Division, Sgt. (Ret. 20 y.)
Eugene “Butch” Skoch – East Meadow, NY; US Army, Vietnam, Pfc. # 298459, KIA (Gia Dinh prov., SV)
Henry “Joe” Tilk – E. St. Louis, IL; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Dominick R. Tranquilli Sr. – Summit, NJ; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
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Japanese-Americans | the Nisei in WWII, part one (1)
Nisei soldiers
Smitty held the Nisei in very high regard and I would be remiss in neglecting to tell their story. Beside, one of these men might have been directly responsible for the safe return of my father. In reality, it would be near impossible to relate a story of the Pacific War without mentioning their service. Some of this unique intelligence force worked ‘behind the scene’ stateside U.S.A. or Australia, but many were up front and fighting at and behind enemy lines.
Smitty always had extreme appreciation for the courage, resilience and down-right crazy stunts they pulled off. They were capable of going behind the lines to acquire information or cut into the radio lines and all the while they remained quite aware that their own units might mistake them for the enemy when they returned. This did happen more than once.
Most everyone is aware of whom the Nisei are, but for clarification purposes, here are some of the terms that might be used in this section or if you continue with your own research:
AJA – Americans of Japanese Ancestry
MISers – the name used for students and graduates of the Military Intelligence Service Language School
Issei – first generation Japanese-American
Nisei – second generation Japanese-American, (this term is for definition only – Nisei prefer to state that they are American)
Kibei – Japanese-American who received education in Japan
At the language school, the students were crammed with courses and put on a strict schedule. Some courses included:
Kanji – a Japanese method of writing based on Chinese logographic characters
Kaisho – the printed form of Kanji and can only be read by someone who has memorized a great number of ideographs
Gyosho – hand written Japanese, very similar to the Palmer Method of Penmanship and is very difficult for Americans
Sosho – the shorthand version of Kanji and almost impossible for an American to learn. Most Japanese field orders were taken down by this method.
Kai Rasmussen
It must be noted that many of these men had family incarcerated in detainment camps and serving in the Imperial Army & Navy, but in school, on the job and in combat they loyally worked to do their level best. The language school began 1 November 1941 at Crissy Field, with Lt. Colonel John Wickerling in charge. His right hand man, educator and recruiter, Kai Rasmussen, was a primary force in the success of the school. He was a West Point grad who spoke Japanese with a Danish accent and would eventually earn the Legion of Merit for his efforts.
A move was necessary from San Francisco to Camp Savage, Minnesota. The change in location was largely due to the bigotry that had overwhelmed California at the time. The most influential white supremacists included: Earl Warren; The Natives Sons and Daughters of the Golden West; William Randolph Hearst and his newspapers and Congressman Leland Ford. Eventually, the school needed to expand and moved to Fort Snelling, St. Paul.
Rasmussen’s right hand man was John Fujio Aiso, an attorney out of Brown and Harvard and had studied at Chuo University in Tokyo. (He was originally assigned to a motor pool because the Army felt they had no need for additional lawyers.) Rasmussen traveled across the country in attempts to find candidates for the school. The Pentagon had kept the paperwork for the operations of the Nisei secret for three decades, but Smitty began talking about them once I was old enough to ask questions.
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Military Humor –
“BECAUSE DOORS ARE FOR SISSIES.”
“AIM FOR THE CAT!”
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Current News – 
Please hop on over to Pat’s blog to help share a veteran’s birthday! Click HERE for equips!!
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Farewell Salutes –
Ruby Atchley – Pine Bluff, AR; Civilian, WWII, ammo plant
Jerry G. Cooper – Hattiesburg, MS; US Army, Vietnam, Captain, 101st Airborne Division, helicopter pilot
Tabe de Vries – Ljmuiden, NETH; Dutch Underground, WWII
Harry E. Elston III – Warren, OH; US Army, Vietnam, H Co/75th Infantry Rangers
William Hodge – New Haven, CT; US Army, WWII, Sgt.
Clyde H. Lane – Greece, NY; US Army, 503/11th Airborne Division
Thomas C. Mayes, Jr. – Coral Gables, FL; US Air Force + Reserves, Captain
Douglas L. Townley – Tonawanda, NY; USMC, WWII
Robert E. Weisblut – Washington, D.C.; US Army
James A. Whitmore – Mesquite, NV; US Air Force, Electronic Warfare Officer on F-105’s & F-16’s
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MIS Interpreters
1944 MIS class; courtesy of Ted Yenarinat, National WWII Museum
Throughout the war, more than 6,000 Japanese Americans would serve in the MIS as translators and interrogators—often at great risk—for 130 units across the Pacific. After the war the MIS Nisei were tapped for critical assignments during the occupation of Japan.
