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Company L Entertains the Combat Team

Company L, 442nd Infantry, gave a variety show entertainment Wednesday evening at the third battalion amphitheater of the Japanese American combat team. The title was “You Can Take It With You. (We don't want it!)” comedy skits, group and chorus singing, Hawaiian melodies, and a magician were among the numbers. The magician overestimated his ability to get out of rope knots. Tied up early in the show, he was still writing in .meshes when the show closed and the audience had departed. An officers’ trio, Capt. R T. Applegarth, and Lts. R. W. Smith and Milton L. Brenner sang several numbers to ukulele accompaniment while prospective non-coms were bidden by an off-stage sign to “clap like hell.” A perniciously interfering peanut vendor, crying “Hot, frosted...

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Crack Army Battalion From Hawaii

One of the Army's finest battalions—the 100th Infantry from Hawaii—which had been stationed for several months at Camp Shelby, is now engaged in maneuvers. The picture above was taken at Shelby and shows Staff Sgt. Harry Mijamoto lecturing on the use of the hand grenade. Sgt. Mijamoto formerly won many boxing honors in the Hawaiian Islands. He and most of the other members of the 100th Battalion are Japanese-Americans who are intensely loyal citizens of the United States and are able and skillful soldiers.
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Earl M. Finch Flies East For 442nd Deactivation

The man who recently was accorded a bigger reception in Hawaii than the late President Roosevelt, Earl Finch, the 442nd’s best friend and one-man USO from Hattiesburg, Miss., flew into town last Saturday to be in at the final deactivation ceremonies of his beloved 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Finch, mild mannered but effective, switched plans to tour the West Coast in behalf of the Nisei, and reversed his direction when he was advised of pending arrival of the Wilson Victory. He wired the War Department that he would stand by to do everything he could for the boys. And in Finch's language, that's plenty. He is staying at the Astor Hotel which is his New York headquarters. Through no desire of his own, Finch’s work...

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First Nisei From 442nd Unit Reenlists Into Regular Army

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...

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Five New Soldiers Join the 442nd

Five more Japanese-American volunteers arrived at the Combat Team Saturday morning from the Minidoka Relocation Center, Hunt, Idaho, and from New Jersey. Inducted at Fort Douglas, Utah, Pvts. Augustine Aratani, Yoshio Kato, and John Kawaguchi spent their 14-day furlough traveling eastward to Chicago and New York City. They found the two cities big and busy and exciting since this was their first opportunity in over a year to walk through the streets of a large city. They had a great time visiting friends and then going to the USO centers. Pvts. Mamo Nakayama and Ross Hiraoka were the arrivals from Fort Dix, New Jersey. Nakayama is a native of New Jersey while Hiraoka was relocated only recently to that state from the Gila River Relocation...

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Four From Same Home In Combat Team

Not many homes can fly four-star service flags, but Mrs. Earl T. Kubo has one in the window of 2203 Coyne street, Honolulu — and she's only 31 years old. It all comes of the fact that when there's a war on the Kubos and the Ishiis get busy and join up. Here's the picture: Mr. And Mrs. Earl T. Kubo bought a new home at 2203 Coyne street and with them went to live with Kubo's brother Ralph, and Mrs. Kubo's two brothers, Harry and Teiji Ishii. When opportunity came for the Americans of Japanese ancestry to enlist for the Combat Team at Camp Shelby, Earl and Ralph Kubo and Harry and Teiji Ishii promptly volunteered. The father of Earl and Ralph served in...

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FOUR SPECIAL STONES

Here is an article from the Hawai`i Herald’s special edition honoring the 70th Anniversary of the 442nd RCT.Stories and images are courtesy of the Hawai`i Herald.FOUR SPECIAL STONES Minoru Kishaba’s Story Reveals the Essence of the Nisei SoldierKarleen Chinen The Hawai‘i Herald (March 15, 2013)From the outset of our journey, one of the veterans in our group, Lahaina-born Minoru Kishaba, had struck me as an especially warm and gentle man. As we traveled through Italy, “Chappy” — a nickname that was given to him by his buddies in Anti-Tank Company because he sometimes read passages from the Bible to them — often talked about how lonely and homesick he felt during the war. “It was a very lonely feeling, especially evening, after you dig your hole...

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Frederick O. Jimbo Receives Warrant Officer Commission

Corp. Frederick O. Jimbo has been commissioned a Warrant Officer in the field artillery battalion of the Japanese American Combat Team. Formerly a resident of Sacramento, Cal. Mr. Jimbo is a graduate of the School of Business Administration of the University of California at Los Angeles. As a student and afterward he was active in church work and choral groups. Mr. Jimbo was transferred to Camp Shelby from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, last February, coming here as a member of the training cadre of the Japanese American Combat Team.
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Fri-Sun Club of the 232nd Engineers

The Fri-Sun Recreational Club celebrated its second anniversary July 17 in the day room of the 232nd Engs. of the Japanese American Combat Team. The Fri-Sun, a club created especially for and by defense workers in Hawaii, got its name from the meetings and dances which were held every Friday and Sunday evenings in Honolulu. The defence workers arriving in Honolulu from surrounding islands were often lonely and friendless with nothing to do in their spare time. The YWCA, with Miss Mildred Towle as supervisor, began the Fri-Sun Club in an effort to acquaint the young people who had left their homes to take defense jobs in Honolulu. Started as an idea, the Fri-Sun club soon gained momentum and popularity and now boasts a membership...

