>> MY FATHER’S NAME WAS UICHI YAMANE.

HE CAME FROM YAMAGUCHI PREFECTURE IN JAPAN.

WHEN MY FATHER CAME TO HAWAII, HE LIKED THE WEATHER.

THE PEOPLE WERE FRIENDLY, SO HE DECIDED TO STAY.

>> IN 1896, UICHI YAMANE LEFT YAMAGUCHI PREFECTURE IN SOUTHERN JAPAN TO SEEK WORK IN HAWAII.

HE ARRIVED WITH ONE DOLLAR IN HIS POCKET.

HE WAS PART OF A MASS MIGRATION OF OVER TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND JAPANESE TO THE UNITED STATES THAT TOOK PLACE FROM 1885 TO 1924.

>> WHEN UICHI ARRIVED IN HAWAII, THERE WERE ABOUT SIXTY THOUSAND JAPANESE THERE, COMPRISING THE LARGEST ETHNIC GROUP, FORTY PERCENT OF THE POPULATION.

EVENTUALLY, THIS GROUP OF JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN WOULD OVERCOME BARRIERS OF LANGUAGE, RACIAL PREJUDICE, AND ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF U.S. HISTORY.

>> THE HAWAII THAT UICHI YAMANE FOUND WAS UNLIKE ANY OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD.

THE ENGLISH EXPLORER, JAMES COOK, HAD COME ACROSS THE HAWAIIAN ARCHIPELAGO IN 1778, LEADING TO COLONIZATION AND DISEASE THAT EVENTUALLY KILLED OFF MOST OF THE NATIVE POPULATION.

>> AMERICAN MISSIONARIES ESTABLISHED A FOOTHOLD, AND LAND WAS SEIZED TO DEVELOP LABOR-INTENSIVE AGRICULTURAL PLANTATIONS NOT UNLIKE THOSE IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.

BUT INSTEAD OF SLAVES, THEY BROUGHT IN LOW-PAID WORKERS, MOSTLY FROM ASIA.

>> WORKERS CAME FROM MANY NATIONS, SUCH AS PORTUGAL AND CHINA, BUT EVENTUALLY, PLANTATION OWNERS TURNED TO THE JAPANESE.

IN JAPAN, MANY WERE EAGER FOR JOBS IN HAWAII.

UNIQUE AMONG IMMIGRANTS TO THE UNITED STATES, THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT CLOSELY MONITORED THEIR WORKERS IN HAWAII.

THEY NEGOTIATED WITH THE PLANTERS TO ESTABLISH WORK CONTRACTS, AND INCLUDED JAPANESE WOMEN, IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A STRONG, PEACEFUL, AND PERMANENT JAPANESE COMMUNITY.

BY THE END OF THE 1880S WHEN UICHI ARRIVED, HAWAII WAS IN TURMOIL.

IN 1893, WITH THE HELP OF UNITED STATES TROOPS, THE WHITE PLANTATION OWNERS OVERTHREW THE SOVEREIGN NATION OF HAWAII, CREATING A REPUBLIC TO CLEAR THE WAY FOR ANNEXATION BY THE UNITED STATES.

THE ISLANDS WERE RUN BY A HANDFUL OF FAMILIES OF MISSIONARY DESCENDANTS KNOWN AS THE BIG FIVE, AND SUGAR WAS KING.

>> IN THE 19-TEENS AND TWENTIES, YOU HAD FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS WHO’D COME AND CALL HAWAII THE CLOSEST THING TO A FEUDAL KINGDOM THAT THEY HAVE SEEN.

I MEAN, IT’S REALLY RUN BY A VERY SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE.

THE WHITER SUPREMACIST KIND OF IDEOLOGY WAS STRONG ENOUGH THAT THE PLANTATION OWNERS AND MANAGERS, I BELIEVE, PROHIBITED WHITE FOLKS FROM ACTUALLY ENTERING MANUAL LABOR ON THE SUGAR PLANTATION.

THEY DIDN’T WANT TO MUDDY THE WATERS THERE, AND SHOW PEOPLE OF COLOR THAT WHITE PEOPLE COULD BE DOING WORK LIKE THAT.

>> THE PEOPLE OF COLOR IN HAWAII CALLED THE WHITES “HAOLES”, WHICH IN HAWAIIAN MEANS NO BREATH, OR WITHOUT A SPIRIT INSIDE.

>> UP UNTIL, AND THROUGH THE WAR HERE IN HAWAII SOCIETY WAS VERTICALLY STRUCTURED, WITH THE HAOLES ON TOP, EVERYBODY ELSE STRUNG UP ON THE STEPLADDER BELOW.