The Military Intelligence Service (MIS) consisted mainly of Nisei men, for further information on the Japanese-Americans who served, I have a series on them, that can be located HERE>
Nisei interpreters worked closely with American and Japanese officials to recover the war-torn nation and restore a peacetime government. They also worked as translators during war crimes trials held in Japan, China, the Philippines, French Indochina and the East Indies.
One of the most valuable contributions of the Nisei in the MIS was the translation of the captured documents referred to as the “Z Plan,” which outlined the Japanese plans for counterattack in the Southwest Pacific in 1944.
By the war’s end Nisei linguists had translated an astounding 20.5 million pages of documents. Without a doubt, the intelligence gathered by MIS interpreters shortened the war and saved lives. The work that many Japanese Americans performed with the MIS extended beyond World War II into the Cold War years, including occupation duty. Nisei often served as a bridge between occupation authorities and civilians. This service often continued through the Korean War and into the Vietnam era.
During war crimes trials in the Pacific, Nisei translators and interpreters monitored translations, both English and Japanese, performed by Japanese interpreters. They listened for accuracy and possible corrections, ensuring a correct translation for the court records.
Nisei Women’s Army Corps, Ft. Snelling
The postwar contribution of the MIS included women; Nisei volunteers with the Women’s Army Corps [WAC] were trained in translation of military documents for occupation duty. Until the early 1970s many of the contributions of the MIS were classified, and the stories and service of Nisei linguists went unrecognized.
The first recognition of MIS veterans came with the Presidential Unit Citation awarded in 2000 by President George W. Bush. In 2010, MIS veterans received the Congressional Gold Medal along with the other Japanese American veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion.
Koso Kanemoto in Japan
Fellow blogger, Koji Kanemoto speaks of his father’s, Koso Kanemoto’s, MIS duty in his posts….
“There’s No Toilet Paper in the Jungle of Burma”
WWII Military Intelligence Today
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Gerald Anderson – Coffee Springs, AL; US Air Force, Vietnam
Charles Bringe – Melrose, MN; US Navy, WWII, gunner / Korea
William Cook – Covelo, CA; US Army, Korea, Lt.
Gertrude Drummond – Glen Cove, NY; Civilian, WWII, Grumman Aircraft
Juan Jaurigue – Tucson, AZ; USMC, WWII, PTO, 3 Purple Hearts, Bronze Star
Wilbur F. Kohlmorgan (101) – Montrose, IA; US Army, WWII, ETO, 34th ‘Red Bull’ Division
Pauline Lagarde – New Orleans, LA; Civilian, WWII, Pentagon
Chester ‘Glen’ Norton – Mt. Eerie, IL; US Navy, WWII, gunner
Irving A. Troob – Providence, RI; US Army, WWII, Middle East & CBI, Technician, 96th Signal Battalion
Lionel Woods (100) – Alexandra, NZ; Royal Navy, WWII, # MX70124
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Nisei – conclusion – Nisei WACs
If you were asked to describe a “soldier,” what kind of image does that word conjure up in your mind? Popular media has generally portrayed the American soldier as a muscular white male, or sometimes a white female, and while they may have constituted the majority of the U.S. military force, history fails to give recognition to the Asian American women who contributed to the U.S.’s victory by taking on many different roles during World War II to assist the armed forces.
Starting in 1943, Japanese women, known as “Nisei” or (first generation born from immigrants), were accepted by the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) and the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) to work as nurses and doctors to provide medical care and as Military Intelligence Service officers and linguists.. Though Asian American women served many important functions in World War II, they are still overlooked or completely ignored in modern discourse.
This post focuses on the Nisei women who served as linguists and their struggles balancing their identities as an American woman and a Japanese woman, while studying their mother tongue under considerable pressure at the U.S. War Department’s Military Intelligence Service Language School in Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
Their histories and struggles during the war are just as valid as any other American war veteran’s experiences out on the field. Women began turning them away from their traditional societal roles as homemakers and caretakers towards more proactive roles opening up in the factories and the military.
