JAVA e-Advocate September 2025

Vol. 7, No. 92, September 2, 2025

In This Issue…

• President’s Message
• Hawaiʻi’s 100th Infantry Battalion’s Role in Helping Allied Powers Win World War II
• How Joseph Kurihara Lost His Faith in America
• Volunteer Opportunities
• Upcoming JAVA Events

Presidents Message

Washington, D.C.

JAVA Members & Friends,

I am pleased to share that JAVA continues to expand its capabilities to better connect and communicate with our members and Friends of JAVA. One of our current initiatives is the launch of an email discussion group on the Google Groups platform. This effort, managed by our Digital Community & Collaboration Coordinator, Mr. Gabriel Okamoto, will help streamline communication and provide new ways for our community to engage, exchange ideas, and share important updates.

In just a couple of weeks, we will publish a special issue of the e-Advocate to commemorate V-J Day. This edition will highlight the extraordinary service of Nisei in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) and reflect on their invaluable contributions during and after the war. We look forward to sharing this important tribute with you.

This month, we also take a moment to say farewell to Minister Masaru Sato from the Embassy of Japan. His time at the Embassy will come to a close at the end of September as he returns to Tokyo. Minister Sato has been a consistent supporter of JAVA and our events, and we are deeply grateful for his partnership and friendship. On behalf of the JAVA community, I extend our heartfelt thanks to Minister Sato and wish him every success in his future endeavors. We hope our paths will cross again.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and engagement. Together, we carry forward the mission of honoring the legacy of the Nisei veterans and ensuring their stories continue to inspire future generations.

Warm regards,
Howard High

Hawaiʻi’s 100th Infantry Battalion’s Role in Helping Allied Powers Win World War II

Written By: Terry Shima
Washington, D.C.

Kathi Hayashi, President of the 100th Infantry Battalion (Hawaiʻi) Veterans Association, asked Terry Shima to write an article on the role played by Hawaiʻi Nisei pre-war draftees in helping the U.S. armed forces win World War II. Kathi approved the passage of these remarks to JAVA for possible printing in the JAVA Advocate.

When WWII began on December 7, 1941, the White House, War Department, the press, and the American public viewed ethnic Japanese in the USA as collaborators and saboteurs of Imperial Japan and thus disloyal to the USA. When the war ended, no ethnic Japanese was convicted for collaboration with Japan. Nisei were banned from serving in the U.S. armed forces; however, 1,432 Nisei were already in the Hawaii Territorial Guard via the pre-war draft. They were infantrymen, later forming the 100th Infantry Battalion, and sent to the USA for training, followed by combat duty in Italy. The 100th did so well in training that Washington formed the 4,000-man 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Nisei volunteer unit, nine months later, and merged the 100th into the 442nd RCT. This is the story of the 1,432 Nisei draftees from Hawaiʻi, who fought independently in Italy for nine months, and the approximately 4,000 Hawaiʻi and mainland Nisei volunteers, who fought together as one unit for about 12 months. Eventually, the total number of Nisei combatants in the combined 100th and 442nd numbered over 10,000 Niseis.

Over 30,000 Japanese Americans served in the U.S. Army during World War II to prove their loyalty.

Approximately 10,000 served in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, as noted. Additionally, 3,000 Nisei linguists served in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) overseas, and an additional 3,000 served in the MIS stateside. The balance was in other branches of service in the USA and overseas.

I wish to recognize Hawaiʻi Military Governor Lieutenant General (LTG) Delos Emmons, FBI Bureau Director for Hawaiʻi Robert Shivers, G-2 Colonel Kendall Fielder, Honolulu Police Department John A. Burns, Retired University of Hawaiʻi President Charles Hemenway, Honolulu YMCA official Hung Wai Ching, Hawaiʻi academician Shigeru Yoshida, and others who assured Washington that internment of Japanese in Hawaiʻi was not necessary.

I wish to discuss White House Executive Order 9981, its origins, and its impact. This is the Order that leveled the playing field, allowing all Americans to compete for jobs on an equal basis. E.O. 9981 was not caused by Nisei exclusively; various minority soldiers caused it, as we will discuss.

Hawaiʻi military governor, LTG Emmons, proposed to Washington that the 1,432 Nisei of the Hawaiʻi National Guard be sent to the mainland for training, followed by assignment to Europe for combat. When General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, saw this proposal, he agreed, saying it was exactly what he wanted.