AT SOME RUNG, JAPANESE WERE SOMEWHERE OVER HERE, AND THEY ALL GREW UP TO KNOW THEIR PLACE.

THEY HAD A PLACE, AND SOCIETY PUT THEM IN THEIR PLACE, AND THEY KNEW IT.

>> EVERY IMMIGRANT GROUP TO THE UNITED STATES FOLLOWS A DIFFERENT PATH FROM OUTCAST TO ACCEPTANCE.

JAPANESE AMERICANS FROM HAWAII PLAYED A PIVOTAL, YET MOSTLY UNKNOWN ROLE, IN THE JOURNEY OF JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.

PHYSICALLY CLOSER TO JAPAN, AND REPRESENTING A MUCH GREATER PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION THAN THEIR COUNTERPARTS ON THE MAINLAND, THEIR LOYALTY WOULD BE UNIQUELY CHALLENGED DURING WORLD WAR II.

THE CHILDREN OF THESE IMMIGRANTS, LIKE UICHI YAMANE’S SON KAZUO, WOULD PLAY AN OUTSIZED ROLE IN DEFENDING AMERICA DURING THE WAR.

THEIR STORY BEGAN WITH A COUNTRY WILLING TO TAKE PEOPLE LIKE UICHI YAMANE IN.

>> MY FATHER’S MAIN OBJECTIVE WAS TO MAKE ENOUGH MONEY, AND GO BACK HOME AGAIN TO JAPAN.

BUT NOW THAT HE DECIDED TO STAY IN HAWAII, HE FELT THE FIRST THING TO DO WAS LEARN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

HE WENT TO NIGHT SCHOOL AND STUDIED ENGLISH.

HE FOUND A JOB HE LIKED WHERE HE LEARNED HOW TO COOK, AND WENT TO WAIKIKI WHERE HE WORKED FOR THE CAMPBELL FAMILY, WHO OWNED THE HALEKULANI HOTEL.

AFTER A FEW YEARS, HE DECIDED TO GO OUT AND START A COFFEE SHOP OF HIS OWN.

>> YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY WENT TO PLANTATIONS, TO BEGIN WITH.

THERE WERE A NUMBER OF CONTRACT LABORERS IN THE 1880S AND 1890S WHO STARTED OUT AS HOUSEBOYS, MAIDS, AND DIFFERENT KINDS OF POSITIONS.

SOME OF THEM HAD MONEY TO BEGIN SMALL BUSINESSES; RESTAURANTS, HOTELS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

>> AMONG THIS THRIVING WORLD OF IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS, UICHI BEGAN TO STAND OUT.

>> MY FATHER STARTED A COFFEE SHOP AT THE END OF THE STREETCAR LINE IN KALIHI.

THE RIDERS ON THE STREETCAR HAD THEIR MEALS THERE.

BUSINESS GREW, HE MARRIED MY MOTHER MIKA, AND THAT’S THE WAY THEY STARTED.

>> UICHI ALWAYS LOOKED A STEP AHEAD, AND DEVELOPED A SYSTEM OF BUSINESSES THAT WOULD BENEFIT EACH OTHER.

>> HE STARTED A BUSINESS THAT WOULD HELP THE OTHER BUSINESSES RUNNING.

LIKE SAY, HE WOULD HAVE A FAMILY HE HAS TO FEED, SO HE STARTED A RESTAURANT.

YOU HAVE TO BUY THE GROCERIES, SO HE STARTED A GROCERY STORE SO HE COULD GET THE WHOLESALE PRICE.

HE CALLED HIS TWO YOUNGER BROTHERS FROM JAPAN TO HELP HIM.

THEIR WIVES CAME OVER, TOO.

HE WAS INTERESTED IN REAL ESTATE; HE STARTED TO BUY LAND, WHICH WAS VERY LOW.

HE STARTED A RENTAL BUSINESS, SO HE ADDED A PAINT DEPARTMENT.

HE WOULD USE THE PAINT FOR THE RENTAL UNITS.

WHATEVER HE DID, HE SOLD SOMETHING TO HELP THE OTHER ENTERPRISES.

HE WAS A VERY SMART MAN.

I WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 8, 1916.

I’M NUMBER EIGHT IN THE FAMILY.

WE’RE A TOTAL FAMILY OF TWELVE CHILDREN, BUT FROM THE FIRST CHILD TO THE SEVENTH CHILD, ALL GIRLS, SEVEN DAUGHTERS.

AFTER THAT, THEY WERE ALL BOYS.

>> THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY KAZUO YAMANE WAS BORN INTO EMBRACED BOTH JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES.

THE IMMIGRANT ISSEI, THE FIRST GENERATION, WERE DENIED CITIZENSHIP, FORCING THEM TO MAINTAIN DEEP TIES TO JAPAN.