Private Shizuko Shinagawa, 21, of the Women’s Army Corps, who was sent to Denver to recruit Japanese-American women for the WAC. May 22, 1944, Denver, Colorado. Courtesy of WRA no. G-563, War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement, BANC PIC 1967.014–PIC, the Bancroft Library
For Japanese Americans, on the West Coast, however, with Japan being the “enemy nation” after bombing Pearl Harbor in 1941, they were labeled as “enemy aliens” and by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, forced from their homes into internment camps. The military recognized the need to improve intelligence operations and trained and recruited specialists in the Japanese language to serve as interpreters, interrogators, and translators, and so around 5,500 Nisei were assigned to the Military Intelligence Service.
Nisei soldiers in Oregon
With struggles against racism combined with normalized sexism in the military, Nisei women, and many other Asian American women, had a unique experience while serving their country. While Military administrators rationalized the idea of accepting women, especially Japanese American women, it was under gendered and racialized reasoning. The WACs were given assignments that “did not transcend the domestic sphere”, therefore stuck behind desks doing clerical work. Furthermore, they were expected to emphasize their femininity through their physical appearances, “feminine” meaning short skirts and makeup. Along with these demands, the Nisei WACS were also expected to act as “American women” but retain their Japanese linguistic heritage in order “to serve as role models as Japanese women.
Nisei WACs
Like many second or third-generation Asian Americans today, Nisei WACs did not all possess fluency in Japanese, especially not at the level needed to comprehend military-related documents, hence they were sent to MIS school to learn Japanese.
Difficulties:
“I wasn’t very strong in Japanese, coming from an area [Idaho] where there were no Orientals. We just didn’t speak the language… And so, when we were sent to Japan, I had an awful hard time working with [Japanese] military terms…Some of the girls from Hawaii used to work as radio announcers in Japanese. They had a lot more training and they could read and write [Japanese] fluently. At Fort Snelling, I was in one of the lowest classes, just learning the basics.
Nisei Women’s Army Corps, Ft. Snelling
After they graduated from MISLS, they were assigned to various military sectors and helped the military forces immensely. Many of the graduates worked at war crimes trials as translators and interrogators and helped link a number of atrocities to individual Japanese by the captured diaries and letters, written during wartime, that they studied. Maybe one of their most impressive contributions, in the Civil Affairs branch, was censorship- screening the press, inspecting the postal system, watching communications of all kinds, and helping to find out what “has gone on in Japan these many years.” These linguists classified approximately 2,000,000 Japanese documents according to tactical, strategic, or long-range value. In all, they translated some 20,000,000 pages.
The WAC’s and other Nisei linguists’ work for the United States should be honored and remembered. They wanted to serve in the U.S. military for various reasons, but mainly to show their loyalty to the United States. Some were also motivated by reasons that were rooted in their culture and status in their family and community. One former Nisei WAC, Grace Harada reveals her discussion with her parents on why she felt the need to serve in the military:
“They just felt that I shouldn’t be doing something like that, and going so far away from
home. But I told them that I just couldn’t stay home and do housework. I wasn’t accomplishing anything. [Harada’s brother had already joined the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.] I said [to my parents] “There is a war going on and he can’t do it alone.” …I said what I would be doing is replacing all these men to help end the war. I tried to talk with my parents into letting me go, and finally they released me and signed the consent for me to go in.”
Nisei female nursing cadets
With political circumstances so against them, the Nisei had made every effort to forget their Japanese heritage and prove they are “American.” The experience of attending the MISLS was both a challenge and a chance for the Nisei, to balance both of their identities for a cause and prove their loyalty to their homeland, the United States. Furthermore, as Nisei women, they constantly had to navigate social norms and persevere against sexually and racially intertwined expectations to serve as model American women in Japan, yet maintain their “Japanese-ness” to be competent translators. Their experiences are invaluable in that they not only but also expand one’s perspective of what kind of people serve in the military but also add another complex layer to the Asian American narrative.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor – 
Saturday Evening Post, 1943
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Farewell Salutes –
Marley Arthurholtz – KY; USMC, WWII, Pfc., USS Oklahoma, KIA, Pearl Harbor
Leonard Brink – Grand Rapids, MI; US Army, WWII, 110/28th Division
Last Flight
Carmen J. Covino (102) – Hamburg, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO
Robert Hatch – Woods Cross, UT; USMC, WWII, PTO, Pfc., D Co./6th Marines, machine-gunner, KIA Tarawa
Rosario Lindberg – Davao, P.I.; Civilian, WWII, PTO, Filipino guerrilla fighter, interpreter for Allies during Japanese trials
Miles Riley – Gooding, ID; US Army, 11th Airborne Division
Joseph Rogers (101) – Royal Oak, MI; US Army, WWII, 95th Chemical Mortar Battalion / Korea, 24th Infantry, Col. (Ret. 31 y.)
