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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 of its size and time in battle in the American Army of World War II.  They not only proved the “Americanism is not a matter of race or ancestry” but also won for other Niseis the right to fight for their country.

That is the heart-warming “Cinderella story” of the original 100th Infantry Battalion (separate), proudly identified by the men of the 100th as “The One Puka Puka.”

The true origins of the 100th must trace back to 1909 and 1920 when immigrant Japanese field workers staged a general strike for fair wages and decent working conditions, which erupted into bitter racial hostility and denigrated the entire Japanese population to be treated for the next 20 years as an economic, political, and national security threat to Hawaii.  Statehood was denied because of its large Japanese population and the questionable loyalty of even the American-born Japanese youth.  After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, the question was directed at every Nisei, “Who you going shoot?” and the men of the 100th knew in their hearts that the burden fell upon them to answer this challenge emphatically and for all time, on behalf of every Nisei everywhere.

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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 the retelling of their stories. 

John D. Porter, who volunteered for the 442^nd from the 34^th Division, is one of them.  He was here on Oahu at the Waianae R and R Center with his family.  He called to say how he remembered the men of the 2^nd platoon, Capt. Akins, Capt. Hill, and others.  You couldn’t stop him for relating how proud he is as a veteran of the F Co. 442^nd.  But let him tell you himself in the following taped resume (shortened for the bulletin) and anecdotes he has sent to F Company and the Archives for posterity.

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In Memoriam

The following tribute is in memory the veterans of the 100^th/442^nd RCT who have left us in 2010. It is with honor and gratitude that we dedicate our ongoing efforts to promote their legacy and all they stood for.

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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 100^th, 442^nd 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 cause, and also they all had to fight a second battle, the battle against distrust, racial discrimination and prejudice on the home front. It was their total collective service, loyalty, valor and sacrifice during the World War II that changed the course of social history of the United States and bettered the lives of all persons of Japanese ancestry who call America their home. So today, may I share with you a summary profile of the Nisei Soldiers of World War II and how they loyally served their country in a manner befitting the honor of a Congressional Gold Medal.

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