1943 Apr 13: From Civilian to Soldier

Basic training was hectic for these new soldiers, as it is for every new soldier. Heads buzzed with military courtesy and discipline, close order drill, manual of arms, and the nomenclature and functioning of all the weapons that make the present-day infantryman a walking arsenal. Slowly they learned to hit the ground, to take advantage of every fold in the earth, and every bush for cover and concealment, to work as squads and sections. Muscles hardened, backs straightened, and civilians became men who lived war and thought war. Relations with civilians and other soldiers were not always easy. Most of the men on the post and the inhabitants of the nearby towns accepted the Nisei for what they were and for the job they had...

1943 Dec 13: Combined Units

The regimental commander, Colonel Pence, took his regiment into the field as a unit for the first time on December 13, holding exercises that ran until the day before Christmas. Training was getting into higher levels now. Battalion staffs learned to work with the regimental staff. Battalions attacked or took defensive positions side by side, coordinating their fires, helping each other out of tough spots, keeping contact in heavily wooded terrain. Tactics were going into high levels, but the privates in the rear rank, the guys who carried the rifles and brought up the ammunition, still wanted to know why. Why did the regimental commander do this? Why did we withdraw to this position instead of another one? The officers and the NCOs did their...

1943 Feb 1: The Cadre Prepare

On January 22, 1943, the War Department directed by a letter that a Japanese American Combat Team should be activated on February 1, and should be composed of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, and the 232nd Engineer Combat Company. In accordance with these orders, the 442nd Combat Team was activated on February 1, 1943, by General Orders, Headquarters Third Army. Colonel Charles W. Pence took command, with Lieutenant Colonel Merritt B. Booth as executive officer. Lieutenant Colonel Keith K. Tatom commanded the 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel James M. Hanley the 2nd Battalion and Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood Dixon the 3rd Battalion. Lieutenant Colonel Baya M. Harrison commanded the 522nd Field Artillery, and Captain Pershing Nakada commanded the 232nd Engineers. From the 1st...

1943 Oct 20: Operating as a Unit

Basic training was over; now began the even harder task of welding the Combat Team into a single fighting unit. The men knew their weapons; they knew how to take advantage of cover; they could find their way long distances on the blackest night; they had worked together as squads on small problems. It remained to make platoons out of squads, companies out of platoons, and battalions out of companies. During basic the GIs finished their training and came back to a hot shower, a hot meal, and a warm if not always comfortable bed. Unit training would wean them away from this, and enable them to live in the field for long periods, to endure cold, rain, inadequate blankets, to keep going even if...

1944 Feb 18: A Final Polish

After maneuvers the men came back to Shelby, scraped off the mud, and began again the endless task of cleaning up their equipment. The Combat Team was commended for proficiency by Major General Charles H. White, Commanding General of IX Corps, and Major General Charles L. Bolte, Commanding General of the 69th Division. The entire Combat Team now began the business of brushing up on its small-unit tactics, reviewing and correcting the weaknesses that had turned up during the last hectic weeks in the field. Twenty officers and 210 men left for Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, for transhipment to Italy and the 100th Battalion. There was also a certain amount of combat firing and review work on marksmanship to be completed, as well as...

1944 Jan 28: Maneuvers

“D” Series maneuvers began on January 28, 1944, in the DeSoto National Forest, Mississippi. They were conducted by the 69th Infantry Division, Major General Charles L. Bolte commanding. The 442nd Infantry and the 232nd Engineers were attached to the Division for operations, working as a part of the Division for the first three problems and being the “red” or enemy force for the last three. The men probably learned more as a unit of the Division, but they had a lot more fun being the enemy. Maneuvers being what they are, there were always a certain number of snafus. The umpires were the unhappiest people on the field no matter who won or lost the battle. There were not enough umpires to mark the simulated...

Go For Broke Bulletin, December 2009

522nd Field Artillery Occupying Germany

Fire for Effect, the history of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion (written by the veterans) includes a brief description of their role in the Occupation of Germany, and several anecdotal contributions by individual veterans. The Occupation (pages 70-72) With the end of the war in the European Theater, the 522nd was detached from the 101st Airborne Division and attached to the 30th Field Artillery Group. On May 9, 1945, at 0815 hours, the Battalion moved out of Shaftlach and traveled 77 miles to the north by motor convoy over the autobahn past Munich to Steppach, a town on the outskirts of Augsburg, where the 522nd CP was established and occupied until May 17, 1945. Headquarters Battery then moved to Mertingen on May 17 where the...

Go For Broke Bulletin, March 2010

1944 Apr 22: Shelby to Virginia

When the last board had been nailed across the last latrine door on April 22, 1944, the Combat Team boarded trucks and rolled down to the mixed assortment of Pullmans and coaches waiting to take them to Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. The trip was uneventful, except for large quantities of folding money which changed hands enroute. Staggering wearily off the trains at the staging area, officers and men were greeted by a barrage of instructions from a loudspeaker mounted on the station platform. Quickly they formed ranks and marched to their assigned barracks. When the men left Shelby they were told that all the things not available in the Post Exchange there could be bought in the staging area Post Exchange. Accordingly, everyone made a...

Honouliuli Event

1944 Jun 6: On to Anzio

On June 6 the Combat Team left Naples for Anzio aboard LSTs and LCIs, leaving Company E behind to await the arrival of the rest of the 2nd Battalion from Oran. The small fleet put into Anzio harbor the morning of June 7, but not before 75 percent of the personnel aboard had become violently ill. Ground swells were heavy and the landing craft displaced about as much water as an over-sized bathtub; the effect produced was about equal to the effect a cyclone would have on a larger ship. After debarking in the rubble of Anzio, the troops marched about five miles to a bivouac outside the city, arriving in a state of collapse. Weeks at sea had gotten the men into terrible physical...

1944 May 1: Embarking for the Theater of War

Came time to head for the ships. On May 1, 1944, the Combat Team boarded a collection of coaches that most of the men felt had probably carried troops in the Civil War. The trains carried them straight to the piers at Hampton Roads, where there was a band playing “Over There” and some of the older favorites from the last war. Red Cross ladies passed out doughnuts while the men waited to board ships. Finally, the long lines were formed in alphabetical order and the men moved up the gang planks, singing out their first names in answer as the checker on the pier called their last names from his roster. The smaller men were very nearly invisible under their heavy packs and steel...

1944 Jun 9: Second Battle of Rome

On June 9 the Combat Team began one of its most memorable convoys, better known as “The Second Battle of Rome.” Moving out of Anzio late that afternoon, the first march unit hit Rome in daylight and made it through with only minor deviations from course. All that night, however, serial commanders looked frantically for their reconnaissance officers and vice versa. Columns of trucks wandered around the walls of the Vatican City, looking for the road north. Most of them finally found it, but not before the officers and drivers were on the verge of hysteria. One befuddled march unit commander and his troops tried three different routes out of Rome. Each time they ended up in front of the great Dome of St. Peter’s....

1944 Mar 15: Prepare for Movement

“Beware of the Ides of March” could certainly be applied in the case of the 442nd Combat Team. March 15 saw officers and noncoms rushing around like so many mad hatters looking for all available regulations on “POM,” preparation for overseas movement. First came the initial regulations, then the first clarification, then the clarification of the clarification. At this point the regimental and battalion staffs were considering the advantages of opium. Finally, the Combat Team was furnished with a new set of instructions which rescinded all previous instructions, and everybody rushed down to the post utilities office to secure the grease, waterproof paper, crates, and the numerous other items which the regulations firmly stated were necessary to the packing and crating of supplies and equipment....

67th Anniversary Banquet, article

1944 May 2: Four Weeks at Sea

Once at sea, sealed orders were opened. Before long everyone had contrived to find out that the eventual destination was Italy. Although no one would say so in so many words, it was also fairly conclusive that the ships would dock at Naples, since the Liberties were not making the Anzio run with the troops at that time. Inevitably, many of the men and many of the officers were seasick, even though the weather was nearly perfect during the entire crossing. One company commander, Captain Ralph J. Graham, was stretched out on his bunk talking to one of his lieutenants between periods of wondering whether he was going to live or die when a terrific explosion shook the ship followed by a series of smaller...

Joint Memorial Service 2009

1944 May 28: Welcome to Italy

The Combat Team debarked and found a ruined city. The panorama of the Bay of Naples was still breath-taking, but the port itself was a shell. Demolished buildings and gutted interiors were all that was left of the waterfront. Yet for all this, Naples was busy. Hundreds of GI trucks of all sizes, shapes, and descriptions raced to and from the port. It was worth a man’s life to cross a street intersection within a half a mile of the waterfront. Some units marched to the railroad station, loaded aboard little inner-urban trains, and rattled and rocked the ten miles or so to Staging Area #4 at Bagnoli. Others moved out in trucks. Immediately everyone went to work uncrating all the equipment that had been...

442nd RCT December 2009 Board Meeting

USS Arizona Memorial Museum, AJA Exhibit

442nd Infantry Guarding Italy

The German surrender in Italy had heralded the beginning of the end of the war in Europe, but the complete victory in Europe came only when the unconditional surrender became official at 0001 hours on May 9, 1945. The 442nd Combat Team received word of V-E Day with very little in the way of demonstration. It was with more of a sigh that the regiment put its arms down—a very tired sigh of relief that it was all over in Europe and the long chase was ended. So many had died —along the River Arno, in the cold dismal Vosges Forests and the Maritime Alps in France, and on the rocky crags of the Apennines. Victory had not been cheap. The 442nd Infantry Regiment had...

Go For Broke Bulletin, June 2010

442nd RCT 67th Anniversary Banquet

442nd RCT 82nd Anniversary Banquet Registration – March 29, 2025

442nd RCT 81st Anniversary Banquet

The 81st Anniversary Banquet was held at Hale `Ikena at Fort Shafter on Saturday, March 23, 2024. The event, themed “Vive la France,” was emceed by Micah Benavitz, high school social studies teacher at Mililani High School. A Guidon Processional was followed by a traditional Hawaiian oli, the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance. After a welcome by Wayne Kuwata and opening remarks by Karl Okemura several veterans and spouses were recognized: Roy Fujii, B Battery, 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, B Battery; Royce Higa, 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, A Battery; Cynthia Doi (Antitank Co.); Marian Kubota (L Co./MIS); and Laura Miho (522nd FAB, B Bty.) The highlight of the luncheon was the Presentation of La Légion d’honneur by Honorary Consul of France, Guillaume Maman, assisted by Jeffrey...

Go For Broke Tribute

Why We Did (and Do) It

2010 Joint Memorial Service, SD Update

2010 Joint Memorial Service

The 442nd RCT Foundation

Live with Honor, Die with Dignity

Congressional Gold Medal Award

Christine Sato-Yamazaki, Chairperson of the National Veterans Network writes: First and foremost, the National Veterans Network (NVN) extends it warmest congratulations to all 100th, 442nd and MIS veterans on the passage of the Congressional Gold Medal bill that recognizes your extraordinary accomplishments with the nation’s highest honor. With the passage of this bill, NVN will work in collaboration with all 22 organizations nationwide to begin the planning of the awards presentation in Washington DC. On behalf of NVN, I am pleased to provide you with our first planning update. The National Veterans Network (NVN) has launched its new web site – www.nationalveteransnetwork.com. This web site was designed to provide background and planning updates on the Congressional Gold Medal congressional ceremony that will take place in...

Small Museum in Seattle

Rian of Seattle writes: I am Rian Ebesugawa and I live in Seattle although I grew up in Honolulu (McKinley grad Class of 1976).  I am helping out with a small museum we are putting together at the Nisei Veterans Committee Hall here in Seattle.  As part of the museum, we are getting a bazooka or M1A1 rocket launcher.  As part of the display, we want to include a picture of Pvt. Henry Nakamura.  Yank magazine published the photo in August of 1945.  However, I think they spelled his name wrong and had is as Nakamora.  From my research, there was no one by the name of Nakamora at all from Hawaii or the mainland. What I am interested in is any other information about...