>> IT IS FUNDAMENTAL TO UNDERSTANDING THE STORY TO SEE THAT AMERICAN IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION LAW BARRED NATURALIZATION, AND IT ALSO BARRED FURTHER IMMIGRATION AFTER 1924.

SO, THERE WAS THIS VERY LARGE POPULATION OF PEOPLE WHO HAD LIVED IN HAWAII FOR A LONG TIME, AND SO THEIR LIVES WERE HERE, BUT THEY WERE ALIEN.

THEY WERE JAPANESE ALIENS LEGALLY, BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T ALLOWED TO NATURALIZE.

>> KAZUO, OF THE SECOND GENERATION, THE NISEI, WAS BORN IN HAWAII, SO HE WAS A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES.

THE ISSEI ENCOURAGED THEIR CHILDREN TO EMBRACE AMERICA.

>> THE JAPANESE PARENTS WANTED THEIR CHILDREN NOT TO BE LOYAL SUBJECTS OF JAPAN, BUT WANTED THEIR CHILDREN TO BE LOYAL SUBJECTS OF THEIR COUNTRY, AND THEY RECOGNIZED THEIR COUNTY WAS AMERICA.

>> MY FATHER THOUGHT JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE JAPANESE, YOU SHOULD NOT BE LESS OF A CITIZEN.

HE STARTED A SHRINE CALLED IZUMO-TAISHA, AND HELPED THEM BUILD THE SHRINE BUILDING.

HE STARTED A JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN KALIHI.

>> JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOLS WERE A STRONG PART OF MAINTAINING TIES TO JAPAN.

>> THE JAPANESE WERE AMONG THE MOST HIGHLY-EDUCATED OF IMMIGRANTS.

I DON’T MEAN IN HAWAII; I MEAN IN THE UNITED STATES.

SO, THERE WAS AN EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION.

LANGUAGE SCHOOLS ARE ALSO IMPORTANT, AND THE NISEI OFTEN COMPLAINED ABOUT HAVING TO GO TO JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL AFTER THEIR ENGLISH PUBLIC SCHOOLING SYSTEM, OR ON SATURDAYS OR WHATEVER, AND MOSTLY HATING IT.

>> THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT MISTRUSTED THE LANGUAGE SCHOOLS, BECAUSE THEY WERE SEEN AS HINDERING THE INTEGRATION OF JAPANESE CHILDREN INTO AMERICAN SOCIETY.

BUT THE ISSEI SAW THEM AS A WAY OF PASSING ON THEIR HISTORY, LANGUAGE, AND STORIES, BUT NOT LOYALTY TO JAPAN.

THE LANGUAGE SCHOOLS WERE SO WELL-ATTENDED, THEY HAD TEXTBOOKS SPECIFIC TO HAWAII.

>> AT THE TIME, WE RESENTED, WE GRUMBLED.

THE REST OF THE KIDS DIDN’T HAVE TO GO TO ONE HOUR MORE OF SCHOOL, WHEREAS, WE DID.

BUT THEN, WHEN WAR CAME, AND WE SAW THAT WE COULD READ AND WRITE IN THE JAPANESE HIEROGLYPHICS, WE WERE ONE LEG UP ON EVERYBODY ELSE.

>> KAZUO, LIKE MOST ISSEI CHILDREN, ENDURED LANGUAGE SCHOOL AND LEARNED LITTLE JAPANESE.

BUT LIKE MOST OF THEM, HE DID LEARN PIDGIN, A LOCAL LANGUAGE DERIVED FROM THE MULTI-ETHNICITY OF HAWAII.

>> WHERE WE LIVED WAS NOT STRICTLY JAPANESE.

MY FRIENDS WERE OF ALL NATIONALITIES, SO WE PICKED UP THEIR LANGUAGE, TOO.

HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE, OF COURSE.

THEY’VE GOT ALL THESE PLANTATION WORKERS THAT CAME FROM PUERTO RICO, CHINA, JAPAN, HAWAII, SAMOA.

JUST BY NATURAL PROCESS, THEY CREATED PIDGIN ENGLISH.

THEY TRIED TO GET PIDGIN ENGLISH ABOLISHED, BUT THE KIDS FOUND IT THE MOST CONVENIENT COMMUNICATION.

>> IF YOU WERE BORN AND RAISED HERE, IT DIDN’T MATTER WHETHER YOU’RE HAWAIIAN, PUERTO RICAN, PORTUGUESE, WHATEVER, THAT WAS YOUR SECOND LANGUAGE.

THAT WAS YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE, ACTUALLY, ‘CAUSE MOST OF THEM COULDN’T SPEAK PROPER ENGLISH.