Arthur Schaeffer – Philadelphia, PA; US Army, Korea, 82nd Airborne Division
Edward Tyree – Lexington, NC; US Army, Vietnam, 173rd Airborne Division, Purple Heart
Maria Winship – brn: GER/Denver, CO; Civilian, WWII, ETO, translator
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Nisei – part 3 Nisei ROTC in Hawaii
HI Territorial Guard, UH, 1942
On 7 December 1941, the UH ROTC Regiment over 600 strong was called out over the radio to report to duty. We reported to the ROTC Armory, which is that little wooden building now standing at the end of Sinclair Library parking lot. We were greeted by the sight of Sgt. Ward and Sgt. Hogan feverishly inserting firing pins into Springfield .03 rifles. I reported to my unit, Company “B”, 1st Battalion, commanded by Captain Nolle Smith. We were issued a clip of 5 bullets with our rifles.
It was reported that Japanese paratroopers had landed on St. Louis Heights. Our first order was to deploy down across Manoa Stream where Kanewai Park now stands and to prevent the enemy from advancing into the city. We were crouched down among the koa bushes for long hours in the hot sun, waiting for the enemy which never showed up. This turned out to be just another one of the many hysterical rumors that spread across Honolulu that day.
During those few hours of service, we had no military status or standing, federal or territorial. We were just University ROTC boys heeding our country’s desperate call to arms. For our participation in “the campaign for St. Louis Heights,” many years later in 1977, the University ROTC was awarded with a battle streamer distinguishing it as the first and only ROTC unit in the United States to engage in active war service during World War II!
Richard Okamoto at HI firing range, 1943
On the afternoon of December 7, 1941, the University ROTC unit was converted into the Hawaii Territorial Guard and we were trucked down to the National Guard Armory where our State Capitol now stands. We were issued those pie-plate tin helmets and gas masks and immediately assigned to guard Lolani Palace, the Courthouse, Hawaiian Electric, Mutual Telephone, and Board of Water Supply, and all other government buildings and utilities all over the city. Company B was headquartered in the Dole Pineapple building and assigned to guard the Iwilei industrial district and the waterfront and to defend against a Japanese invasion attack. Just imagine the pitiful sight of a greenhorn teenage soldier who never fired a gun crouched behind a sandbagged emplacement at Pier 10 defending against a Japanese invasion of Honolulu Harbor with a measly 30 caliber rifle and five bullets. Mercifully and thankfully, the enemy never invaded! But the important thing was that we had responded to the call, we were proud to wear the American uniform, and we were serving our country in its direst hour of need!
We served for six weeks after Pearl Harbor, but by January 19, 1942, the high brass in Pentagon had discovered to its horror that the city of Honolulu was being defended by hundreds of Japs in American uniforms! It should be mentioned here that over 75% of the HTG guardsmen were men of Japanese ancestry. The order came down that all HTG guardsmen of Japanese ancestry were discharged. If they had dropped a bomb in our midst. it couldn’t have been more devastating. That blow of being rejected by your own country only because of your name, your face, and your race, was far worse than Pearl Harbor itself. Every Nisei who suffered that indignity will attest to the fact that that rejection was absolutely the lowest point in our long lives!
7 Who Gave Their All
We could do nothing else but return to the University. But books and classrooms made no sense, when our country was crying for military and defense manpower, and yet we were distrusted, unwanted, useless. But within a week’s time, Hung Wai Ching, who was then Executive Secretary of the Atherton YMCA near the UH campus, met with a group of the discharged Nisei, and soon inspired and convinced them why not offer themselves as a labor battalion. His key pitch was “So they don’t trust you with a gun. Wouldn’t they trust you with picks and shovels?” By February 25, 1942, a petition signed by 169 University students offering their services as a labor battalion was accepted by the Military Governor.
This group known as the “Varsity Victory Volunteers” was assigned to the 34th Combat Engineers Regiment at Schofield Barracks performing vital defense work on Oahu. For the next 11 months, they dug ammunition pits, built secondary mountain roads, repaired bridges and culverts, built warehouses and field housing. and operated the rock quarry. One day in December, 1942, Secretary of War John McCloy, making a field inspection of Oahu defenses, witnessed the VVV Quarry Gang operating the quarry up at Kolekole Pass, and was told the story of the VVV by his escort, Hung Wai Ching. By some coincidence or otherwise, just a month later in January, 1943, the War Department announced its decision to form an all-Nisei combat team and issued a call for volunteers. On January 30, 1943, members of the VVV voted to disband so they could volunteer for the 442nd Combat Team. Most of the men were accepted and served the duration of the war with the 442nd, and also with the Military Intelligence Service. The rest is well known history.