On February 28, 1942, the USAT General Royal T. Frank, an Army transport vessel, was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine near Maui. Twelve Nisei, potential members of the 100th Battalion, fell with the Frank. Eight Nisei survived and served in the 100th Infantry Battalion. Hawaiʻi military leaders expected Japan to send troops to Hawaii and, if that occurred, they believed Japanese soldiers might disguise themselves in U.S. Army uniforms, thereby causing great confusion.

Marshall was also pleased with the Nisei who individually volunteered for combat to prove their loyalty.

On June 5, 1942, this Nisei contingent left Hawaiʻi for the mainland.

Marshall was concerned about race riots occurring after the internment camps closed and internees and soldiers returned to their West Coast homes. He believed a strong combat performance by a Nisei unit was necessary to avoid this potential post-war racial conflict. Nisei were formed into the 100th Infantry Battalion, trained for combat duty on the mainland, and deployed to Salerno, Italy, in September 1943 for combat operations.

About sixty members of the 100th Battalion did not go to Italy. They were transferred to the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) to serve in the Asia-Pacific theater due to their superior Japanese language skills. One Nisei who argued against this transfer to the MIS was Hoichi Kubo, a Nisei from Maui.

On July 23, 1943, Kubo served with the 27th Infantry Division in Saipan. Two Japanese laborers with their arms upraised told Kubo that 8 Japanese soldiers were holding over 100 civilians captive in a large cave at the bottom of the cliff. After completing his talk with the Japanese at mid-morning, Kubo volunteered to climb down the cliff and go to the cave to try to secure the release of the civilians. Kubo slid down the cliff where, at the bottom, 8 Japanese soldiers were pointing their guns at Kubo. When they saw that Kubo was a Nisei, they condemned him for being a spy for America. They wanted to know why Nisei were serving America and not Japan. Kubo told them because they were Americans.

Allowed to enter the cave, the Japanese were having a meal. Kubo shared his C rations with the Japanese and continued to talk. After several hours of discussion, Kubo considered quitting because the talks were going nowhere, but decided to make one last attempt by reciting a palindrome that he had learned while attending Japanese language school in Hawaii. The palindrome was about loyalty to the higher authority. The Japanese, who were also taught the same palindrome in Japan, said they now understood Kubo’s remarks and told Kubo to return to his unit to await their decision at 2 PM. By that time, over 100 Japanese civilians had arrived at the top of the cliff, followed by the 8 Japanese soldiers, their guns left behind. Kubo was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the second-highest award for valor.

Convinced that the battalion sample was too small to document Nisei loyalty, the War Department issued a call for volunteers from Hawaiʻi and the mainland, including internment camps, to form the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, comprising 4,000 Nisei. The 442nd Combat Team was trained in Camp Shelby, Mississippi, where Marshall attended the 442nd maneuvers and approved it for combat duty. The 442nd was shipped to Civitavecchia, Italy, arriving there on June 11, 1944, where it merged with the 100th Battalion. The 100th had fought fiercely and courageously, sustaining high casualties, which the press labeled the “Purple Heart Battalion.” The merged 442nd maintained the same fighting spirit as the original 100th Infantry Battalion.

Shortly after Germany surrendered, the War Department made two widely publicized announcements of the 100th and 442nd combat records:

(1) The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, including the 100th, was the best combat soldiers in the history of the U.S. Army. Sometime later, the War Department made the second announcement, which said: 

(2) The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, including the 100th, was the most highly decorated U.S. Army unit for its size and period of combat during WWII.

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, including the 100th Battalion, received the following major unit and individual awards:

• Distinguished Unit Citation – 7
• Medal of Honor (highest award for valor) – 21
• Distinguished Service Cross (2nd highest award for valor) – 29
• Silver Stars (3rd highest award for valor) – 371
• Purple Heart Medal – Over 4,000

On July 15, 1946, President Harry Truman reviewed the 442nd RCT at the Ellipse, the outer south lawn of the White House. That morning it rained hard. The military aide advised the president to cancel his portion of the day’s event. Truman replied, “Hell no, for what these boys have done, I can stand a little rain.” He told the Nisei combatants, “You fought not only the enemy abroad, but you fought prejudice at home – and you have won. Keep up that fight, and we will continue to win.” Through his remarks and personal review, Truman confirmed the Army’s validation of Nisei loyalty and removed from the table the stigma of ethnic Japanese disloyalty placed there when war began. The first person known to make this observation was JAVA Vice President Colonel Vic Mukai, USA (Ret.) of northern Virginia, around 2004.