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General Emmons Leaves Hawaii June 1

(By Associated Press) Honolulu, May 28. — Lieut. General Delos C. Emmons, commander of the Hawaiian department of U. S. Army during the grim days following the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor will relinquish that command June 1 and be succeeded by Major Gen. Robert C. Richardson. General Emmons, who made the announcement of the change yesterday after he had received the distinguished service medal in recognition of his outstanding work here, did not disclose his new assignment but speculation immediately arose that he might take over the western defense command in the Fourth Army, now headed by Lieut. Gen. John L. DeWitt. “There wouldn't be a more pleasant place to serve” than San Francisco, General Emmons said in explaining he was unable to...

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Happy Birthday Pvt. Kiyoshi Tsubata

Pvt. Kiyoshi Tsubata, a member of the Japanese-American combat team, celebrated his 24th birthday July 1 with a huge birthday cake. A letter from his wife, Frances, from Wailua, Oahu, Hawaii, addressed to Lt. K. Akamatsu and Chaplain John T. Barrett, asked that the two officers arrange a party for her husband with a decorated cake as a surprise. Her letter read: “I sincerely hope that this letter reaches you in ample time to get a birthday cake for my husband, Kiyoshi, on his birthday, July 1. I am very anxious that he have a happy birthday, and sending this cake to him is just a token of my love.”
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Having A Swim In Hattiesburg

Pvt. Robert Kubo, Co. H, 442nd Combat Team, was with the civil service in Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, his home. It's very hard for Pvt. Kubo to talk for any length of time, without mentioning the beauty and wonder of “the Islands.” He has a hobby, which is photography. When Pvt. Kubo comes into Hattiesburg, he likes a swim at the YMCA.
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Hawaiian Chaplain Will Come To Camp Shelby

(by Associated Press) Honolulu, T. H., June 9 — Hawaii's first chaplain of Japanese ancestry to enter the armed forces is Masao Yamada, 36, a practical Congregational minister who says “God and guns will win the war for the United Nations.” A first lieutenant in the army chaplain corps, he will join American soldiers of Japanese ancestry now in training in Camp Shelby, Miss., for combat duty. One of the first advocates of an American army of volunteers of Japanese ancestry, he is well acquainted with the background and training of Japan's military machine A graduate of Auburn Theological Seminary in New York, his studies took him to Tokyo for seven years where he had a ringside seat during the uprising “when the militarist failed...

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Hawaiian Troops Are Coming

San Francisco, April 10.
Twenty-five hundred Hawaiian-born Japanese are ready to train with the army’s new Japanese-American combat team.
Arrival of the Japanese was announced by the War department last night. They entrained immediately for Camp Shelby, Mississippi where they will be joined by an equal number of Japanese-Americans from the mainland.
All members of the group are volunteers, carefully chosen from among more than 10,000 applicants.
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Hawaiian Troops Start Work After 1st Open-House

Soldiers in the Hawaiian combat team began work today at Camp Shelby after their first week-end open ball and open-house at Service Club 5 where they entertained 100 Japanese-American girls from the relocation center at Rohwer, Arkansas. The visitors arrived Saturday evening and went to the hall at the service club. Dancing ended at midnight. Open house was held Sunday with a tea dance Sunday afternoon and the girls then started the return trip in their chartered buses. Expenses of the entertainment and the transportation cost were borne by the soldiers. Music for the dance Saturday night was furnished by the orchestra from the Station Hospital Medical detachment. Sgt. Francis Nataline, formerly with Sammy Kaye, directed. Sgt. Hitoshi Kanemitsu, Service Co., 442nd Inf. was master...

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Henrietta of Honolulu

The cat that traveled to London to see the queen was a piker compared to Henrietta, who has come all the way from Hawaii to reside in Hattiesburg. Henrietta is a red 9-tenths Persian belonging to captain and Mrs. R. B. Ensminger, 119 Mabel Street. She is a year old and was given to them by a friend in Honolulu. When the Ensmingers left the islands for Camp Shelby they decided that Henrietta should come along too; so she was sent on a later boat to San Francisco and then to Hattiesburg by railway express. When Henrietta left home she was amply provided with food for the three weeks trip, but she was either seasick or the food was lost on the way, because she...

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Hilarious Comedy Theater By Company M, 442nd RCT

Co. M, Bn., 442nd Inf., was responsible this week for the hilarious and enjoyable show presented each Wednesday night at Dixon stadium. Opening the program, M. C. Pvt. Timo Tomikoshi, better known as “Timoshenko,” introduced Pvt. Kashu Nishida's warblers who sang Hawaiian melodies. The entire program was one of talented variety ranging from a saxophone solo by Cpl. Kenneth Miyake, to a tonette (hill-billy “sweet potato”) solo by Pvt. Frank Mimura and an inimical and screamingly funny “strip tease” by Sgt. Noble Taziri. Most outstanding on the program, however, was the “G. I. Wahine chorus” composed of hairy-legged, broad-shoulder, bearded soldiers who were dressed in bright peasant-like ankle-length gowns. Kicking their G. I. shod feet in true “chorus girl” fashion, the chorus went through a...

