Archives

1,432 Nisei soldiers, recruited before Pearl Harbor, depart Hawaii on S.S. Maui for training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. Before departure from Hawaii they had been formed as the Hawaiian Provisional Infantry Battalion. On arrival at Oakland, California, they are renamed as the 100th Infantry Battalion, a name destined to make military history. It is designated “Separate” to indicate it is not part of a larger Army unit.

The 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) departs Camp Shelby, Mississippi, by train for Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. On August 21 they board the S.S. James Parker at Staten Island, New York, and begin their voyage to the combat zone in Italy.

The 100th Battalion departs Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, moving by train to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, for further combat training.

Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team authorized by War Department, composed of: 1 infantry regiment, 1 field artillery battalion, 1 engineer company, 1 medical detachment, and an army band. The cadre to organize, train, and lead the combat team is quickly formed and sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to prepare for the arrival of the thousands of young Nisei men who are expected to respond to the call to volunteer. The officers selected are almost all experienced Caucasian soldiers and are given orders to report to Camp Shelby typically within 2 weeks. The enlisted cadre are AJA soldiers, many of whom had been drafted before Pearl Harbor and are now sidelined in menial tasks because of their ancestry.

The 2,686 volunteers from Hawaii for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team are sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, for training. Over 100 have fathers in internment camps. They sail on the S.S. Lurline for Oakland, California, where they board three trains that will take separate routes to Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

The War Department plans for the 442nd RCT call for 4,000 men, 1,500 to come from Hawaii and 2,500 from the Mainland concentration camps where the west coast AJA families have been imprisoned. However, the expectation from the concentration camps is not met and the quota from Hawaii is increased. 10,000 volunteer in Hawaii and 2,686 are enlisted beginning Mar 23, 1943. They are sent to Schofield Barracks on Oahu island to organize and prepare for shipment to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to be trained as a combat-ready regiment.

Company S added to the Combat Team, composed of Japanese Americans from Military Intelligence Service (MIS) Language School at Camp Savage, Minnesota. They are assigned to the 442nd for combat training prior to deployment to the Pacific Theater.

I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

These photos were made available courtesy of the family of the late Kazutoshi Fujino, Easy Company.