>> UNLIKE THE CHILDREN OF ASIAN IMMIGRANTS AND NATIVE HAWAIIANS, MOST WHITE CHILDREN, EVEN THOSE WHO MIGHT KNOW SOME PIDGIN, SPOKE CONVENTIONAL ENGLISH.

IN 1924, WHEN KAZUO WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD, THIS DISPARITY WAS EXPLOITED TO INSTITUTIONALIZE A DISCRIMINATORY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM UNIQUE TO HAWAII.

TWO SETS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS WERE ESTABLISHED: ENGLISH STANDARD SCHOOLS THAT REQUIRED PASSING AN ORAL ENGLISH TEST TO BE ADMITTED, AND SCHOOLS FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T SPEAK ENGLISH WELL.

IT WAS A CONVENIENT WAY TO SEPARATE THE HAOLE CHILDREN FROM EVERYONE ELSE.

>> THE ENGLISH STANDARD SCHOOL SYSTEM SMACKED OF SEGREGATION, BUT IT WASN’T A TRUE SEGREGATION SYSTEM.

IT WAS NOT THE BRUTAL SYSTEM OF RACIAL SEGREGATION THAT OCCURRED IN THE JIM CROW SOUTH, BUT SOME OF THE IMPULSES WHICH DROVE IT WERE THE SAME.

IT WAS DRIVEN BY THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF WHITE SUPREMACY … PERIOD.

>> THEY HAD BETTER TEACHERS, BETTER FACILITIES.

THEY WERE A MEANS OF SEGREGATING THE POPULATION, WITHOUT SEGREGATING THE POPULATION ALONG RACIAL LINES.

SO, HAWAII BY THE 1920 HAD A WHITE POPULATION THAT WAS NOT PLANTATION OWNERS OR MANAGER.

THERE NEEDED TO BE A WAY TO PROTECT THEM FROM BEING CONTAMINATED BY PEOPLE OF COLOR.

AND SO, THE ENGLISH STANDARD SCHOOLS WERE A WAY OF DOING THIS.

SO, THE ENTRANCE EXAM TO THESE WAS SPEAKING STANDARD ENGLISH; ENGLISH STANDARD SCHOOLS.

>> THE MOST SIGNIFICANT OF NON-STANDARD SEGREGATED SCHOOLS WAS MCKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL IN HONOLULU.

WITH A STUDENT POPULATION THAT WAS TWO-THIRDS JAPANESE ANCESTRY, THE SCHOOL WAS NICKNAMED “TOKYO HIGH”.

>> IN 1931, I STARTED MY FRESHMAN YEAR AT MCKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL IN HONOLULU.

IN THE EARLY 1930S, ALL THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WERE ALL GEARED TO HAVE THE KIDS, MOST OF THE ORIENTAL KIDS, STAY ON THE PLANTATION.

>> MCKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL WAS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT WAS THE LARGEST PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL ON OAHU AT THAT TIME.

YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA REMEMBER THAT BEFORE THE WAR, THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO’D NEVER FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL.

I THINK AT THE TIME, YOU HAD TO TAKE AT LEAST A YEAR OF JUNIOR ROTC, HIGH SCHOOL ROTC.

AND BECAUSE OF THAT, A LOT OF GUYS GOT EXPOSED TO THE MILITARY AT AN EARLY AGE, AND YOU KNOW, LEARNED BASIC MILITARY COMPORTMENT.

>> I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA … >> AND THIS WAS THE ERA IN AMERICA OF THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, SORT OF THE CULTS OF THE FLAG, LEARNING AMERICAN HISTORY IN HIGH SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, SINGING “AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL”.

AND SO, THAT’S WHAT THEY GREW UP WITH IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN HAWAII.

AND SO, THEY WERE GREAT PATRIOTS, AND IF PEOPLE QUESTIONED THEIR LOYALTY, I THINK MOST NISEI, THAT JUST MADE THEM STRONGER IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED STATES.

>> WHEN I GRADUATED FROM MCKINLEY IN 1934, MY FATHER FELT THE WISEST THING TO DO IS TO SEND ME TO JAPAN, WHERE I COULD LEARN THE LANGUAGE, THE CULTURE, AND SO FORTH.

SO, IN 1935, I LEFT FOR JAPAN.

>> IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL FOR NISEI CHILDREN TO BE SENT BACK TO JAPAN FOR SOME OF THEIR EDUCATION.

WHEN THEY CAME BACK TO THE UNITED STATES, THEY WERE CALLED KIBEI, WHICH MEANS “RETURN TO AMERICA”.

USUALLY, THE KIBEI WERE SENT FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, OR MAYBE HIGH SCHOOL.