Editors note: The words above were delivered on 3 December 2001, at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Visitor’s Center as part of the 60th Anniversary remembrance of the Dec. 7th 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
‘Hey, most climb over, but whatever works for you.’
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Farewell Salutes –
Allen Bradley – Dillon, MT; US Army, WWII & Korea, 82 Airborne Division
Jack Crawford – Phoenix City, AL; US Army, WWII, Purple Heart
Grant Ichikawa – Suison Valley, CA; US Army, PTO, MIS’er, Lt.,/ Korea / CIA
Trevor Joseph – Collierville, TN; US Army, Afghanistan, 1/5th Aviation Regiment, “Cajun Dustoff” MEDEVAC, Major, KIA Fort Polk
Shiro Kashino – Seattle, WA; US Army, WWII, ETO, 442nd Regimental Combat Team
John L. Keenan – Brooklyn, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO / NYPD, “Son of Sam” Task Force Cmdr.
Michael Meehan – brn: IRE/Edison, NJ; US Army, Occupation, 25th Infantry Signal Co./11th Airborne Division
Kelly Richards – Grayling, MI; US Army, SSgt., medic, Iraq & Afghanistan, KIA
Ephrain “Hank” Royfe – Philadelphia, PA; US Army, WWII, PTO, translator
William Tinker – Caney, KS; US Army Air Corps, WWII
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Nisei – part 2
306th HQ Intelligence Detachment, XXIV Corps, Leyte, Philippines, November 1, 1944. Front row, l to r: George Shimotori, Saburo Okamura, Thomas Sasaki, Francis Yamamoto Herbert Nishihara, Warren Tsuneishi. Back row, l to r: Hiroshi Itow, Joe Nishihara, Lt. Richard Kleeman, TSgt George Takabayashi, Lloyd Shimasato.
(Signal Corps photo)
When the first graduates were sent to the Pacific and landed in Australia, they were part of the Americal troops. Many were sent to help with the fighting on Iwo Jima, which MacArthur felt was taking far too long to complete. Some stayed and worked with the Australian troops and others went to British or Canadian units. (Canada also had their own S-20 Japanese Language School in Vancouver, British Columbia to train interpreters.) Only the U.S. Navy rejected the linguists. Admiral Halsey did in fact understand their importance and requested some MIS’ers for his fleet, but as a whole, Nimitz and the rest of the navy wanted to continue using their own intelligence personnel. (A very serious mistake in Leyte Gulf.)
It was difficult to locate the Nisei that worked G-2 specifically for the 11th Airborne and when because the men were rarely ever put on the official rosters. A MISer could train with the 11th Airborne on New Guinea and by December he was in Burma or up in the Aleutians. They were as difficult to track as the 11th A/B themselves. One Nisei found himself stuck at the Panama Canal, not at all certain what he was supposed to do there.
Nisei at work in Manila, P.I.
But, I did manage to locate a fair number of fellow paratroopers from Smitty’s division: Clarence Ohta and John Nakahara jumped with the 11th on Luzon. George Kojima, Koshi Ando and James Harada were with the 503d Regiment. Harry Akune jumped on Corregidor without any training, injured his ankle and went to work translating immediately. He was later at Atsugi airfield with MacArthur. After the service he went back to college. There was also: Robert Kimura and Mitsuo Usui; Takeshi “Jim” Fujisaka (lived in Fresno, CA and passed away 7 Sept. 1996); Tetsuo Koga; Norman Kihuta (with the 511th G-2 was discharged 6 Jan. 1946); Mike Miyatake went back to his customs job after his discharge; Akira Abe took his parachute training, flew to New Guinea and continued with the 11th A/B throughout Leyte and Luzon. Jiro Tukimura and Eddie Tamada were also noted in the records.
Nisei, saving lives by flushing out the caves.
In February of 1943, the Taiyo Maru, a Japanese transport ship, was sunk and a lifeboat washed up on Goodenough Island, north of New Guinea;s eastern tip. On that boat was a document that included a list of 40,000 Imperial Army officers from Hideki Tojo on down. These papers, once translated, gave the rank of each officer, unit assigned, the order of battle and the amount of men in each of these units. This information along with documents previously acquired and translated established the exact location of all Japanese units. This work alone was worth the time and effort of forming the MIS.
