Soldier Story: Kazuyo Uyehara
Soldier Story
Kazuo Uyehara
Private First Class
Company B, 100th Battalion
442nd Regimental Combat Team
Kazuo Uyehara was born on June 3, 1925, in Denver, Colorado. He was the son of Yoshikazu and Katsu (Minoda) Uyehara. His siblings were: brother Masanori and sisters Mieko and Hisaye. Father Yoshikazu was born on January 15, 1899, in the village of Miyaji, Amakusa District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Kazuo’s parents were married on February 10, 1920, in the district of Hondo, Kumamoto Prefecture.
Father Yoshikazu arrived at Seattle, Washington, on May 14, 1920, under the name of Giichi Uehara. He returned to Japan and arrived back at Seattle on October 27, 1923, on the S.S. Arabia. Mother Katsu arrived eight months later at Seattle on June 27, 1924, on the Yokohama Maru. She was born on August 3, 1899, in the village of Ikariishi, Amakusa District. The couple settled in Denver where their two eldest children (their sons) were born.
By 1930, the family had moved to Los Angeles, California, where they lived in Torrance, at Marble Ranch on Acacia and Pine Streets. Father Yoshikazu was a farming foreman.
By 1940, they had moved to 1605 West 37th Place in Los Angeles and father Yoshikazu was a gardener for a private family. In 1942, when he signed his draft registration card, he described his employment as operating his own gardening business.
In the spring of 1942, the Uyehara family was evacuated to the Santa Anita WCCA Assembly Center, located at the Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, near downtown Los Angeles. They were incarcerated at Amache WRA Internment Camp (also called Granada) in southeastern Colorado on September 25, 1942. While there, they lived in Unit 12H-12-13.
Kazuo signed his draft registration card on August 24, 1943, Local Board No. 35 in the County Building for Prowers County, Colorado. His residence was Unit 12H-12-13 at Amache and he was a student. He was 5’2½” tall and weighed 115 pounds.
Kazuo Uyehara was released from Granada on September 12, 1944, to Fort Logan, Colorado, to enlist in the Army. Brother Masanori had been released a few weeks earlier on August 23, 1944, by invitation to Omaha, Nebraska. Mieko and Hisaye were released after the war had ended, on September 18, 1945, to Los Angeles. Their parents were released to Los Angeles the next day, September 19, 1945.
Kazuo Uyehara enlisted in the U.S. Army on September 14, 1944, in Denver, the same day he was released from Granada. His residence was given as Prowers County and he had completed four years of high school.
Where he was sent for basic and combat training was not found in our research.
Uyehara arrived in the Theater of War in Europe as a replacement to the 442nd RCT while they were in the Vosges Mountains of France. He was assigned to the 100th Battalion, B Company. Replacements had arrived in the Vosges Mountains just as the campaign there had finished in November 1944. The replacements were transported with the rest of the 442nd to southern France for the Maritime Alps Campaign. Replacements also arrived on January 12 and February 15, while the Combat Team was in southern France from November 23, 1944, to March 1945. Uyehara’s exact date of arrival was not found in our research, but it was likely in one of these three groups of replacements.
The mission of the 442nd in southern France was mostly a defensive position to guard against enemy incursion from across the border with Italy. The men alternated between time high in the Maritime Alps and time on the coast. They were often given passes to enjoy the peace in Nice and Menton – and for this reason this period was nicknamed the “Champagne Campaign.”
In March, the Combat Team had recovered its numbers after the devasting loss of men killed and wounded in the Vosges. Men who had been wounded in the Vosges Campaign returned to duty from hospitals and replacements had arrived. As they were back to combat strength, the 442nd was ordered to return to Italy for the Po Valley Campaign (with the exception of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion that was sent to Germany). They arrived at the staging area in Marseilles between March 17 to 19 and sailed on March 20 to 22 on LSTs for Italy.
The presence of the 442nd in Italy was a closely guarded secret, as their objective was to execute a surprise diversionary attack on the western anchor of the German Gothic Line. The center of this elaborate system of fortifications had been pierced in the fall of 1944, but no one had yet been able to pry the Germans loose from the western end. The Gothic Line in this area was formidable – it was hewn out of solid rock, reinforced with concrete, and constructed to give all-around protection and observation. The Germans were dug into mountain peaks rising almost sheer from the coastal plain, stripped bare of vegetation by the enemy save for scanty scrub growth.
On March 28, the Combat Team left their initial staging area at Pisa and moved to a bivouac at San Martino, near the walled city of Lucca. All units used their time for training. Firing ranges were set up and the men spent hours adjusting their newly issued weapons to the highest accuracy. New replacements – such as Kazuo Uyehara who had no combat experience – practiced small-unit problems with their squads and platoons day and night.
On the evening of April 3, the 100th and 3rd Battalions moved to their forward assembly areas. The 100th moved into the vicinity of Vallecchia. The following night, the 100th moved to its line of departure on the “Florida” hill mass, relieving elements of the 371st Infantry. Their first objective was “Georgia” peak, where they gained its crest within 32 minutes. This, coupled with 3rd Battalion’s success with its surprise attack on Mt. Folgorito, meant that the 442nd had accomplished what other units had been unable to do over the preceding five months – that is, pierce the German’s Gothic Line.
The 442nd continued its deadly push north along the mountains, continuing to succeed in liberating towns from the retreating Germans. On April 28, the 100th Battalion reached Busalla in the mountain pass that led from Genoa to the Po, and they set up an outpost at Isola del Cantone to await what would happen next. At this point, large groups of Germans were surrendering to US troops. The war ended in Italy on May 2, 1945, when German forces surrendered – a week before the surrender of Germany on May 9 that ended the war in Europe.