BUT KAZUO WAS OLDER THAN MOST, SO WHILE TECHNICALLY A KIBEI, HE NEVER CALLED HIMSELF ONE.

HE ATTENDED WASEDA UNIVERSITY, KNOWN AS THE HARVARD OF JAPAN.

>> EVEN THOUGH I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN THE UNITED STATES, MY FATHER REGISTERED ME AT THE CONSULATE, SO I WAS ALSO A CITIZEN OF JAPAN.

ONCE YOU LAND IN JAPAN, YOU ARE SUBJECT TO JAPANESE LAWS, AND YOU ARE SUBJECT TO MILITARY DUTY UNLESS YOU GET AN EXEMPTION.

DURING THAT TIME AT WASEDA, I HAD THE EXEMPTION, BUT I HAD TO ATTEND MILITARY TRAINING.

I USED TO GO EVERY SUMMER, WHEREVER MANEUVERS WENT.

IT DIDN’T BOTHER ME, AS LONG AS THEY DIDN’T GRAB ME FOR THE JAPANESE MILITARY.

>> KAZUO FEARED BEING DRAFTED, BECAUSE JAPAN WAS AT WAR.

THEY HAD INVADED MANCHURIA IN 1931, AND CHINA IN 1937.

MANY JAPANESE NATIONALS, INCLUDING SOME OF THE ISSEI IN HAWAII, FELT GREAT PRIDE IN JAPAN’S MILITARY SUCCESS, AND HOPED IT WOULD LEAD A UNIFIED ASIA.

BUT THEIR NISSEI CHILDREN WHO WERE STUDYING IN JAPAN WERE AT RISK OF BEING TRAPPED IF WAR BROKE OUT WITH AMERICA.

IN 1940, JAPAN ALLIED ITSELF WITH ITALY AND GERMANY, SETTING THE STAGE FOR WORLD WAR II.

>> TALK OF WAR WAS IN THE AIR.

THE MOOD IN JAPAN WAS TRYING BUILD UP PATRIOTISM, AND WE WOULD HEAR JAPANESE SONGS ABOUT WAR.

THE COUNTRY WAS JUST WAR HYSTERIA.

MY FATHER HAD BEEN TELLING ME HE THOUGHT THERE MIGHT BE WAR, AND THAT I SHOULD COME HOME.

IN 1940, I GRADUATED FROM MY BUSINESS COURSE IN.

WASEDA, AND RETURNED TO HAWAII ON THE SECOND TO THE LAST SHIP BEFORE THE WAR.

>> THIRTY-SEVEN PERCENT OF THE POPULATION OF HAWAII WAS NOW OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY.

IN WASHINGTON, WORRIED ABOUT WAR, THEIR LOYALTY WAS QUESTIONED, AND THEY WERE MISTRUSTED.

BUT MANY IN HAWAII SAW THEM AS MUCH LESS OF A THREAT, AND POTENTIALLY A GREAT ASSET.

THE REMOTENESS OF HAWAII AND A MULTIETHNIC COALITION OF VISIONARY LEADERS KNOWN AS THE COUNCIL FOR INTERRACIAL UNITY HELPED TO FORM A MUCH DIFFERENT FATE FOR THOSE OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY IN HAWAII FROM THOSE ON THE MAINLAND.

>> THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAD LIVED IN HAWAII FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PERIOD OF TIME UNDERSTOOD THAT THE NISEI WERE AMERICAN CITIZENS, WENT TO AMERICAN SCHOOLS, WERE TAUGHT BY AMERICAN TEACHERS.

THEY WERE AMERICANS.

THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T HAVE FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE WITH THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII WERE EVEN MORE SUSPICIOUS AND REALLY SORT OF LUMPED THEM TOGETHER AS JAPANESE, RATHER THAN AMERICANS.

AND SO, WITH THE RISING TIDE OF JAPANESE MILITARISM IN THE 1930S, I THINK THERE WAS A MATCHING TIDE OF CONCERN AMONG OTHER AMERICANS ABOUT THE RISK OF DIVIDED LOYALTY.

>> THE HAWAII KAZUO FOUND ON HIS RETURN IN 1940 WAS GEARING FOR WAR, AND A DRAFT WAS ESTABLISHED THAT INCLUDED NON-WHITE MEN.

HALF OF THOSE DRAFTED IN HAWAII WERE OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY, SO HUNDREDS OF NISEI WERE SUDDENLY IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY AND ASSIGNED TO MULTIRACIAL UNITS ACROSS THE ISLANDS IN THE 298TH AND 299TH REGIMENTS.