Click on images to enlarge.
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SHOUT OUT !!!
James South, 99 year old veteran, is about to turn 100 on 7 October. He has asked for one thing for this occasion — to receive 100 birthday cards!! Help him have his wish come true……
James South, 5800 North Park Drive, Watauga, TX 76148
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Military Humor –
“Thank you, sir — all we needed was somebody blowin’ his horn.”
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Farewell Salutes –
Alvie Boles (100) – Rosedale, OK; US Army, WWII. Purple Heart
William Davis – Topeka, KS; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, P-51
Dorothy Doerr – St Clair, MO; Civilian, “Rosie” at Curtiss Wright Aircraft, WWII
Robert Engel – E. Greenbush, NY; US Army, 11th Airborne Division
Harold Hayward (101) – Lower Hutt, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 74142, WWII, Wing Commander
Herschel Mattes – Pittsburgh, PA/Avon, CT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, pilot, 1st Lt., 525 FS/86th Fighter Group, KIA
W. Ray Painter (100) – Augusta, GA; US Army, WWII
John Runkle Jr. – Washington D.C.; US Navy, WWII, APO / Korea
Henry C. Smith – Manistee, MI; US Army, WWII, CBI; Sgt., Merrill’s Marauders, Silver Star
Maurice ‘Migs’ Turner – Winnipeg, CAN; RCNVR, WWII, Sub-Lt., HMCS Guelph / NATO / RC Coast Guard
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Nisei – part 1
Nisei soldiers
Smitty held the Nisei in very high regard and I would be remiss in neglecting to tell their story. Beside, one of these men might have been directly responsible for the safe return of my father. In reality, it would be near impossible to relate a story of the Pacific War without mentioning their service. Some of this unique intelligence force worked ‘behind the scene’ stateside U.S.A. or Australia, but many were up front and fighting at and behind enemy lines.
Smitty always had extreme appreciation for the courage, resilience and down-right crazy stunts they pulled off. They were capable of going behind the lines to acquire information or cut into the radio lines and all the while they remained quite aware that their own units might mistake them for the enemy when they returned. This did happen more than once.
Most everyone is aware of whom the Nisei are, but for clarification purposes, here are some of the terms that might be used in this section or if you continue with your own research:
AJA – Americans of Japanese Ancestry
MISers – the name used for students and graduates of the Military Intelligence Service Language School
Issei – first generation Japanese-American
Nisei – second generation Japanese-American, (this term is for definition only – Nisei prefer to state that they are American)
Kibei – Japanese-American who received education in Japan
At the language school, the students were crammed with courses and put on a strict schedule. Some courses included:
Kanji – a Japanese method of writing based on Chinese logographic characters
Kaisho – the printed form of Kanji and can only be read by someone who has memorized a great number of ideographs
Gyosho – hand written Japanese, very similar to the Palmer Method of Penmanship and is very difficult for Americans
Sosho – the shorthand version of Kanji and almost impossible for an American to learn. Most Japanese field orders were taken down by this method.
Kai Rasmussen (center)
It must be noted that many of these men had family incarcerated in detainment camps and serving in the Imperial Army & Navy, but in school, on the job and in combat they loyally worked to do their level best. The language school began 1 November 1941 at Crissy Field, with Lt. Colonel John Wickerling in charge. His right hand man, educator and recruiter, Kai Rasmussen, was a primary force in the success of the school. He was a West Point grad who spoke Japanese with a Danish accent and would eventually earn the Legion of Merit for his efforts.
A move was necessary from San Francisco to Camp Savage, Minnesota. The change in location was largely due to the bigotry that had overwhelmed California at the time. The most influential white supremacists included: Earl Warren; The Natives Sons and Daughters of the Golden West; William Randolph Hearst and his newspapers and Congressman Leland Ford. Eventually, the school needed to expand and moved to Fort Snelling, St. Paul.
Rasmussen’s right hand man was John Fujio Aiso, an attorney out of Brown and Harvard and had studied at Chuo University in Tokyo. (He was originally assigned to a motor pool because the Army felt they had no need for additional lawyers.) Rasmussen traveled across the country in attempts to find candidates for the school. The Pentagon had kept the paperwork for the operations of the Nisei secret for three decades, but Smitty began talking about them once I was old enough to ask questions.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
“AIM FOR THE CAT!”
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Farewell Salutes –
Malcolm Armstrong – Ardmore, OK; US Army, WWII, Purple Heart
John Bagwell – Arab, AL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 511/11th Airborne Division
Milo Durant – Manawatu, NZ; NZEF #453408, WWII, Pvte.