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Jap Fought For U.S., Now In Detention Camp

(By Associated Press)
Manzanar, Calif. — One of the American-born Japanese detained for the duration of this war fought for Uncle Sam in another — the Spanish-American.
Harry Noboteru Sumida was a gunner's mate on the battleship Indiana. He was wounded by a shell, and now his left leg is paralyzed so he can hardly walk. He is in the hospital at the war relocation authority camp here. Sumida spent his boyhood in New York. He is 71.
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Japanese-Americans Expert Nicknamers

Nicknames are often a good index to the Americanization of our citizens of foreign ancestry. Nicknames are universal but only Americans have perfected the art of bestowing them with great irreverence to fit the subject. Nicknames of Japanese-American soldiers in training here for a combat team are particularly revealing. The soldiers take great delight in naming each other with monikers that are a far cry from those that appear on the baptismal records. And the names they pick invariably stick and are worn with pride by the namee. For instance, one short, chubby soldier has been dubbed “five by five,” which in turn has been shortened to “Five.” Another Kewpie-faced private is known to his associates as "Jack O Lantern,” shortened to “Lantern.” A former...

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Lt Young Oak Kim’s Wife Also Serves the 442nd

Mrs. Ida Kim, assistant to Miss Ivelle O’Donnell, social Hostess of Service Club 5, is an extremely modest, but very efficient person. She will not talk about herself and does not like publicity but she is one of the busiest people around Camp Shelby. When she was asked what her hobby is she exclaimed “swimming!!!” with emphasis impossible to convey by print. Mrs. Kim, wife of Lieut. Young Kim, 100th Infantry, formerly was a Camp Shelby reporter for the Hattiesburg American.
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Lt. Hirano Is Apartment Hunting

Lt. and Mrs. Roy M. Hirano have arrived from Camp Savage, Minn. Lt. Hirano is with the Reg. Hqs. Co., 442nd Inf. The Hiranos are here apartment hunting. Any help along this line will be greatly appreciated. They may be reached at phone number 2687. Hattiesburg American 1943 May 21 Page 7 Surprise Birthday Party for Pvt. Thomas N. Goto Content: Pvt. Thomas N. Goto of Hq. Bty. 522nd F. A, celebrated his birthday last night with a cake sent to him from Hilo, Hawaii. The sender of the cake, Miss Haruko N. Matsuura is an instructor at the Intermediate School in the Islands. She wrote to the Hattiesburg American asking as a special favor that arrangements be made to have a cake delivered to...

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Lt. Jorgensen Promoted

Capt. Reid Jorgensen, intelligence officer, 442nd Infantry Combat Team training at Camp Shelby, recently was promoted from first Lieutenant. Capt. and Mrs. Jorgensen and their nine months old son live at 211 Chestnut street, Hattiesburg. Capt. Jorgensen’s hometown is New York City where his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Jorgensen, reside.
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Lt. Sipe Departs 442nd For Flight Training

Second Lt. Russell L. Sipe, of the 442nd (Japanese-American) Combat Team, left Wednesday for San Antonio, Tex., where he will begin flight training at San Antonio Air Base. Members of his company (Headquarters Co., Third Bn.) paid Lt. Sipe a farewell tribute at noon mess Wednesday with a program of Hawaiian music and songs, which ended with “Aloha.” Lt. Sipes home is in Lebanon, Ind.
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Lt. Young Oak Kim Receives A Visitor

Mrs. Heidi Kim of Los Angeles, is visiting her husband Lieut. Young Kim of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 85th Division.
Mrs. Kim is a well educated American born Chinese. She is a registered nurse and a very good typist. She is making Hattiesburg her home and would like very much to be employed. Anyone who can help her can get in touch with Mrs. Kim at the YWCA.
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Making Your Patient Feel Good

Sgt. George Matsumoto of Dental Clinic No.1 was having a cool soft drink with one of his patients, Pvt. Toshio Kawato, of 442nd Inf. Regt., at Guest House 3, next to the clinic. Sgt. Matsumoto has been here five months, coming from San Francisco; his patient, Pvt. Keawato is from Maui, Hawaii. “Nothing like making your patient feel good,“ said Sgt. Matsumoto.
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Measuring The Mess Sergeant

“Dynamite comes in little packages.” Proof of this old saying is seen in 442nd Inf. Service Co.'s mess Sgt. Hitoshi Kanemitsu. Measuring a scant 5' 2 “and weighing a mere 117 lbs, Sgt. Kanemitsu keeps the company's mess hall going smoothly and efficiently with growls and barks equal to any Sgt. any size. “What he lacks in size, he makes up in efficiency,” soldiers in the Combat Team vow. Ask if being short was a detriment or an asset, Sgt. Kanemitsu answered with a gloating look, “I get out of doing lots of things by being small!” He celebrated his birthday Tuesday with a cake sent to him by friends in Camp Shelby.
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Meet A 442nd Volunteer

Pvt. Paul Bannai, member of the 442nd Combat Team, was once a cashier at the California Bank and also worked for the Bank of America in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the Roosevelt high school in Los Angeles and attended the University of Nebraska, taking pre-law. He chose music and people as his hobby, saying “people are interesting. They are all different.” As a sideline, Pvt. Bannai was a manager of Johnny J's orchestra.
When asked how he liked the south, he answered very sincerely and quietly, “I like it very much. There is nothing to complain about. I volunteered to join the Combat Team because I wanted to be in it, and people usually don't volunteer for things they don't like.”
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Meet Cpl. Harry Komatsu