We hope the 30,000 Nisei who served in combat in Europe and Asia succeeded in proving their loyalty and patriotism to the USA. The fact that anti-Japanese agitators of the Pacific coast states were largely silenced is an indicator of Nisei success. Daniel James Brown, author of a New York Times Best Seller for his Boys in the Boat and his 2021 book on the 442nd, entitled Facing the Mountain, said in 1948, “Truman pushed through the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act to compensate Japanese Americans for their losses. Truman also strove to gain greater public recognition for what the 442nd had done.”

Following WW II, the U.S. Army commissioned its painter, Charles McBarron, to paint ten scenes of the most bitterly fought combat by the U.S. Army from the period of the Revolutionary War to the present. McBarron selected a combat scene of the 442nd, including the 100th, in the Vosges forests during WWII.

West coast anti-Japanese animosity lost its momentum probably due to the absence of anti Japanese issues; there being no conviction for ethnic Japanese spying for Japan; strong Nisei combat performance; the change of attitude towards Nisei by the American public, including west coast residents; fewer anti Nisei items in the press; wounded 442nd Caucasian officers on speaking tours to Pacific Coast states; and Caucasian soldiers in Europe and the Pacific writing home about Nisei soldiers bravery. A potentially nasty situation was effectively averted.

Similarly, after the war, the civilian side would also witness major breakthroughs. Discriminatory anti-Asian laws were repealed and removed from national, state, and municipal books. On June 27, 1952, the Immigration and Nationality Act was enacted, allowing alien immigrants to become U.S. citizens. In 1980, the Commission of Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, mandated by the U.S. Congress, concluded that internment was not necessary, that it was caused by war hysteria, racial prejudice, and the failure of political leadership.

The Commission’s findings served as the basis for the 1988 Civil Liberties Act, which called for a national apology and the payment of reparations to internees who were still living at the time. President Reagan’s official public apology for the internment is the centerpiece of the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism, a Japanese American monument located on Capitol Hill near the U.S. Congress. In 1959, the Hawaiʻi Statehood Bill was passed to make Hawaiʻi the 50th state of the USA. I still recall the remarks made on Capitol Hill after the Statehood Bill passed. The talk in Congress was that if it were not for the 100th-442nd combat record, the Statehood Bill might not have passed that year, 1959.

In 2010, the U.S. Congress awarded the 100th Battalion, 442nd RCT, and MIS the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest medal the U.S. Congress can bestow. The message conveyed by the Congressional Gold Medal was significant: it confirmed the loyalty and patriotism of the Nisei.

On January 23, 2015, the Commonwealth of Virginia General Assembly in Richmond, VA, where Delegate Patrick Henry had earlier delivered his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech, passed a resolution by the Virginia House of Delegates to endorse Nisei loyalty and patriotism. Shortly thereafter, the Maryland House of Delegates at Annapolis, MD, where George Washington had resigned his military Commission, passed a resolution similar to that of the Virginia parliament. A JAVA attendee of the Maryland parliamentary session linked Nisei patriotism and fighting spirit to the patriots who fought in the Revolutionary War—a different time period and participants, but with the same purpose. California, Hawaiʻi, and other state legislatures also passed similar resolutions.

On July 26, 1948, two years after President Truman reviewed the 442nd, he issued Executive Order 9981, “to equalize treatment and opportunities, especially for African Americans.” This Executive Order abolished segregation in the armed forces and integrated them. In addition, recognizing the wartime contributions made by the Nisei, Tuskegee airmen, Navajo code talkers, and other minorities, Truman included in E.O. 9981, “there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.” What this Order did was level the playing field equally for all.

Hundreds of Asian Americans would, in due course, earn promotions to the ranks of generals and admirals for the first time. Four Japanese Americans would earn promotions progressively to four-star ranks (General/Admiral), and five Japanese Americans were promoted to three-star ranks (Lieutenant General). During World War II, the highest rank held by Nisei was Major, and there were only four Nisei majors in the entire U.S. Army. The difference between the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 9981 is that the Act resulted from the 100-442-MIS action. In contrast, E.O. 9981 resulted from the collective efforts of African Americans, Navajos, Nisei, Chinese Americans, Filipinos, Korean Americans, and other minorities.

