Japanese American Soldiers In The U.S. Army During World War II
By: Floyd Mori
Tags: History, World War II, Military, Racism, American History

Japanese American Soldiers In The U.S. Army During World War II

Japanese American Soldiers of World War II (Image is in public domain)

Soldiers were unjustly incarcerated before joining the U.S. Army

The first immigrants to arrive in the United States of America from Japan were mostly young men. They came to this “Land of Opportunity” to seek their riches. They were not from the upper classes in the cities, and they were trying to make their lives better by seeking opportunities in America.

The first immigrants were called the Issei, which means the first generation who came to America. The second generation were the Nisei, the American citizens born in the USA with immigrant parents.

They were brave enough to come to a land not welcoming of them, but they worked hard. They would often try to send money back to their families in Japan. After a period of years, many of them married women who had come over from Japan. They had children who were American citizens because they were born in the United States.

The immigrants stressed education to their offspring so many had graduated from college by the 1930’s. The children tried to fit into American life. They had difficulty finding meaningful work in their fields of study after obtaining college degrees.

They and their immigrant parents faced racism and prejudice at nearly every turn. Some of the young adults started a national nonprofit organization in 1929 to fight against the discrimination they regularly experienced. It was named the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). Today the JACL still operates as the largest and oldest continuously running Asian American civil and human rights organization in the United States.

AfterJapan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, there were Japanese American young men who tried to enlist in the United States Army. They wanted to show their loyalty and patriotism to America. They found that they were denied acceptance because all citizens of Japanese heritage had been classified as non-citizens or enemy aliens although they had been born in the United States.

Then after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 giving the military commander the authority to remove any persons from certain areas, the people who were ethnic Japanese who lived on the West Coast of the United States faced further difficulty. Around 120,000 persons, most of them U.S. citizens, were removed from their homes. They were unjustly incarcerated in camps which had been hastily constructed in desolate and remote areas of the country.

Later, the JACL leaders were able to work with the government to allow Japanese American young men to serve in the U.S. military. They asked for people to volunteer out of their captivity in the camps. A few thousand did volunteer, and others were drafted. The government finally decided that they could be considered as U.S. citizens and serve their country.

Most of these young men had been incarcerated and comprised the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. They were joined by the 100th Battalion of Japanese Americans from Hawaii. There were also others who lived in inland states who had not been imprisoned who volunteered. They were a segregated unit of Japanese Americans called the 442. They were sent to the European theater of the war, mostly fighting in France and Germany. They served valiantly and suffered greatly. They were called “The Purple Heart Ballalion” because of the heavy casualties they sustained.

Some young Japanese American men had been serving in the military before World War II started. They were released from the army and were incarcerated with their families. Most of these people signed up again to join the army in the 442.

Still other young men who joined the U.S. Army were in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). They were people who had some command of the Japanese language. They were used to intercept messages of the Japanese military.

The work of the MIS was kept secret. After the war ended, they were involved in helping Japan recover in the occupation. My oldest brother was in the MIS. He died in the crash of a U.S. military airplane in Japan. I was a small child, but I remember that his death was devastating for my family. He made the ultimate sacrifice and gave his life for his country.

There were also some Japanese American young women who served in the U.S. military during World War II.

These young people served their country, the United States of America, the land of their birth, with true patriotism, loyalty, and dedication. They faced extreme prejudice, discrimination, injustice, and racism at home, but they fought with dignity for freedom.

President Harry S. Truman told the Japanese American soldiers after the war ended that they had fought not only the enemy, but that they had fought prejudice and they had won.

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

[Source: The Japanese American Story As Told Through A Collection of Speeches and Articles, www.thejapaneseamericanstory.com, densho.org]