Cpl. Harry Komatsu of Service Company, 442nd Inf., misses one thing in Mississippi. Snow. He is an avid skier — owning not one but two complete skiing outfits. His hometown, Sacramento, is not far from the Sierra Nevada's — his favorite stomping grounds. When not running his business, wholesale produce distribution, Cpl. Komatsu could be found either skiing or ice skating. Another favorite with him is track meets. “That's my dish! I never missed one if I could help it!” Being a sprinter himself, Cpl. Komatsu's interest can readily be understood. He has been in the army for 15 months being stationed at Ft. Riley Kas., before coming to Camp Shelby. Cpl. Komatsu recently celebrated his birthday May 13, in the company's mess hall. He...

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Mississippi Rain Is Not Like Hawaii Rain

Sgt. Geo. H. Katada and Pvt. Harry H. Kanada of Honolulu, Pvt. Hiroshi Torii of Maui, and Pvt. Rodney Miyamoto of Hilo, are four of the Japanese-Americans who like their 80 degrees of Hawaii, and were wondering how much rain our showers would amount to. Their rain is much different from ours, they declare. However, they are enjoying their new experiences, even of the weather. One was most appreciative of a recent entertainment tendered them by some people of Hattiesburg.
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More 442nd Soldiers Invited to Bogalusa, LA.

Twenty-five non commissioned officers of the Japanese American Combat Team will spend the weekend in Bogalusa, LA., on the invitation of the Bogalusa Young Women's Professional association. The occasion marks the third time the enlisted men and officers of the Combat Team have been guests of the Bogalusa organization. 2nd Lt. Russell H. Cetlin will be in charge of the group making the trip.
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More News from the 442nd

Sgt. Kazu Nishimoto says that Kauai, Hawaii, is “The Garden Island”; like the Garden of Eden, he interpreted. Sgt. Nishimoto is with Co. A, 442nd Inf. It has not been long since the Sergeant recovered from a blossoming case of measles. Not only a birthday cake, but flowers, too, were wired from Hawaii by relatives of Pvt Hironobu Hino 442nd Med. Det., to celebrate his birthday, July 15th. Sgt. Yori Wada, formerly in the office of Major Oland Russell, Headquarters 442nd C. T., has been transferred to the Medical Detachment. Lt. Robert (Bob) Guthrie, Los Angeles, likes New Orleans and goes there whenever he can. Lt. Guthrie is with the 1st Btn., 442nd Inf. Lt. George Martin is instructor of Co. A, 442nd Inf. Lt....

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Name Problem Acute In Combat Team

What's in a name? Not enough, according to 2nd Lt. Elmo M. Massengale, postal officer of the Japanese American Combat Team at Camp Shelby. Here are some of the problems the postal officer and these clerks have to cope with: There are 69 sets of identical names in the Combat Team, with two or sometimes three different individuals distinguishable only by serial numbers, or, more readily by the units to which they are assigned. There are 46 Nakamura's in the Combat Team. Among them are three whose first name is Takashi and who have no middle initial. There are three Tadashi Morimotos, all without middle name or initial. And there are three George Oyamas, and three Fred Matsumoto's. If Nakamura is the Smith of the...

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News from the 442nd

If Pvt. Earl Kubo is fortunate, he may yet find the July 7 copy of the Hattiesburg American in which is an article of Kubo’s pre-induction and army life. We searched the entire company area for an “American” newsboy, but none could be found. Pvt. Kubo wants to send a clipping to his wife in Hawaii.
Hutment No. 10 of Service Company is debating whether to appeal to 1st Sergeant Manaka about Pvt. Morrie Yamashita’s talking in his sleep. Pvt. Yamashita yells about crates, clothing, and equipment half the night, much to his friends sleeplessness.
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Nisei of 442nd Invited to Bogalusa, LA

Twenty-five enlisted men of the Japanese American combat team at Camp Shelby will go to Bogalusa, LA., this week-end as guests in the homes of the townspeople. This trip is being arranged by the Young Professional Women's Club of Bogalusa under the direction of their local YWCA, special services offices of Camp Shelby and the Japanese American combat team. Travelling by bus, the boys will be met at the YWCA at 4:00 PM Saturday by their hostesses who will take them to their respective homes to spend Saturday night and Sunday. A special Saturday night program will include music numbers by the Hawaiian Combateers and the Shelby Serenaders whose members will be among the invited guests. Sunday morning the boys will attend church and the...

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Nisei Soldiers — Through Their Grandchildren’s Eyes

Honolulu – May 16, 2014. The following article was printed in The Hawaii Herald – Hawaii’s Japanese American Journal (Vol. 35. No. 10). THE NISEI SOLDIERS — THROUGH THEIR GRANDCHILDREN’S EYES Yonsei’s Pilgrimage to Their Grandfathers’ Battlegrounds Stirs a Sense of Legacy Editor’s note: The following is an edited transcript of a “talk story” session among four yonsei whose grandfathers served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in World War II. Last October, they joined their parents on a pilgrimage to Europe, where, among other sites, they visited the former Dachau concentration camp in southern Germany, and Bruyeres, France. Almost 70 years ago, Nisei soldiers from the 442nd RCT had helped to liberate Nazi-held prisoners at Dachau and to free the small town of Bruyeres...