Virginia Fallon – New Haven, CT; Civilian, WWII, Winchester Repeating Arms, ammo inspector
Raymond Goulet – New Bedford, MA; US Army, WWII, ETO, 85th Infantry Division
Ralph Hatcher – Indianapolis, IN; US Army, Vietnam,101st Airborne Division, medic
T. Chester McKeon – Prairie Grove, AR; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, B-25 crew chief, MSgt.
Harvey Nichols – Braxton, MS; US Army, WWII, PTO, POW, KIA
Charles Peck – Hansville, WA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, gunner
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Nisei in Alaska & Native American contribution
Condensed from Yankee Samurai, by Joseph D. Harrington
With Attu secured, Kiska was next in the Aleutians. An exercise in total futility ensued. More than 29,000 US troops and 5,000 Canadian ones were assembled, plus some Eskimos and Alaska Scouts. Nobuo Furuiye served with the Canadians.
The invasion of Kiska was preceded by a fiasco called “The Battle of the Pips”. A Fire Controlman who served on the battleship Mississippi during the shoot-up said, “We fired a million bucks worth of ammunition into a rainstorm!”
For the Canadians, the taking of Kiska was a biter blow. Don Oka was with the Alaska Scouts. He stood offshore in a ship, listening to the tremendous firing ashore. Tad Ogawa, Ted Ishida and Shigeo Ito also participated. All were certain, from the noise, that a battle as bloody as Attu was taking place.
None was, the Japanese had left. But, they did leave the Nisei a gift however, a cave full of food with a sign in Japanese that said: “Help Yourself. This is not poisoned.” John White’s (Nisei commander) men did not seal the food caves. Instead, according to Shigeo Ito, “we partook voraciously. Such things as tsukemono, Mandarin oranges, nori, bamboo shoots, and so forth.” White said there was “lots of rice, clams, and canned meat. The Nisei were their own chefs and our intelligence detachment became the most popular unit in the command.”
Shigeo Ito was among those that returned to the US with some of the prisoners taken at Attu, while the more experienced men were sent elsewhere. Yoshio Morita was one left behind, but he didn’t mind. Yutaka Munakata, head of the translation section at MISLS, expressed gratitude for having “huts to sleep in, warm clothes and wholesome food.” He had a pretty good idea where Nisei who left Alaska were headed and malaria, dysentery and dengue fever did not inhabit the Arctic.
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Contributed by Pierre Lagacé – video about the Alaskan campaign!!
Excellent addition for this section! CLICK HERE!!
Native American civilian contribution
In early June of 1942, six months after Pearl Harbor formally jolted the U.S. into World War II, the Japanese mounted another surprise bombing attack—this time, on Dutch Harbor in the remote Aleutian Islands of Alaska.
After U.S. forces drove out the Japanese, it became clear to military leadership that the vast and forbidding 6,640-mile coastline of northwest Alaska needed to be patrolled for the duration of the war. Turning to the Indigenous communities for help, they soon found volunteers from local villages willing to join the newly formed Alaska Territorial Guard
More than 6,300 Indigenous men and women, ages 12 to 80, stepped up. These unpaid sentries became the eyes and ears of the U.S. military in western Alaska.
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WWII female pilots now banned from burial at Arlington Cemetery ____
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Cold Humor –
Sign reads: “TREE – only one on Attu”
“Are you sure it’s worth it, Joe?”
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Farewell Salutes –
Ronald Abbott – Rutland, VT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne, G-2 / CIA
Raymond Clark – Wellington, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 4211662, WWII
Thank You Veterans for walking the walk.
Raymond Delano – Lee, ME; US Army Air Corps, WWII
George Dunn – Ottawa, CAN; RC Navy, WWII, HMCS Antigonish
Calvin Lien – Edwina, MN; US Navy, WWII
Andy Morales – Longwood, FL; US Army, Iraq, Sgt., 143rd Sustainment Cmd., KIA
Frederick Robins – W. AUS; RA Air Force, WWII, Catalina pilot
Isadore Troise – Wilmington, DE; US Army, WWII, ETO, MIA/POW, 16th Cavalry Recon, Purple Heart
Ennis Warren – Mobile, AL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 top turret gunner
Wayne Watson – Riverside, CA; US Army, Vietnam
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Angel Island
Angel Island, CA
The story of Angel Island as a center for processing US immigrants did not end with the Administration Building burning down in 1940. Almost 700 Japanese immigrants were sent from Hawaii 7-8 December 1941 and over 98 from the mainland; another 105 were sent to Sharp Park, near Pacifica. This was a layover point before those interned moved on to such places as Tule Lake and Manzamar.
