Tag Archive: Delos C. Emmons

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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...

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Origins of the 442nd

Here is Ted Tsukiyama’s compelling story of the people and events that led to the formation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team…

Several months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, a fearful and distrusting America barred its Japanese-American citizens from military service, altering their draft status from 1-A draft eligible to 4-C “enemy alien.” The story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team must really begin with the Nisei’s fight to regain their right to fight for their country in its hour of peril. How did the 442nd get its start?

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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...

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1943 Jan 28: Gen Emmons Calls for Volunteers for the 442nd

442nd RCT volunteers in Aiea, April 2, 1943 After the attack on Pearl Harbor, our families in Hawaii and the Mainland experienced arrests and internment; the classification of Japanese American citizens as “enemy aliens” for military draft status; and many other prejudiced and unjustified actions and conditions.  On January 28, 1943, however, Lt. General Delos C. Emmons, military governor of Hawaii, made the following announcement locally on behalf of the War Department: “Once in a great while an opportunity presents itself to recognize an entire section of this community for their performance of duty.  All of the people of the Hawaiian Islands have contributed generously to our war effort.  Among these have been the Americans of Japanese descent.  Their role has not been an easy...

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