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Officers’ Wives From Hawaii Find Mainland Interesting

 By Louise Rogers Food and shoe rationing, is confusing to the eight wives of Japanese-American officers who arrived here June 16 from Hawaii, and they missed the flowers which grow in profusion in the Islands. Otherwise they feel at home, and are delighted to have rejoined their husbands, who are with the 442nd Combat Team at Camp Shelby, after being separated from them for 2 1/2 months. At the Forrest Hotel, where the group is staying, Mrs. Bert Nishimura, Mrs. Theodore Sueoka, Mrs. Masayuki Kawasaki and Mrs. Yaso Abe explain that rationing of food and shoes is not a regulation in the Islands, and that this is their first experience with counting coupons. All were happy the chicken is on the unrationed list, and plentiful...

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Partners in the Journey

Karleen Chinen The Hawai‘i Herald (March 15, 2013) When we began our journey to Europe, my focus was on the veterans with whom I would be traveling for the next 20 days. This trip belonged to them. I was there to walk with them and record their memories and impressions. But what moved me as we bussed from historic landmarks to tiny little towns where these men had fought a half-century ago as young men barely out of teens, was the impact the trip had on their wives. They were not disinterested tag-alongs on this journey. Not once did I hear any of the women say, “Yeah, yeah, you go with the boys. I’m going shopping.” Not once. These wives were active partners in this...

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Pfc. Atagi Recovers From Wounds at McCaw Hospital

Walla Walla, Wash. — Awarded the Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation for heroic achievement and outstanding service in combat, and the Purple Heart with one cluster for wounds received in action, Pfc. Archie Atagi is a patient at McCaw General Hospital, Walla Walla, Wash. Atagi enlisted in the Army in March, 1942, and served in a Quartermaster Battalion at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., until March, 1944, when he spent 17 weeks in infantry training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, in preparation for overseas duty with the 442nd Combat Infantry team. Landing at Naples in August, 1944, the troops remained at a replacement center known as “Purple Heart alley.” Atagi joined the 3rd Battalion of the Combat Team when they assembled for the invasion of southern...

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Pfc. Noboru Morio Awarded Bronze Star Medal

Coalville, Utah — In an Army Service photo recently sent to the Summit County Bee, Coalville newspaper, and forwarded to his father, Pfc. Noboru Morio of this city is shown being congratulated by Brigadier General Francis H. Oxx, commanding general of the Peninsular Base Section upon being awarded the Bronze Star Medal.
Son of Tsunemichi Morio, Route 1, Coalville, Utah, Pfc. Morio has been a member of the armed forces since July 1943. A rifleman of the 442nd Japanese American Combat Team, he wears besides the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart with cluster, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations ribbon with four battle stars.
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Preserving History at Building 640

Here is an article from the Hawaii Herald on the efforts to preserve the building where Japanese-American U.S. Army MIS members were trained. Hawai‘i fundraising chair Andrew Sato (left) with Herbert Yanamura, both MIS veterans. Stories and images are courtesy of the Hawai`i Herald. PRESERVING HISTORY AT BUILDING 640 San Francisco Building Will Honor Wartime Work of the Military Intelligence Service Joe Udell The Hawai‘i Herald (November 4, 2011) In 1991, on the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Military Intelligence Service, the National Japanese American Historical Society advocated for preserving an old warehouse structure known as Building 640 in the Presidio of San Francisco. It was in that now-historic building that the first Japanese American U.S. Army members were trained as linguists to serve in...

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Preserving the One Puka Puka Story

Here is an article from the Hawaii Herald on the 100th Infantry Battalion’s Education Center. Susan Muroshige (left) and Pauline Sato at the entrance to Turner Hall in the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans clubhouse. Turner Hall is named for the 100th’s first commanding officer, Col. Farrant Turner. Stories and images are courtesy of the Hawaii Herald.  PRESERVING THE ONE PUKA PUKA STORY
State Grant Perpetuates 100th Infantry Battalion’s Pioneering RoleJoe Udell
The Hawai‘i Herald (November 4, 2011)Thanks to a $1 million grant awarded by the state of Hawai‘i Department of Defense in 2008, the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans clubhouse is looking a lot different these days.(more…)

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Puka Puka Parade – Voice of the 100th Infantry Battalion

Here is an article on the 100th Battalion’s newsletter.  Story and images courtesy of the Hawai`i Herald. “PUKA PUKA PARADE” — VOICE OF THE 100TH INFANTRY BATTALION Karleen C. Chinen The Hawai`i Herald (July 6, 2012) The 100th Battalion’s Monthly Newsletter is a Gold Mine of Information and Wartime Experiences This year, the Hawaii Hochi marks 100 years since Kinzaburo Makino began publishing the Japanese-language newspaper in December of 1912. Not too far behind the Hochi in publication years is the 100th Infantry Battalion’s monthly newsletter, creatively named the Puka Puka Parade. Since April 1, 1946, the veterans club has kept its members and their extended ‘ohana informed through the PPP. “We have quite a large team largely behind the scenes,” said president Pauline Sato,...

