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History
Japanese Americans have special terminology for family, based on the Japanese language of their heritage. Issei means "first generation, referring to those in the family who immigrated from Japan to America. The bulk of the Issei came between 1890s-1920s. Nisei means "second generation," referring to the children of those who came from Japan. The Nisei are American citizens by birth. Sansei means "third generation," referring to the children of the Nisei. Yonsei means "fourth generation," and Gosei means "fifth generation."
Their Story
Twenty years before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, young "Nisei," American-born men and women of Japanese ancestry, served in the U.S. Army. Men served with distinction during World War II in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Military Intelligence Service. Japanese American women enlisted as well, and served in the Women's Army Corps. They would impress upon the public that patriotism in America is above one's ancestry.
When the U.S. government and public discovered that Japan was to blame for the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, misguided outrage was directed against Americans of Japanese descent. Most were American citizens, born and raised in the U.S. Whole families, mainly on the West Coast of the U.S. (though some also in Hawaii and Latin American countries like Peru), were forced into war detention camps, also called "internment camps." Patriotic Japanese American men in uniform and their families from Hawaii and the Mainland U.S. were unfairly treated with suspicion. Many enlisted from these camps where they and their families were incarcerated due only to Japanese ancestry. 120,000 Japanese Americans from West Coast states were forced from their homes en masse into 10 war camps by President Franklin D. Roosevelt under his Executive Order 9066. This has become known as "the Internment." Despite such harsh discrimination against the Nisei, over 20,000 enlisted in the U.S. Army, where they trained and served in segregated units. Many would later openly explain that they served to prove their loyalty to America.
The Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), including the 100th Infantry Battalion, became the most highly-decorated unit for its size and length of service in American military history. These men fought for the U.S. and its allies across southern and central Europe in many key battles. Their Rescue of the Lost Battalion is considered to be one of the key battles in U.S. Army history, one of sixteen commemorated in "The Army in Action" series of paintings commissioned by the U.S. Army's Center for Military History. The Nisei soldiers freed 211 surviving soldiers of the Texas 36th Infantry Division who became completely surrounded by some 6,000 Germans, and were feared lost for several days. The Nisei soldiers were later named "Honorary Texans" in 1963 by Texas Governor John Connally for their actions. The Nisei troops also broke through the German "Gothic Line" in Italy, which had repelled repeated assaults for months by Allied Forces. Members of the 100/442nd RCT took just one day to do this using a daring frontal assault under the cover of night straight up a key mountain where German forces were entrenched. The Nisei from the 100th led the drive against the Germans at Monte Cassino. Towns such as Bruyeres, Biffontaine, and Belvedere were freed by the Nisei troops. The Nisei also helped to liberate and care for Holocaust victims from the Dachau concentration camps.
Japanese Americans also served with great distinction in the Pacific Theater in the U.S. Army's Military Intelligence Service (M.I.S.). The M.I.S. is credited with shortening the war in the Pacific by at least two years, and saving countless lives through their use of the Japanese language to support Allied war efforts. They served as key members of "Merrills' Marauders," infiltrating Japanese controlled areas in Southeast Asia. They translated documents that were intercepted from the Japanese, revealing dates and times of attacks. The MIS soldiers served as interrogators of Japanese prisoners of war, and helped ease tensions between Japanese and American occupiers following Japan's surrender. MIS translators were critical during the surrender of Japan, serving as official language and cultural translators, which aided in the rebuilding process during America's occupation of Japan.
Among over 14,000 awards, the Japanese American soldiers of World War II earned 21 Medals of Honor, 9 Presidential Unit Citations, and 9,486 Purple Hearts for their sacrifices in Europe and the Pacific. The Japanese American soldiers of World War II have been singled out by a number of our nation's presidents for their outstanding service and immense sacrifices, from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and even George W. Bush (See Famous Quotations page). The Japanese American World War II sacrifices influenced the President Harry Truman's Executive Order 9981, desegregating the Armed Forces in 1948. The testimony of Nisei WWII veterans before Congress was key in the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which became pivotal for the government to admit wartime bias against Japanese Americans, and to set an example for wartime protections of Americans in the future. Note that this law has been cited in arguments to prevent Arab Americans from being unjustly incarcerated since the September 11th attacks of 2001.
More Information
For more detailed information on the Nisei WWII Soldiers Story, here are a few suggested websites to visit: