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First Nisei From 442nd Unit Reenlists Into Regular Army
From Pacific Citizen October 18, 1945
Tombolo, Italy — when Pfc. Jack T. Yasuda of L company was sworn in on Sept. 30, he became the first Japanese American soldier of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to reenlist in the Regular Army.
A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Pfc. Yasuda was drafted into the pre-war army in Oct., 1941, from Los Angeles, Calif., when he was working as a truck driver in the wholesale produce market.
He joined the 442nd as a replacement while the Japanese American unit was in Naples preparatory to leaving for France in the fall of 1944. As a rifleman in L company, he fought through the Rhineland, North Apennines and Po Valley campaigns and wears the Distinguished Unit Citation with oak leaf cluster for having been a member of the O'Connor Task Force and having participated in the rescue of the Lost Battalion.
Discharged on Sept. 29, he technically enjoyed one day as a civilian before beginning a new three- year “hitch.”
Interviewed on his reenlistment, Pfc. Yasuda simply declared that he “likes the army.”
After returning to the United States and Hawaii on furlough, he expects to return to the continent for at least a part of his next three years.
Although Yasuda is the first to reenlist for a three- year period, 13 other 442nd soldiers have been accepted as Class II volunteers, for service in this theater not to exceed the duration of six months.
Source Information
October 18, 1945
Page: 3
+ Pacific Citizen
Media Type: Newspaper
Place: Los Angeles
State: California
Country: United States
The Pacific Citizen, created as the organizational newsletter of the Japanese American Citizens League, became a full-fledged newspaper during World War II. During the war years, it represented the most articulate voice of mainland Japanese Americans, and acted as the principal purveyor of news to the community.
The Pacific Citizen was founded in 1929 as the bulletin of the San Francisco "New American Citizens League," under the name Nikkei Shimin. Three years later, it was adopted as the official organ of the fledgling JACL and renamed. During the 1930s it was taken over by Seattle-based editor James Sakamoto as an adjunct of his newspaper Japanese American Courier.
With the advent of World War II, the newspaper moved to Salt Lake City, chronicling the stresses and agonies of the Japanese Americans ripped from the homes and imprisoned in the desolate and forbidding "relocation camps" that had been hastily constructed. It covered the progress of the struggle to persuade the government to allow Nisei men to volunteer and fight against the fascist forces of sweeping through Europe and Asia. And then followed with the stories of sacrifice and heroic victories of the Nisei soldiers fighting in Europe.
After the war the newspaper relocated to Los Angles, CA, and continues to publish as a national, award-winning semi-monthly newspaper focused on covering Asian Pacific American (APA) news.
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People mentioned in this clipping: Jack T. Yasuda