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Pvt. Hirose Of 442nd A Champion Swimmer

Pvt. Takashi Halo Hirose of the Japanese American Combat Team at Camp Shelby is only 19 years old but already he has seen large slices of the world through his ability to swim faster than adjacent competitors. In Hawaii they learned to swim early and Pvt. Hirose was no exception. He learned to swim in an irrigation ditch, rose to be a national champion at 17, swimming in the surf and best contest pools of Hawaii, North America, South America and Europe, but now he has stowed his medals and cups and is out for other laurels as a hard-working soldier in a combat team. When it comes to swimming Hirose has a good many laurels to rest on, quite comfortably. Among other achievements, he...

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Pvt. Morimoto Offers Philosophy of Islanders

The sun beat down piteously. The red clay drill field at Camp Shelby caught the glare and the heat and hurled them back cruelly in the faces of the marching men. Perspiration streamed and darkened their dusty uniforms. Then came a rest. The man fell out. A few lighted cigarettes. Pvt. Tadashi Morimoto cradled his rifle and carefully wiped his rimless glasses. Through those glasses Pvt. Morimoto had looked at books and at life and had acquired a master's degree in social work. He was a graduate of the New York School of social work, a part of Columbia University. Before that, Pvt. Morimoto had graduated from the University of Hawaii. He was 31 years old, and had been married five years. Why had he...

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Pvt. Sam Fujikawa Recalls 7 Dec 1941

Pvt. Sam Fujikawa of Hqtrs, Co., 442nd Inf., was a cab driver in Honolulu before the war broke out. On Dec. 7, 1941 he was awakened by “a lot of noise.” Upon investigation he noticed that the sky was full of black smoke and knowing that guns fired during maneuvers gave off white smoke, he knew “that something was wrong.” He volunteered his services at the Queen's Hospital and then worked at Fort Armstrong before his voluntary and enlistment. His only answer to the question of how he liked Mississippi was “it's too hot!”
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Reverend Katsuso Miho Speaks to the 442nd

On his way back to Hawaii after his graduation from the Yale University Divinity School, the Reverend Katsuso Miho of Hawaii spoke to the Japanese American soldiers of the Combat Team, Sunday morning in the 3rd Bn. amphitheatre. Speaking on the theme of “Two Crosses,” Reverend Miho explained that one cross stands for the physical difficulties of the world while the second signifies the clashing of ideologies. “Both crosses,” he said, “are consummated in the Cross of Calvary where Christ was willing to suffer, physical suffering and to show by His death that the ideals and standards of brotherhood are to be accomplished through suffering and difficulties. We Americans with Japanese faces are called on to bear these two crosses today.” With the background of...

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Semi-Pros and 442nd Infantry Play Sunday

Muss Freeman has been selected to start on the mound for the Hattiesburg semi-professional baseball team which plays the 442nd Infantry (Japanese-American) of Camp Shelby at 2:45 PM Sunday at Kamper park. Freeman has pitched in only one game this year for Hattiesburg, giving up three hits, although Hattiesburg lost the game 5-1 to the 474th Quartermasters. After scoring victories over the 69th Quartermasters and the 631st Tank Destroyers, the locals' record stands at 2 victories and one loss. The 442nd INF. Has also dropped only one game Annette was also to the 474th quartermasters. The score was 2-1. The 442nd has made one appearance in Hattiesburg, swamping the strong 35th field artillery, 10-2. Southpaw Higuchi will probably get the call to pitch for the...

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Shelby Boxing Tournament Starts Thursday

The preliminary bouts of the Camp Shelby championship boxing tournament will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday July 15 at the outdoor arena east of the Field House. In the event of rain the matches will be held inside the Field House. There will be more elimination bouts Friday night July 16 and the finals will be fought Friday July 23. The deadline for entries is noon today and the weighing-in will be held from 1-5 p.m. Thursday. To date there are about 75 registrants, with the Japanese Americans from the 442nd Combat Team making up the majority of entries in the lighter weights. The 112 lb. open and the 175 lb. open are the only two classes which have no entries. However the 160 lb....

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Six Members Of Hawaii's Miyake Family At Shelby.

The Miyake’s have been in Hawaii for three generations and two of those generations have gone to war when their country called. In World War I three of the family served in the United States Army, two of them as staff sergeants and one a corporal. They left the fourth member of the family at home — he was only nine years old. But now, with World War II, the 9-year-old who stayed at home has led the Miyake clan back into the army. He's Pvt. Matsumoto Miyake, 34 years old now and married. But he's in the Japanese American combat team at Camp Shelby and moreover he has five nephews here with him in the army. Three of the nephews are brothers and the...

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Some 442nd News

Sgt. Roy Otani of the 442nd Combat Team is spending the weekend with friends in Columbia.
Pvt. Rodney Morinaka of Co. I, 442nd Inf. Is one of the many volunteers who left a defense job for active service. He likes to sing, as do so many of his buddies from the Islands. When asked how he liked the mainland, he answered with an apologetic smile, “Well, you can't beat Hawaii! There is nothing like it!”
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Some News From The 442nd

Pvt. Yuri Wada, Hanford, Cal., in civilian life was a newspaper man, working on the Pinole Times, a paper published near Hanford. When seen in Headquarters, 442nd Combat Team, Pvt. Yori had a big bar of chocolate candy near his typewriter.