They were part of 17, 477 people of Japanese descent who were interned for all or part of WWII. According to Tetsuden Kashima in “Judgement Without Trial”, 13,798 Germans and Italians were also imprisoned as ‘enemy aliens’. “We have found the names of about 81 Germans and Italians who were interned at Angel Island for at least a short time…” These civilians were sometimes housed alongside POWs.
An account from Yasutaro Soga describes: “Living quarters for all 49 of us were 2 rooms measuring about 36 feet by 70 feet on the second floor of an old building that had once been the Immigration Bureau office. Because there were about 90 internees from California already housed there, space was very tight. The beds were tri-level bunks with barely enough walking space in the aisles. There were about 10 windows and one ventilator, but with 140 occupants, air circulation was poor.”
Arrival
Patsy Saiki described that the internees decided to do something about the food by volunteering to help in the mess hall and cooking rice the way the Japanese liked it. “The men were allowed to walk the grounds around the dorm for ½ hour three times a day. They exercised loudly and joyfully.” Within 5 days of arrival, Group 1 was on it’s way to Camp McCoy in Wisconsin.
Curtis Burton Munson submitted two reports to Pres. Roosevelt, he wrote, “There is no Japanese problem on the West Coast. There will be no armed uprising of Japanese… For the most part, the local Japanese are loyal to the U.S….” But, this did not to halt the continued arrest and incarceration.
Angel Island carvings
A few of the internees left writings on the walls of the former immigration barracks. Professor Charles Egan of the San Francisco State University has found some writings in a former closet that now houses an elevator, so these are unfortunately not accessible to the visitors walking the grounds today.
The Angel Island organization is the source of this information. On their website, they provide videos and first hand accounts that can be searched by name or photo. Should you or a family member wish to contribute to Angel Island’s index, they welcome hearing from you.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Political Cartoons – by Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss apologized to the Japanese people for his attitude during the war by writing, Horton Hears A Who!
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A Hug From Home for deployed servicemen – a PIZZA____
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Personal – Shout Out –
To the veterans of Little Rock, Arkansas – I hope you enjoyed your 4th, ate too much at the River Market, listened to that fine music and library personnel!! Thank you for helping to ensure our freedom!!
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert Bartle – Okeechobee, FL; US Army, WWII
William Carroll – AUS; RAA, Ist Battalion, Vietnam, KIA
Samuel Crews – Prattville, AL; US Air Force, Vietnam
Robert Eickelkamp – Sioux Falls, SD; USMC, Korea
John Georgette – Stratford, CT; USMC, WWII, PTO
James Jones – Seligman, MO; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 188th Reg,/11 A/B,
Edward Lambert – Knoxville, TN; US Air Force (Ret. 20 years), Vietnam
Harris Daniel McGirt – FL & Ashville, NC; US Navy, USS Antietam, navigation
Normand Phelps – Rosemère, CAN; RC Army, WWII
Michael Runyan – Newark, OH; US Army, Iraq, 25th Inf. Division, Sgt.
Burt Shavitz – ME & NC; US Army, (Burt’s Bees)
Keith Whiting – Hawkes Bay, NZ; RNZ Navy, WWII
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Honoring those that serve us
Tournament of Roses 2015
Alhambra, California honored the Japanese-Americans in WWII with their “Go For Broke” display:
Go For Broke!
Please click on photos to enlarge!
Honoring Louis Zamperini
Mr. Zamperini was made Grand Marshall
For those who care!
U.S. Marine Mounted Honor Guard
Helsingor Pigegarde Elsinore Girls Marching Band from Denmark playing “Anchors Away” while marching in an anchor formation
Thank You !
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Military Humor – cut-backs are international!
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Farewell Salutes – 
Kenneth Bridgham – Rutledge, TN; US Army, Korea & Vietnam, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Brian Carrothers – Vancouver, CAN; Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s), WWII, D-Day
Cecil Corts – Leslie, MI; US Navy, WWII
Gordon Douglas – Veedersburg, IN; US Army, WWII, ETO, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Terry Lewis – Little Rock, AR; US Navy (Ret. 25 years), Vietnam
John Mcrath – Canton, GA; US Navy, WWII
Robert Thomas, Melbourne, FL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI/US Air Force, Korea
Hugh Young – Vienna, VA; US Army, Korea, CIA
Pacific Paratrooper 