WHEN THE AKIMOTOS WENT TO WAR: AN UNTOLD STORY OF FAMILY, PATRIOTISM, AND SACRIFICE DURING WORLD WAR IIBy Matthew Elms (Arlington, Va.: American Battle Monuments Commission, 2015, 146 pp., $15, paperback) This book by Matthew Elms is a heart-rending Japanese American family-themed inquiry into the dismaying “wages of war.” It is published by the American […]
Film examines little-known origins of famed 442nd unit
April 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment
For Yonsei Stacey Hayashi, the effort to preserve the story of the famed all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team is not only a labor of love, but it’s also a part of her family legacy. With a great uncle in the original 100th Battalion, and another in the 442nd — which the 100th morphed into — […]
100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd RCT monument in France refurbished
January 18, 2018 by 1 Comment
Nestled in an undergrowth clearing near Bruyères, France is a monument dedicated to the members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion, who were instrumental in helping to liberate the town of Bruyères, as well as Belmont and Biffontaine, during World War II in fall 1944. Complete with a plaque in […]
Digital exhibit to tell Nisei veterans’ stories
December 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The stories of the World War II Nisei soldiers, including heroes like Kazuo Masuda, Takejiro Higa and the late Sen. Daniel Inouye, will be highlighted in the upcoming Congressional Gold Medal Digital Exhibition, which the National Veterans Network in association with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, will develop, a statement issued by these entities said. […]
A visual depiction of the 100th and 442nd’s sacrifice
July 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
JOURNEY OF HEROES: The Story of the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team By Stacey T. Hayashi, Illustrated by Damon Wong (Self published, 2012, 45 pp., $10, paperback) It is difficult to understand the horrors of war, much less the experience of Japanese American veterans who fought for a nation that imprisoned their […]
JA Nat’l Museum hosts ‘Go For Broke’ exhibit in Los Angeles
January 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — The Japanese American National Museum’s “Go For Broke: Japanese American Soldiers Fighting on Two Fronts” exhibit chronicles the history of Nisei soldiers from the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service who served during World War II. The soldiers fought to prove their loyalty to the […]
A reflection on heroism
July 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Twice Heroes: America’s Nisei Veterans of WWII and Korea Written and photographed by Tom Graves. (San Francisco: Nassau & Witherspoon, 2013, 182 pp., $45, hardcover) Tom Graves’ photobook is the product of an impressive labor of love. Graves, a San Francisco-based writer and photographer, spent 10 years collecting photos and stories of the Nisei contingent […]
An inclusive tribute to the Nisei WWII veterans
January 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment
PROUD TO SERVE: JAPANESE AMERICAN WORLD WAR II VETERANS Edited by Chris Komai (Los Angeles: Rafu Shimpo and Japanese American Living Legacy 2012, 390 pp., $29.95, paperback) This is a wonderful compilation and recognition of Nisei men and women who served in all the units besides Military Intelligence Service, 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental […]
Congressional Gold Medal, awarded to WWII Nikkei vets, to tour seven cities
October 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Last November, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to Japanese American World War II veterans in recognition of their extraordinary accomplishments while serving in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service. The medal will travel to seven cities across the country beginning in January 2013, the Smithsonian Institution […]
Setting the record straight on ‘Allegiance’
The play “Allegiance” attempts to promote sympathy for those who answered no to loyalty questionnaire questions or refused induction into the U.S. Army (aka “resisters”) by seeking to taint the reputation of those who volunteered to serve in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), a segregated Japanese American combat unit formed in the U.S. Army […]