Bert Noboru Nishimura, 1918-2010

Go For Broke Bulletin, September 2010

Congressional Gold Medal Award Update

Pearl Harbor Aftermath: From Tragedy To Triumph

Ted T. Tsukiyama resides in Honolulu and is an active member of the 442nd RCT Veterans Club. During World War II, he was a member of the Varsity Victory Volunteers, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the 442nd RCT, and the Military Intelligence Service. Throughout the years, Ted has served as a wartime historian, often writing about his own experiences. We’re happy to have Ted’s participation on our website. We have created “Ted’s Corner”, which will feature, from time to time, Ted’s past and current articles. PEARL HARBOR AFTERMATH: FROM TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH UNIVERSITY ROTC 7:55 A.M, Sunday,  December 7, 1941, a day that will remain etched in my memory forever. I couldn’t sleep late that fateful Sunday morning because of the constant rumbling of...

The Evolution of Post World War II Hawaii Through the 442nd Nikkei

We present the following article written by Ron Oba, originally published in 1992 and posted to our website on December 19, 2010. Ronald Masami Oba (1922-2017) served as a Technician 5th Grade in F Company, 2nd Battalion. Oba was born and died in Aiea, a suburb of Honolulu. He volunteered for the 442nd on March 23, 1943, when the initial call for volunteers was issued. He served during the 442nd campaigns in Italy and France, and during the post-war occupation duties in Italy. Oba arrived back home to Hawaii with 550 other veterans on December 16, 1945, on the troopship USAT Aconcagua. He was president of the 442nd Veterans Club 1990-1993. Oba was inurned at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.  ...

Congressional Gold Medal Award Update

December 23, 2010 Christine Sato-Yamazaki, Chairperson of the National Veterans Network writes: Dear Friends, 2010 was truly an exciting year for the 100th, 442nd and MIS who will receive the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal. We now look forward to a year of celebration in 2011. Here is the latest on the Congressional Gold Medal planning: National Veterans Registry Thanks to many of your efforts, NVN continues to receive a steady flow of registrant each week. Over the past month, our numbers have more than doubled. As of today, we now have 1,600 people who are interested in attending the celebration in Washington DC next year. The breakdown is as follows: 201 Veterans 61 Widows 13 Next of Kin of those deceased...

Origins of the 442nd

GFB Bulletin***Meet Barney Hajiro

The following article was originally published in the Go For Broke Bulletin, Vol. XLVIII, No. 3, July-September, 1997. Under M Company’s “Mike Memoirs”, its contributors were Shiro Aoki, Mikers, Grace and Hiroshi Yamashiro, Dick Tochihara, and Yori and Shige Inouye. Meet Barney Hajiro For the heroic actions taken in the Vosges mountain in France, Barney Hajiro was recommended for the Medal of Honor. Like every other such recommendation the 100th/442nd had submitted it was downgraded to a DSC (Distinguish Service Cross). Now more than fifty years later, it is with high hopes that his DSC award will be upgraded to the Congressional Medal of Honor. To get better acquainted with Barney and some of his heroic deeds, excerpts from various publications are complied and reprinted...

Sons & Daughters 2010 Christmas Party

Community Exhibit Honors the Legacy of the Veterans

Inouye Visits 442 Clubhouse

Go For Broke Bulletin Archives ***A Mike Memories Article (1992)

Pearl Harbor Visitor Center ** New Exhibit Honors Nisei Veterans

Eileen Sakai reports on the “Face of the Enemy, Japanese Americans Struggle to Prove their Loyalty”  exhibit that is now on display at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. MIS veteran, James Tanabe and his wife Yoshie are outspoken advocates for the accurate public portrayal of Japanese Americans. They arranged for the Exhibit Committee to meet with National Park Service officials to work out an agreement and design a small exhibit for the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center, focusing on the impact to Hawaii’s citizens of Japanese ancestry immediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In addition to construction of the new visitor center, the USS Arizona Memorial became a World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, under a new federal program. The new visitor...