CPT. Walter Lesinski, 442nd Combat Team, who has been in Station Hospital as a patient for over a month, is up and about today. Capt. Lesinski suffered an accidental wound in a foot while doing bayonet practice.

Coach Richard Chinen was in charge of boxing to be a feature of entertainment of Station Hospital patients in the outdoor arena today. Coach Chinen will bring his men of the 442nd Combat Team, and will stage 10 exhibitions for the patients.

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Stamps, Back Roads, and Snakes

Pvt. Norima Horimoto, better known as “Shorty,” of Co. L, 442nd Inf., worked as a mechanic's helper in the American Can Co. In Hawaii. His hobby is stamp collecting. He has a large box of unmounted stamps in the Islands. When asked what he liked about the mainland, he promptly answered, “the scenery.” although he admits the scenery here is beautiful, he could not help lamenting the fact that the train trip took them through “back roads.” Another “disappointment” came when he didn't see snakes in his GI bed, let alone in the barracks. It seems he had heard so much about the Mississippi snakes, he expected to see them crawling over everything,
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Staying Connected With The Folks Back Home

Japanese American troops at Camp Shelby sent 247 telegrams to their mothers in the islands on Mother's Day. The average cost was $2.00 a message of about 25 words. Many of the soldiers had never been away from home before they left for the mainland last month. And for many of the young men it was their first Mother's Day away from “mom.” Besides those who had dispatched telegrams, nearly 1000 more had sent air-mail letters timed to arrive home before Mother's Day. A number of the soldiers sought to make personal telephone calls to their relatives in Hawaii but restrictions on phone service due to the volume of official calls, were such as to discourage this method of communication. Perhaps it is because they...

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Surprise Birthday Party for Pvt. Masaru Otagura

From a thoughtful Japanese-American girl in Hawaii came a sincere birthday greeting and a cake to Pvt. Masaru Otagura of Co. M, of the 442nd Combat Team on his 22nd birthday, June 21. Chaplain Lt. Thomas E. West, junior regimental chaplain, and Pvt. Toshiaki Mimura arranged a surprise party with 20 well-wishers present. Highlight of the affair was the cutting of the cake, appropriately inscribed “From Helen in Honolulu,” with Helen's picture looking on from the honor place on the table. After refreshments Pvt.. Plato Christophylus, 403rd F. A., played numbers followed by group singing. The party concluded with friends writing a note of appreciation to Helen. Two brothers, Pvt. Sunao, Co. B, and Pvt. Harry M. Kawahara, Co. I, were also recipients of a...

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Surprise Birthday Party for Pvt. Thomas Miyamoto

Pvt. Thomas Miyamoto, Co. E, 442nd Inf., celebrated his birthday June 2 with a cake sent to him by his brother, William, who is in Hawaii. Through the American Red Cross, William made arrangements to have the birthday cake sent to his brother. Chaplain John T. Barrett, captain and senior chaplain of the combat team, made the presentation. All company members sang “Happy Birthday to You” to the surprised and happy Pvt. Miyamoto.
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Tagawa Marriage

Staff Sergeant and Mrs. Jack Tagawa were married in Hattiesburg Saturday night. The groom is stationed at Camp Shelby, in the Headquarters Co., 2nd Bn., 442nd Infantry. They will make their home in Hattiesburg.
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Taking A Break At Service Club 2

Enjoying a rest period at Service Club 2, during the noon hour, were Pvt. Masaichi Mayatake, Co. C, 1st Bn., 442nd Inf., Pvt. Shigeru Yokota, Co. G, 2nd Bn., 442nd Inf., and Pvt. Leonard Luna, Hdq., 1st Bn., 442nd Inf. Pvt. Luna was showing a pretty photo of a sister, Margaret Luna, in drum majorette costume. Miss Luna is a sophomore in high school. All three men are from the Hawaiian islands, where they state it “seldom is too hot and never too cold.” They waxed eloquent on the “Paradise of the Pacific.”
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Team From Hawaii Is Classy Outfit

The Harrisburg semi-professional baseball team will attempt to make it three victories in a row when it meets the once-beaten 442nd Infantry (Japanese-American) squad, Sunday afternoon at Kamper park. The game will start at 2:45. The teams were evenly matched in what should be one of the best July 4th games ever played in Hattiesburg. After dropping their openers 5 to 1 to the 474th Quartermasters of Camp Shelby, the Hattiesburg club has bounced back to take two games. The 69th Quartermasters fell first 7-3 and then the 631st Tank Destroyers were defeated 5- 4. The 442nd Infantry has many victories to its credit. Included among them is a smashing 10-2 victory over the 35th Field Artillery squad of Camp Shelby. The only loss is...

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The VVV Story

Lt. Ralph Yempuku, Co. G, 442nd Inf., is a 1936 graduate from the University of Hawaii. He taught physical education for several years after graduating and is a good all-round athlete naming tennis, swimming, and football among his favorites. When the war broke out and the boys of Japanese ancestry were heartbreakingly dismissed from the Hawaiian Territorial Guard, Lt. Yempuku was instrumental in organizing and leading the triple V 's — an organization of loyal fellows who gave up their university work and gave, both actually and literally speaking, their services to Uncle Sam. In an effort to show their intense loyalty and their sincere desire to be of service, these university students left schools, organized themselves into the Triple V‘s, and offered their services...

