Sunday, 19 February 2012
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Chicago History Museum
1601 N Clark Street
Day of Remembrance 2012 will feature readings from “Omoide: Childhood Memories,” a collection of reflections on being Japanese American during World War II. Story Artist Anne Shimojima will present her original performance piece “Hidden Memory: An American Story,” one family’s journey from Japan through the wartime incarceration camps.
This event is sponsored by the Chicago Japanese American Council, the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, the Japanese American Citizens League-Chicago Chapter, and the Japanese American Service Committee. The program is free and open to the public.
For further information call 773-728-7171.
NIKKEI WWII VETERANS TRIBUTE - SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012
NIKKEI WWII VETERANS TRIBUTE
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399
2260 South Grove Street
Chicago, Illinois
Sunday, April 22, 2012
12:30 p.m.
Free parking available
Light refreshments will be served
On Sunday, April 22, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. the Japanese American community and the public will gather to honor the Nikkei veterans from World War II. The event is a long overdue tribute that will be held at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399, 2260 South Grove Street in Chicago.
This event will pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the Nikkei veterans. Their distinguished service came at a time during World War II when the Japanese American community faced an onslaught of angry accusations of suspected disloyalty where their patriotism as citizens of this country was questioned and their status as citizens soon became meaningless. They were eventually uprooted from their homes on the West Coast and herded into American concentration camps in desolate areas of America’s interior.
The exploits of the Nikkei World War II veterans were transformational. Their heroics reshaped public attitudes about the Japanese American community, resulting in a more tolerant society.
On November 2, 2011, the United States Congress presented the Congressional Gold Medal to two of the military units comprised of Japanese American veterans. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award presented by Congress.
The sponsoring organizations for this tribute are: American Legion Nisei Post 1183, Japanese American Citizens League Chicago Chapter, Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, Chicago Japanese American Council, Japanese American Service Committee, Japanese Mutual Aid Association of Chicago.
FORMS
REGISTRATION FORM
AD ORDER FORM
AD TEMPLATE FORM
CALL FOR VETERAN PHOTOS
JAPANESE AMERICAN MILITARY UNITS
442nd REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM and 100TH INFANTRY BATTALION
The 442nd and 100th were comprised of Japanese Americans from the mainland and Hawaii. Four thousand men initially served and suffered over 300% combat casualties, the highest combat casualty rate of any regiment that served in the United States Army. They are regarded as the most highly decorated unit in U.S. military history with nine Presidential Unit Citations, twenty-one Medals of Honor, over 18,000 combat and service medals, nearly 9,500 Purple Hearts and 52 Bronze Stars. They served in major campaigns in Europe and rescued the Texas Lost Battalion, broke the German Gothic Line at Mt. Folgorita in Italy and opened the Po Valley for the eventual march into Germany.
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (MIS)
The Military Intelligence and Language Service or MIS trained over 6,000 Japanese Americans for service in document translation, interrogations and code-breaking in the Pacific war. General MacArthur’s chief of intelligence, General Charles Willoughby said, “never before in history did an army know so much concerning its enemy, prior to actual engagement, as did the American Army during most of the Pacific campaigns.” He estimated that the Japanese Americans serving in the MIS shortened the Pacific war by two years and saved a million Allied lives.
522nd FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION
As part of the 442nd RCT, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion was one of the fastest, most efficient artillery units in the European Theater of Operations. The 522nd supported the infantry by shooting heavy artillery fire from 105mm Howitzers. A Howitzer was a type of long-range cannon with a barrel that was 105mm (about 4.1 inches) wide. About 650 Japanese Americans served in the 522nd, which consisted of a headquarters battery, three gun batteries (A, B, and C), a service battery and a medical detachment. Each gun battery had four guns that were each manned with a crew of seven.
(from Go for Broke, National Education Center website)
THE 232nd COMBAT ENGINEER COMPANY
The 232nd Combat Engineer Company was unique. Unlike the other units in the 442nd that were primarily run by white officers, the engineers took their orders from other Japanese Americans. Captain Pershing Nakada and five Nisei first lieutenants ran the company.
The combat engineers’ role was to keep the lines of communication and transportation always open so that the infantry could advance quickly. They also assured the wounded could be evacuated and desperately needed supplies could arrive.
(from Go for Broke, National Education Center website)
1399TH ENGINEER CONSTRUCTION BATTALION
The 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion was an all-Japanese American non-combat unit stationed in Oahu, Hawaii during World War II. When the ranks of the 442nd/100th/MIS were filled, Japanese Americans eager to answer the call to duty were honored to serve the non-combat 1399th Battalion. Thomas Takemoto was one such veteran dedicating two years to the 1399th, volunteering again after a medical discharge. Takemoto said, “We were not a little battalion. We were a construction outfit building for the war effort.”
(from Go for Broke, National Education Center website)
OTHER UNITS
Japanese Americans also served in the following units, which were part of the 442nd RCT: 206th Army Ground Force Band, Antitank Company, Cannon Company, Service Company and Medical detachment. Japanese Americans also served in the WAC (Women’s Army Corp), U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy.
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