Barney Fushimi Hajiro, 1916 – 2011

Go For Broke Bulletin, December 2010

The Nisei Soldiers of World War II

The latest from Ted’s Corner… Here is the speech that Ted gave at the recent MIS Shinnenkai Installation Luncheon, held on January 29, 2011 at Natsunoya Tea Garden. I join with everyone in celebrating Congress’s recent law S.B. 1055 which awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the veterans who served with the 100th, 442nd and MIS.  But there were other Nisei units and soldiers who also served in the War. So speaking as a veteran I feel that that law really intended, if it were possible to do so, to recognize and honor all Nisei veterans regardless of when and where they fought or what unit they served in.  After all, they were all Japanese-Americans, fighting the same war against the same enemies, and for a common...

*** 2010 Honor Roll ***

442 Movie Night

Congressional Gold Medal Award Update

February 28, 2011 Christine Sato-Yamazaki, Chairperson of the National Veterans Network writes: Here is the latest on the Congressional Gold Medal planning: Speaker meeting: We finally secured a meeting with Speaker Boehner’s staff on March 22nd. We will be meeting with the Speaker’s Director of Scheduling and Special Events to begin discussion on the ceremony date, venue and attendee requirements. Since the U.S. Mint will not complete the minting of the Congressional Gold Medal until September (if all goes well), we are planning to push for an October ceremony date. We will also advocate for a large venue that accommodates 1,000 people, in the hopes that the Speaker will allow all registered living veterans, widows, next of kin of KIA and next of kin of...

*Our Nobler Selves* Film Debut

CGM Press Conference at Iolani Palace

March 28, 2011 A press conference was held today on the grounds of Iolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawaii. Retired Major General Robert Lee provided an update on the Congressional Gold Medal Award events planned for both Washington DC and Hawaii.  The press conference officially kicks off a fund-raising campaign for a gold medal celebration to be held at the Hawaii Convention Center on December 17, 2011. The event will include a parade through Waikiki, luncheon at the convention center, a video showing of the DC ceremony, and presentation of CGM replicas to all attending veterans. A number of veterans attended today’s press conference. March 28th is a special date. 68 years ago, over 10,000 people gathered at Iolani Palace to bid farewell to the men of...

A Salute to “The One Puka Puka”

Did you ever wonder how the 1ooth Battalion began?  Ted Tsukiyama unfolds the “guinea pig battalion” story in “The One Puka Puka”… Their Japanese ancestry caused them to be unwanted, feared, distrusted and even despised.  An expected Japanese invasion of Hawaii induced their hasty removal from their beloved island home. The Army didn’t know what to do with them after 14 months of training, even after their dispatch to North Africa.  They were the Army’s “orphan outfit,” playing “guinea pig” for Japanese Americans in military service.  Finally, after assignment to the 34th Division they gained the opportunity to engage in combat as the first and only segregated, all-Japanese infantry unit. Soon they earned the reputation as the “Purple Heart Battalion” as the most decorated unit...

Go For Broke Bulletin Archives *** The Battlefields Tour: May 2004

Sons & Daughters 2011 General Membership Meeting

Ron’s Canteen *** Lt. Col. John D. Porter

Lt. Col. John D. Porter A nice article on Lt. Col. John D. Porter from the Go For Broke Bulletin (Vol. XLVIII No. 3 – July – September 1997) by Ron Oba.   It’s funny how one reminisces and start to treasure the days of old.  As one ages, the urge to recapture youth through the acquaintances you haven’t seen or heard from since.  It’s as if that the remembrances of old friends and the telling of your life story with the joy of coupling the stories with the names of soldiers you’ve lived with will somehow keep immortality alive.  Maybe that is the reason so many of the veterans are now coming in to the Archives for their oral histories so that their legacy will live forever through...