>> AT ABOUT THAT TIME, A PEACETIME DRAFT WAS INSTITUTED, AND I WAS CALLED UP IN NOVEMBER 1941.

I WAS ASSIGNED TO SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, WHERE I WAS GIVEN BASIC TRAINING.

THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 7TH, I WAS AT MY PARENTS’ HOME, WASHING MY FATHER’S CAR, WHEN THE SKY GOT DARK.

LOOKING AT THE SKY, IT DIDN’T SOUND LIKE BLANKS THEY WERE SHOOTING.

AND THEN, MY SISTER CAME OUT OF THE HOUSE, SAYING THE RADIO WAS BROADCASTING THAT ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL RETURN TO THEIR POSTS IMMEDIATELY.

OH, THAT’S A SIGHT I’LL NEVER FORGET.

THE ROAD FROM WHERE WE WERE LIVING TO SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, WE HAD TO PASS PEARL HARBOR.

WITH THE HIGHEST POINT OF RED HILL ROAD GOING WEST, YOU HAVE A CLEAR VIEW OF PEARL HARBOR.

WHEN I GOT TO THE HIGHEST POINT THERE, YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE IT.

ALL THE JAPANESE BOMBERS WERE DIVING, BOMBING, BATTLESHIPS WERE BURNING.

THE ENTIRE PEARL HARBOR WAS ON FIRE.

WHEN I ARRIVED AT MY POST, THERE WERE NO RIFLES TO ISSUE, AND AMMUNITION WAS ALL STORED AWAY, LOCKED UP.

WE WERE TOTALLY UNPREPARED.

THE DAYTIME WASN’T SO BAD, BUT THAT NIGHT, DECEMBER 7TH WAS A HORROR.

>> THE ATTACK FROM THE AIR ON THE 7TH OF DECEMBER WAS SHOCKING AND TRAUMATIC, AND EVERYONE WAS WAITING FOR THE NEXT STEP.

AND THE NEXT STEP WAS GOING TO BE A JAPANESE FLEET WOULD ARRIVE WITH LANDING CRAFT, AND ATTACK ACROSS THE BEACHES AND CONQUER HAWAII.

FOR DAYS AFTERWARDS, THERE WERE REPORTS OF NEW AIR RAIDS, THERE WERE ACTUALLY REPORTS OF PARATROOPS DROPPING ON DIFFERENT ISLANDS.

THERE WERE RUMORS THAT SOME OF THE JAPANESE PILOTS HAD GROWN UP OR LIVED IN HAWAII THAT SEEMED TO CONFIRM ALL THE RUMORS THAT THE JAPANESE PEOPLE COULDN’T BE TRUSTED.

>> THE RUMORS WEREN’T TRUE, BUT WERE EVEN WORSE ON THE MAINLAND.

>> THE FURTHER YOU GOT AWAY FROM HAWAII, THE WORSE THE MISINFORMATION GOT, AND THE MISINFORMATION IS WHAT RATIONALIZED THE FORCED RELOCATION AND INTERNMENT OF PEOPLE OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY IN THE WEST COAST STATES.

SO, IT WAS A COMPLETE KIND OF MADNESS.

>> ONE JAPANESE VETERAN SAID THAT IT WAS LIKE HAVING YOUR OLDER BROTHER ARRESTED FOR A TERRIBLE CRIME.

YOU KNOW, YOU’RE ASHAMED, YOU’RE SHOCKED, YOU DIDN’T THINK YOUR OLDER BROTHER WOULD DO THAT.

YOU’RE EMBARRASSED FOR THE FAMILY, AND HOW DO YOU LIVE WITH KNOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, A FAMILY MEMBER THAT YOU HAD RESPECTED HAD DONE SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, OR COMMITTED A HORRIBLE CRIME.

IT WAS JUST VERY, VERY PAINFUL.

>> BUT BECAUSE OF THE DESPERATE NEED FOR MANPOWER, MANY SOLDIERS STILL AT SCHOFIELD, LIKE KAZUO, WERE EVENTUALLY DEPLOYED TO GUARD THE BEACHES.

>> AFTER TWO DAYS, I WAS TOLD TO REPORT TO THE CAPTAIN’S OFFICE AND WAS TOLD THAT SINCE I HAD HAD ROTC TRAINING IN HIGH SCHOOL, I WOULD BE SENT TO THE WINDWARD SIDE OF OAHU TO GUARD THE ISLAND PERIMETER.

AS THE DAYS WENT BY, I THOUGHT ABOUT MY PARENTS.

THERE WERE A LOT OF RUMORS THAT THEY WERE INTERNING A LOT OF THE SENIOR CITIZENS.

I THOUGHT FOR SURE, MY FAMILY WOULD BE INTERNED.