During the occupation, the 442nd was in bivouac at Novi Ligure until May 16 when they left for Ghedi Airfield near Brescia. There, they processed and guarded thousands of German POWs for a month. They next moved to Lecco on Lake Garlate where they enjoyed Lake Como and the beautiful countryside.
Right: Kazuo during the occupation in 1945 (Courtesy of 100th Battalion website)
In early July they were sent to the vicinity of Livorno, Pisa, and Florence where they were based for the rest of their occupation duties of guarding prisoners and military installations for the remainder of 1945 and into 1946. During this time, soldiers were being sent back to the US on a point system, with high pointers leaving first. Points were given for such factors as months of service in theater, number of times wounded, number of dependents at home. As Pfc. Uyehara had been in theater since late 1944, he was a “low pointer,” which meant he had to remain in Italy longer.
Below: Kazuo in Livorno, 1946 (Courtesy of 100th Battalion website)
Below: Scene on the ship going home in 1946 (Courtesy of 100th Battalion website)
Our research did not reveal the date of Uyehara’s departure from Italy to the US.
He arrived at Camp Beale, California, about 50 miles north of Sacramento, where many returning veterans were sent to await further transfer to their home. Kazuo Uyehara was discharged from the U.S. Army on November 22, 1946, at Camp Beale.
For his World War II service, Private First Class Kazuo Uyehara earned the: Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, Distinguished Unit Badge, and Combat Infantryman Badge. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on October 5, 2010, along with the other veterans of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team. The award states: “The United States remains forever indebted to the bravery, valor, and dedication to country these men faced while fighting a 2-fronted battle of discrimination at home and fascism abroad. Their commitment and sacrifice demonstrates a highly uncommon and commendable sense of patriotism and honor.”
He returned home to Los Angeles. In April 1948, Kazuo Uyehara was involved in a car accident on Aviation Boulevard in Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles. He was taken to the hospital with scalp lacerations. At the time, he was age 22 and working as a gardener.
In 1950, Kazuo was living with his family at 3424 12th Avenue in Los Angeles. Father Yoshikazu was a gardener for a private family, mother Katsu was a machine operator at a men’s trouser factory, brother Masanori was a gardener’s helper, and sister Hisaye was employed wrapping packages at a retail department store. Kazuo was unemployed at the time.
Kazuo married Elizabeth Chieko Iseda in the early 1950s. She was born on May 8, 1931, the daughter of Gyosuke and Masao (Nakabayashi) Iseda of Riverside, near Los Angeles. Gyosuke and Masao emigrated from Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, in 1915 and 1916, respectively.
Over the next few years, Kazuo and Chieko had a son and a daughter.
Father Yoshikazu Uyehara became a naturalized US citizen on November 11, 1954, in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California. His petition was filed on August 11, 1954, and witnessed by son Masanori, a mechanic who lived with his parents, and daughter-in-law Elizabeth Chieko Uyehara of 4620 West 30th Street in Los Angeles. He was employed as a gardener, residing at 3424 12th Avenue with his wife and four children. His Alien Registration No. was 2656856. His US citizenship Certificate No. was 7405779.
Mother Katsu Uyehara became a naturalized U.S. citizen a few months later – May 16, 1955, in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California. At the time, she was working as a seamstress. The family was still living at 3424 12th Avenue. Her son Masanori, a mechanic who lived with his parents, and her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Chieko Uyehara of 5527 West Jefferson Boulevard, signed her petition as witnesses. Her Alien Registration No. was 3020190. Her petition was filed on February 4, 1955. Her US citizenship Certificate No. was 7530571.
Kazuo and Elizabeth Chieko were divorced in September 1959. She remarried in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 22, 1962, to Mitsuo Sato.
In June 1964 and 1965 in Gardena, Kazuo owned Tract 18836, Lot 30. By June 1965, Kazuo was married to Jane (last name not found in our research) and they owned some property in the Redlands area of San Bernadino County, east of downtown Los Angeles. It was identified in the county tax records as Tract No. 5212, Lots 17 and 18.
Mother Katsu died in June 1977 and her funeral was held on June 8 at Senshin Buddhist Church, 1336 West 36th Place. She was survived by her husband and four children.
Kazuo married Kum Sun in the 1980s. She was born in Korea on November 19, 1933. The couple lived at 1615 Marine Avenue in Gardena.
Father Yoshikazu died in February 1990 and his funeral was held at Senshin Buddhist Temple on February 22.
Brother Masanori died on March 26, 2006, at the age of 79. He was survived by three sons, four grandchildren, brother Kazuo and his wife Kum, sisters Mieko and Hisaye, and many nieces and nephews. His funeral was on April 1 at the Orange County Buddhist Church in Anaheim.
Kum Sun Uyehara predeceased her husband Kazuo on October 10, 2009. She was buried at Green Hills Memorial Park.
Kazuo Uyehara, a longtime resident of Gardena, died a few months later on April 1, 2010, at the age of 84. His funeral was held on April 8 in the mortuary chapel at Green Hills Memorial Park, 27501 South Western Avenue, Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles. Immediately following, he was buried in the Pleasant View Lawn Crypt 213-B, next to his wife, Kum Sun. He was survived by his son and daughter, four grandchildren, and sisters Mrs. Mieko Unoura and Hisaye Uyehara Kaneko (Mrs. David Kaneko).
Researched and written by the Sons & Daughters of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in 2025.