442 Foundation 2011 Annual Report

The Story of Stars and Stripes Honor Flight

National Veterans Network Kicks Off Fundraising Campaign

Congresswoman Mazie Hirono Honors *Go For Broke* Japanese-American WWII Veterans

Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii Honors Veterans

*Go For Broke* Heroes Floral Tribute, Memorial Day 2011

Go For Broke Bulletin, March 2011

Rocky Matayoshi Receives The DSC: June 7, 2011

Memorial Day Observance at the Waikiki Natatorium

Congressional Gold Medal Design Update

Veterans honored in Kona

100th Infantry Battalion***Annual Banquet

A Country Stolen: The Story of the VVV

The story of the Varsity Victory Volunteers was published in the Hawaii Herald on March 17, 1995.  It was contributed by Bill Thompson and based on Army records and interviews.  VVV Statue It was about 3:00 a.m. in the morning. A shout went through the barracks at the shooting range for the men to wake up and assemble outside. The soldiers sleepily fell into line to hear the orders. What emergency had taken place for the men to get up at this un-godly hour? The orders were then read. The men were shocked! Disbelief ran through the minds of the assembled personnel. The orders bluntly stated that all men of Japanese ancestry, the Nisei, were immediately dismissed from the Hawaii Territorial Guard! Short hours after...

100th-442nd RCT Golf Fundraiser

GFB Bulletin Archives *** 232nd Combat Engineer Company

Go For Broke Bulletin June 2011

Bruyeres + Honolulu Event

Go For Broke Bulletin – July-Sept 2011

CGM Hawaii Event * December 17, 2011

2011 Joint Memorial Service

2012 Officers for the 442

CGM Hawaii Parade

Nisei Legacy Center Project Announced

Only The Brave

Congressional Gold Medal Award Hawaii Event

Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony at Punchbowl

CGM Video Tribute

*** 2011 Honor Roll ***

*Nisei Diploma Project* California State University

Go For Broke Bulletin December 2011

America’s Congressional Gold Medal Heroes

This is the first of many articles that have been published in The Hawai`i Herald.  Here is the cover story on the AJA Congressional Gold Medal — Courtesy of The Hawai`i Herald. AMERICA’S CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL HEROES In the Twilight of their Lives, America’s AJA Veterans Still Shine Karleen C. Chinen The Hawai‘i Herald (November 4, 2011) They now belong to an elite group of world citizens — honored by the Congress of the United States with the nation’s high civilian award for service — the Congressional Gold Medal. Past awardees had included U.S. presidents, astronauts, the Dalai Lama, baseball great Jackie Robinson, Pope John Paul II, and Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, among others. Google “Congressional Gold Medal” on the Internet and you will find...

Senpai Gumi Story – 100th to MIS

Ted T. Tsukiyama resides in Honolulu and is an active member of the 442nd RCT Veterans Club and the MIS Veterans Club. During World War II, he was a member of the Varsity Victory Volunteers, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the 442nd RCT, and the Military Intelligence Service. Throughout the years, Ted has served as a wartime historian, often writing about his own experiences. Here is his latest article: “Senpai” translated into English means “elder,” “senior,” “predecessor” or “pioneer,” and the word “gumi” means “group,” “team,” or “class,”  so “senpai gumi” as referred to herein means “pioneer group” or “pioneer class.”  “Senpai Gumi” is also the name of a historical booklet edited by 100th/MIS veteran Richard S. Oguro which tells the story of the fifty...

442 Anniversary Banquet, 2012

A Letter to Dad

69th Anniversary Banquet *Cannon Company*

Preserving the One Puka Puka Story

1399th: Built to Last

Here is an article from the Hawaii Herald on the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion.  Yasuo Mito, a member of the Battalion recalls his experiences.Stories and images are courtesy of the Hawaii Herald. BUILT TO LASTWahiawa Water Tank Built by 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion Still in Use Today Gwen Battad IshikawaThe Hawai‘i Herald (November 4, 2011) The view while driving up Wahiawa Heights is almost nondescript. The rows of houses on either side of the street are occasionally broken up by pasture or farm land. Along the route are storage water tanks used to supply the water needs of nearby homes and businesses. The trees and tall grass growing in front of the tanks help them to blend in with the landscape. What’s unique about one of...

Go For Broke Bulletin March 2012

Varsity Victory Volunteers

442SD General Membership Meeting

442 Infantry Tribute