>> PEOPLE WERE ROUNDED UP NOT ACCORDING TO ANYTHING THAT THEY HAD DONE WRONG OR BY INDIVIDUALITY, BUT PRETTY MUCH BY CATEGORY.

AND THE CATEGORIES WERE PRETTY MUCH THIS SUPERSTRUCTURE OF JAPANESE COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP.

>> HUNDREDS WERE ARRESTED, EVENTUALLY, OVER A THOUSAND COMMUNITY LEADERS, BUDDHIST PRIESTS, JAPANESE SCHOOL TEACHERS, PEOPLE THAT HAD TOO MUCH CONTACT WITH JAPAN’S CONSULATE IN HONOLULU.

AND SO, THERE WERE SOME THAT WERE ARRESTED AS BEING POSSIBLY UNRELIABLE, OR THE AUTHORITIES REALLY WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE UNDER CONTROL.

SO, THERE WAS SOME OF THAT, BUT THERE WAS NO MASS INCARCERATION.

>> THE INITIAL IMPULSE FROM WASHINGTON WAS TO INCARCERATE EVERYBODY.

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE REMOVING PEOPLE FROM THEIR HOMES AND FORCIBLY PUTTING A HUNDRED TWENTY THOUSAND JAPANESE AMERICANS ON THE WEST COAST INTO ASSEMBLY CENTERS AND THEN INTO CONCENTRATION CAMPS.

SO, IN HAWAII, TWO THOUSAND MILES CLOSER TO JAPAN, AND THE POTENTIAL TARGET OF INVASION, IT DIDN’T MAKE ANY SENSE TO JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE.

WASHINGTON KEPT BADGERING THE MILITARY GOVERNOR OF HAWAII TO GATHER UP ALL OF THESE PEOPLE, INCLUDING ME, WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN THREE YEARS OLD, AS POTENTIALLY DISLOYAL AND DANGEROUS.

ONE OF THE PROPOSALS WAS TO MOVE ALL OF THE HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE THOUSAND PEOPLE TO THE ISLAND OF MOLOKAI, ONE ISLAND, SO THAT IT WOULD BE EASIER TO GUARD.

AND IT HAPPENS TO BE AN ISLAND SURROUNDED BY REALLY SWIFT CURRENTS, AND SHARK-INFESTED SEAS.

UNTIL SOMEBODY SMART ENOUGH SAID: WAIT A MINUTE; WHAT IF THE JAPS INVADE?

WHERE IS THE FIRST PLACE THEY’RE GONNA GO?

THEY’RE GONNA GO TO MOLOKAI, AND THEY’RE GONNA LIBERATE HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE THOUSAND REALLY PISSED OFF JAPANESE TO FORM PART OF THE INVADING PARTY.

HMM; MAYBE THAT’S NOT SUCH A GOOD IDEA.

IT WAS INSANE.

AND SO, THE MILITARY COMMAND IN HAWAII ACTUALLY HAD TO DEFLECT THIS FOR AT LEAST A YEAR OR TWO.

>> THERE WAS A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, DISINGENUOUS STUFF SAID, BUT IT WAS SAID TOWARD THE GOAL OF BASICALLY PROTECTING THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY IN HAWAII, AND KEEPING THEM INVOLVED IN THE WAR EFFORT.

BECAUSE THE ARMY REALIZED THAT THE MANTRA BECAME: TRUST BREEDS TRUST, DISTRUST BREEDS DISTRUST.

AND SO, THE MAIN NARRATIVE, THE MAIN DYNAMIC WAS: WE’LL TRY TO PROTECT YOU FROM THIS DISASTER; YOU HELP US, WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

IT WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ON THE MAINLAND.

>> ON THE WEST COAST OF THE MAINLAND, THOSE OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY WERE FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES AND BUSINESSES AND LOCKED UP IN REMOTE CONCENTRATION CAMPS.

IN HAWAII, MANY LEADERS OF THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY WERE INCARCERATED AND SOME SHIPPED TO THE MAINLAND.

BUT THE MAJORITY OF THOSE OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY STAYED FREE, BUT CAREFULLY WATCHED UNDER MARTIAL LAW.

THE NISEI IN THE ARMY, LIKE KAZUO, REMAINED GUARDING THE COAST UNTIL THE AMERICAN VICTORY IN THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY REDUCED THE CHANCES OF A JAPANESE INVASION.

>> BATTLE OF MIDWAY OCCURRED ON JUNE 3RD THROUGH 6TH, 1942.

BY EARLY JUNE, ALL OF THE AJAS, JAPANESE AMERICANS IN THE 298TH AND 299TH, AS WELL AS THE ENGINEERING UNITS, ARE PULLED OUT OF THE RANKS AND SEGREGATED.

