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The little-known story of the courageous Japanese'American heroes of World War II:The Nisei fighter Col. Sunao Ishio,retired, at his home in Silver Spring, Md.ARL Y IN WORLD WAR II. SHORTLY after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans were stripped of their civil rights, reclassified as enemy aliens and placed in internment camps. Even so, their sons later went on to fight gallantly for this country in both Europe and the Pacific, where they ultimately were given credit for shortening the war by at least two years.These soldiers were Nisei: second-generation Japanese-Americans.horn in the U.S. to aJien-resident parents. Their exploits in Europe—where they became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history, based on size and length of service—have received much attention. What has gone largely untold is the story of the Nisei who fought in the Pacific.Working secretly for the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), more than 6000 Nisei helped to decode Japanese messages and provided crucial information on Japanese military operations. Many served in some of the most important offensive cam-paigns of the war. And they were instrumental in helping to destroy the plane of Adm. Isoruku Yamamoto, who was killed in the attack, delivering a major setback to Japan s morale and military.Unfortunately, the Nisei's work in the Pacific received little public attention. Though President Nixon lifted a 50-year secrecy ban on their exploits in 1972, the passage of time—coupled with the fact that theV letnam War was then claiming American lives—made their stones back-page news. As a result, they never have been recognized fully for their exemplary service.This Memorial Day, as we commemorate the men and women who fought for America, it is worth noting that the story of the Nisei encompasses tales ofcourage, self-sacrifice and loyalty. And they speakas much about fighting for this country as they do about fighting hard to change perceptions within it.Espionage in the Pacific. The intelligence efforts of the Nisei pnmaniy were aimed at translating captured documents and interrogating Japanese prisoners of war. Sunao Ishio, a retired U.S. Army colonel, explained how his unit's success hinged on Tokyo’s lack of knowledge about its existence.Japanese is a difficult language, said Ishio. now78. “When war broke out, the U.S. had a limited Japanese-language capability . And the Japanese relied on this U.S. limitation, using the same codes through-makethe a ame dirt»I the Dow DiamondWHEN YOU WANT THE HARDEST WORKINGout the war and even at times ly in Japanese, confident that they would not be understood. They knew nothing about our existence.“In one incident, two Japanese messages had been intercepted by the Army. One was coded and one was not. The coded message said that Admi ral Yamamoto [who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor] would be tounng the Solomon Islands and included the admiral's arrival and departure times. The uncoded message communicated the same thing. But because it had been transmitted in the open, the U.S. commander feared a trap. Only after receiving critical translations and assessments of both messages from the Nisei were American aircraft sent to shoot down Yamamoto.Growing up as an American. Bom in Berkeley, Calif., Sunao Ishio was raised in Salt Lake City, where his father owned a Laundromat. In 1938. his grandfather decided to return to Japan and asked Sunao to go with him. He did, studying in Tokyo until one day in April 1941. when he was summoned bv the U SEmbassy. 1 was told the situation between the U.S. and Japan was very bad and that I should go back to the U.S.,” he recalled. “I took the next ship back.”The seeds of Ishio’s loyalty to America had been planted long before his trip to Tokyo. Ishio’s mother and father, like the parents of other Nisei, were not American citizens. But these immigrants, known as Issei (literally, first generation), communicated an important message to their children.Our parents instilled in us what had been instilled in them by their parents,” Ishio explained. Loyalty, devotion to country and carrying (Hit one’s responsibilities.They told us, ‘You were bom here—this is your country.' We were able to serve our country and leave such a record largely due to the values they gave us.Ishio points out that concern over the Nisei's loyalty should have been dispelled with their intelligence training. The U.S. Army had prepared a syllabus which was to include a refresher’’ course in Japanese. But the Army soon discovered that a very small num-CLEANERS FOR EVERY SPOT IN THE HOUSEthe hardest working ^ rleanersBecauseysoap scum,i 3 O fffhf strength c (Dow ScienceCLEANERS, LOOK FOR THE DOW DIAMONDDOW- • Dowt'*vft © im Ds,~*k *** Do* Chwmui Corner,her of Nisei had any competency in the language, *Ishio said. They didn’t realize how Americanized we were. Many of these “enemy aliens had to be taught the basics of the enemy’s language.By early 1943, the ban against them serving was lifted, and the first Nisei MIS language-school graduates were sent to Guadalcanal. They would go on to serve in every major offensive campaign of the Pacific war. In Hawaii, where the Army wanted to recruit 1000 to 2000 Nisei, more than 10.000 signed up. At least 30,000 would end up serving in both Europe and the Pacific. They included Daniel Inouye, now a U.S. Senator from Hawaii.Saving a battalion in Europe. The Nisei who fought in Europe were assigned to the l(X)th/442nd Regimental Combat Team. This unit distinguished itself by serving in seven campaigns—but it did so as a segregated fighting force, kept separate from Caucasian soldiers. It helped to liberate the concentration camp at Dachau and suffered the highest casualty rate of any American combat unit in Europe. Its members were awarded thousands of Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars, as well as dozens of other medals.One of the unit’s most memorable and costly feats was rescuing the U.S. Army’s “lost battalion in France. This battalion of Caucasian soldiers had been surrounded by a superior number of German f orces, which had orders to annihilate them. Prior rescue attempts had been unsuccessful. The 442nd Regiment was then assigned the job Five days later, 710 Nisei tnxps—out of a total of4500—lay wounded and 140 were dead, having rescued 211 of the 275 members of the lost battalion.Witnessing the surrender of japan. Tom Sakamoto. 78. was one of three Nisei on board the battleship Missouri on Sept, 2. 1945, to witness the signing of the Japanese surrender. He told me how he felt, watching his country of ancestry concede def eat.I was 30 feet from the desk where the surrender was to be signed. Sakamoto recalled. “Every available space was occupied by sailors. The atmosphere was one of celebration. But this festive moment abruptly turned to silence as the Japanese delegation arrived. They were stripped of their swords. One could hear a pin drop. The delegation was left standing alone for 15 minutes, subject to hostile staring. It was as if a huge lion had cornered a tiny mouse in a cage.“If there was ever a scene that brought home to me how sad a defeated nation can be. this was it. Of the total surrender ceremony, this 15 minutes of cruel silence and abusive staring impacted me more than any other portion of the ceremony. I recalled the f our years of my high school education in Japan; of the once proud Yunuito Damashti {Japanese spirit] BushiDo | way of the samurai | mentality of the Japanese military; and. as a Nisei, of my parents' pride in those things Japanese, now vanished at that moment on the deck of the Missouri in a total defeat and in disgrace for the Japanese people and the nation.After the war. while most Americans returned home, many Nisei felt bound to fulfill an obligation to Japan. TTrey volunteered to remain, helping the Japanese to make the transition to peace. These Nisei, says Sunao Ishio, recognized that their efforts would provide the foundation upon which a strong relationship between the two countries could be built.In 1992, Congress approved a memorial in Washington, D.C., that will be dedicated to the Japanese-Americans who served in the war and to those interned in camps As President Clinton told PARADE. “AllAmericans are proud of the skill and dedication with which the Nisei defended America. Hobbled by preju-continued
Newspaper Details
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US
Sun, May 26, 1996
Page 483
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 03 Apr 2019
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