In 1957, General Marshall was asked by his biographer, Forrest Pogue, for his views on the performance of Nisei in combat. Marshall spontaneously replied, “They were superb. That word correctly describes them: ‘superb’. They took terrific casualties. They showed rare courage and tremendous fighting spirit. Not too much can be said of the performance of this regiment in Europe. Everybody wanted them.”

I believe that, despite the high cost to the Nisei (some 821 Nisei left on the battlefields of Europe, Hawaiʻi, and the Asia-Pacific theaters), the question of loyalty was fully addressed and successfully resolved. The executive and legislative actions cited above are a testament to Japanese American loyalty and patriotism, and the non-hostile way Japanese Americans comported themselves during WWII.

How Joseph Kurihara Lost His Faith in America

Summary By: Wade Ishimoto The August 2025 issue of The Atlantic magazine published a feature article written by Andrew Aoyama titled, “How Joseph Kurihara Lost His Faith in America.” Aoyama relates how Kurihara was born in Hawaiʻi in 1895 and became an American citizen with the annexation of Hawaii in 1898. He moved to California and then Michigan, where he enlisted in the US Army and was in Europe when World War I ended. He returned to California, where he worked as an accountant and navigator on a fishing boat. He returned from a fishing trip on December 29, 1941, and was told that government officials would not allow him to be a navigator. He was incarcerated after President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in February 1942. He was a vocal dissident against the order and opposed the Japanese American Citizens League stance on complying with the order. He was offended that he had proved his loyalty to America in WWI. Originally incarcerated at Manzanar, he continued to voice his objections against JACL’s compliance, even calling for Fred Tayama, the JACL leader at Manzanar, to be killed for informing on others to the FBI whom they considered not to be pro-American. Tayama was beaten one night by masked men and accused Harry Ueno as one of the assailants. Those who believed in Ueno’s innocence caused what became known as the Manzanar Riot, where two were killed and 10 wounded. Kurihara was relocated to Tule Lake, where he spent the remainder of the war. He regretted the death of the two at Manzanar and stopped engaging in active dissent. He renounced his American citizenship and was transported to Japan. Ironically, he encountered reverse prejudice on the part of Japanese citizens. He yearned to return to Hawaii but stubbornly refused to apply to have his American citizenship restored in the belief that the government should make the first move. He died in Japan in 1965. Andrew Aoyama ends his article by imagining that his grandmother, who had been incarcerated at Heart Mountain, and his grandfather, who served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, would have disapproved of Kurihara’s tactics and choice to leave America. However, he also feels that his grandparents would have understood Kurihara’s anger at the country that had broken his trust, that had practiced values so different from the ones it proclaimed as a democracy. [Ed Note: The original article can be found here at The Atlantic:  “He Spent His Life Trying to Prove That He Was a Loyal U.S. Citizen. It Wasn’t Enough. How Joseph Kurihara lost his faith in America”.  ]

Volunteer Opportunities

Website Manager Help Preserve the Legacy of Japanese American Veterans – Online! The Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA) is seeking a dedicated volunteer website manager to help us maintain and improve our online presence. Our website is a vital platform for honoring the legacy of Japanese American service members, sharing stories, and keeping our community informed and connected. We’re looking for a volunteer who can: – Update and manage content on our WordPress website (news, events, articles, memorials) – Ensure pages are visually organized and easy to navigate – Assist with basic design or layout improvements – Troubleshoot minor technical issues and ensure overall site functionality Location: Remote —————————————— Event Coordinators – California & Hawaiʻi Bring Community Together – Help Expand JAVA Events Beyond DC! The Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA) is looking for enthusiastic and community-minded volunteer event coordinators in California and Hawaiʻi to help us expand our presence and create more opportunities for members and supporters to connect outside the Washington, DC area. In recent years, we’ve seen great success with events like our Topgolf meetup — and we want to do more! With your help, JAVA can organize regional gatherings, museum visits, historical site tours, and social events that celebrate the legacy of Japanese American veterans while building stronger local communities. As a Volunteer Event Coordinator, you will: – Plan and coordinate JAVA-sponsored events in your region (e.g., social outings, historical site visits, member meetups) – Serve as a point of contact for local JAVA members and partners – Help promote events through social media, email, and community networks – Work closely with JAVA leadership to align events with our mission and calendar – (Optional) Attend and represent JAVA at local events or community functions If interested in volunteering with JAVA, please contact Antoinette Phelps at [email protected].

Upcoming JAVA Events

Tuesday, November 11. Veterans Day Program, National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II, Washington DC.