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Three Brothers New Members Of Combat Team

Add to the brother combinations serving at Camp Shelby in the Japanese American Combat Team the three Onoderas from Minidoka relocation center at Hunt, Idaho. Pvt. Ko Onodera, 26, is the oldest of the three brothers. The other two are Kraun, 24 and Satoru, 22. A fourth brother, only 15, sorrowfully stayed at home waiting for the day when he too can volunteer The biggest thrill the Onodera brothers have had since their induction into the army was a furlough trip back to Seattle, Wash., where they were born and went to school. After induction at Fort Douglas, Utah, several weeks ago the Onodera brothers were given a seven-day furlough and they immediately left for the homes of friends in Seattle. They reported excellent treatment...

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Three Onodera Brothers

The three Onodera brothers, Ko, Kaun, and Sataru, who volunteered for the Japanese American Combat Team from the Minidoka Relocation Center, Hunt, Idaho, were confirmed into the Protestant Episcopal Church Monday, June 21, by Bishop Duncan Gray of Mississippi in Chapel No. 19.
All three brothers were born in Seattle, Washington, and subsequently baptized in St. Peter’s Mission of that city. Evacuated inland, they joined the Combat Team on the first volunteer list from Minidoka.
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USO Plans Visit Of 442nd Wives

Mrs. Lillian Minor, director of the USO Cottage went to Jackson to meet with the YWCA secretaries of the leadership workshop of Mississippi. YWCA secretaries at relocation centers in Arkansas were present to discuss plans for the American-Japanese wives of the soldiers who are coming to Camp Shelby very soon from Hawaii. Ten American-born Japanese YWCA secretaries attended the meeting..
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USO Victory Concert Program For Sunday Is Announced

The Victory concert program to be given at 4:00 p.m. Sunday at the Front Street USO was announced today by Lucille Keen, USO music director. The program will be presented in the social hall by Chaplain T. E. West, tenor, 442nd Infantry Regiment; Sgt. Nick Montalbano, pianist, 202 Engineers; and Pvt. Plat Christopoulos, violinist, 226th Field Artillery. Chaplain West was head of the department of music at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia for three years and held the same position at Cumberland College in Kentucky prior to his induction into the army. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and a pupil of Frank LaForge. Chaplain West studied extensively in Europe, taught in the University of Shanghai, and one year at the...

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Visitors to 442nd

Mrs. Cherry Tsubota of Price, Utah, is in Hattiesburg with her husband, S-Sgt. Min Tsubota of the 522nd F. A.
Mrs. Chiea Takayanagi has arrived from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to be with her husband, Sgt. George Takayanagi of the 522nd F. A.
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Walter Picon Entertains the 442nd

New Orleans Blues will entertain the soldiers when Walter Pichon, colored pianist, comes to Service Club No. 5 Monday night through the courtesy of Earl Finch, owner of the Rolfin Stock farm. Formerly with Fats Waller’s orchestra, Pichon is noted as a piano stylus of swing, boogie woogie, and classics.
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War and Internment

Here is an article that reflects on the Japanese-American Internment. Hawaii Hochi writer Iwao Kosaka in front of an old mess hall at Tule Lake in 1988. Story and image courtesy of the Hawai`i Herald. WAR AND INTERNMENT Karleen C. Chinen The Hawai`i Herald (October 1, 2010) The World War II exploits of the Varsity Victory Volunteers, 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service and the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion are the stuff of legends and are even more gripping when retold because of the extra burden of race that the Nisei soldiers carried with them into battle. They fought not only fascism and totalitarianism, but hatred and prejudice in their own country. But knowing that the eyes of America were on them, the...

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We Have To Make Good, And I Know We Will

Pvt. Larry Ishida of Hqtrs. Co., 2nd Bn., has been playing the piano for only a few months, but like so many of his musically talented fellow soldiers, he is really a “whiz.” He states that music is his hobby and first love, with any kind of sports coming a close second. He attended the Dietz Commercial school in Honolulu and was a clerk in a shipyard prior to his voluntary enlistment in the army. The only objection he has to Mississippi is, “the weather is not suitable. It's too hot.” He went on to say that the thing most of the boys from Hawaii were interested in was a snake. He stated that he had seen pictures of them, but that his first glimpse...

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What Made Them Great?

A Former 441st man tells what kept them going… Why did the 442nd Japanese American Combat Team make such an exceptional record? How did greatness come to the rest of the blue-and-gold colors of the regiment? The nisei major was hesitant about answering, because it was difficult to talk of one's own and their exploits. “I would put it in two words, comradeship and pride.” It was the comradeship which ranged from “giving the shirt off your back”—what's mine is yours—to the sacrifice of life for another. The pride which stood against fear and the best the enemy had to offer. These qualities were the commonplace, not the unusual, and taken for granted. I remember an April morning in the north Apennines. Fog covered the...

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When Pidgen Becomes Jive

The 166th Inf. band played for the dancing at the open house held at Service Club 5 on Sunday. Although some of the members had seen and spoken to men in the 442nd Combat Team before this event, many of the band members were surprised to hear the Combat Team men talk “jive.” They gave credit for this phenomena to be their ability as a “solid” dance band.
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