AND ON JUNE 5TH, FOURTEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO OF THEM, INCLUDING THEIR OFFICERS, COLONEL TURNER AND SOME OTHERS, ARE VERY QUIETLY LOADED ABOARD THE SS MAUI, WHICH HAD BEEN CONVERTED INTO A TROOP SHIP, AND SET SAIL FOR OAKLAND.

>> IT WAS QUITE A SHOCK TO THE YOUNG MEN LIKE YAMANE AND MANY OTHERS, WHO HAD ACTUALLY BEEN PULLING BEACH DUTY, DEFENDING THE BEACHES, SERVING, WAITING FOR THAT JAPANESE INVASION, WHICH THANKFULLY NEVER CAME, DOING THEIR DUTY AS YOUNG SOLDIERS, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE ORDER CAME ONE DAY TO REPORT TO YOUR REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS, TURN IN YOUR WEAPONS, AND THEY WERE THEN SENT UNARMED ONTO A TRANSPORT SHIP AND SHIPPED TO THE MAINLAND.

THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHERE THEY WERE GOING, THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHY; THEY WERE, I’M SURE, VERY, VERY WORRIED.

THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO CONTACT THEIR FAMILIES, AND SO, THEIR FAMILIES DIDN’T KNOW WHERE THEY WERE GOING EITHER.

AND THEY DIDN’T KNOW UNTIL THEY WERE OUT AT SEA THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY GOING TO THE WEST COAST.

>> ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO NISEI, ESSENTIALLY ALL THE JAPANESE AMERICAN COMBAT TROOPS IN HAWAII, WERE ABRUPTLY REMOVED.

MOST OF THEM HAD NEVER BEEN AWAY FROM THE ISLANDS BEFORE.

THEY LEFT BEHIND THEIR FAMILIES, THE PLACE WHERE THEIR CUSTOMARY LANGUAGE OF PIDGIN WAS SPOKEN, EVERYTHING THAT WAS FAMILIAR TO THEM.

MANY THOUGHT THEY WERE BEING TAKEN TO BE INCARCERATED ON THE MAINLAND.

>> WHEN THE SHIP CARRYING THE FOURTEEN HUNDRED NISEI SOLDIERS ARRIVED ON THE WEST COAST, THEY CAME INTO OAKLAND AND WERE PUT ON TRAINS AND SHIPPED DEEP INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE COUNTRY.

AT ABOUT THAT SAME TIME, THE U.S. ARMY DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD USE THEM AS A SEPARATE INFANTRY BATTALION, AND GAVE THEM THE DESIGNATION OF THE 100TH INFANTRY BATTALION.

>> IT WAS MIDNIGHT WHEN THE TRAIN WENT SLOWLY INTO CAMP MCCOY, WISCONSIN.

WE COULD SEE THE STOCKADE, AND ON EACH CORNER THERE WAS A TOWER WITH A MACHINE GUN ON THE SIDE.

WE HAD HEARD ABOUT THE MASS INCARCERATIONS OF JAPANESE AMERICANS ON THE MAINLAND, AND WE WERE WONDERING IF THAT WOULD BE OUR FATE, AS WELL.

>> KAZUO KEPT A SCRAPBOOK THROUGHOUT THE WAR, STARTING WITH THE FIRST CHALLENGING DAYS AT CAMP MCCOY.

>> THE DAYS WERE SPENT IN BASIC TRAINING.

AT NIGHT, WE LISTENED TO THE RADIO ABOUT THE MASSIVE EVACUATIONS OF WEST COAST JAPANESE.

WE LATER FOUND OUT THAT CAMP MCCOY WAS ALSO BEING USED AS A PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, AS WELL AS AN INTERNMENT CAMP FOR SOME OF THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY LEADERS IN HAWAII.

SOME OF THE PARENTS OF THE BOYS IN OUR UNIT WERE INCARCERATED HERE.

>> THEY END UP AT CAMP MCCOY, WISCONSIN, WHICH INCIDENTALLY HAD AN INTERNMENT CAMP.

IT’S PRETTY SMALL BY COMPARISON TO THE ONES WE’RE MORE FAMILIAR WITH, BUT THERE WERE JAPANESE AMERICANS IN THAT CAMP, AND THE IRONY WAS NOT LOST ON THESE GUYS.

>> THE WAR DEPARTMENT WAS PERFORMING AN UNPRECEDENTED EXPERIMENT.

THEY HAD SEGREGATED UNITS, BUT NEVER A UNIT MADE UP OF AN ETHNIC GROUP SO CLOSELY RELATED TO A COUNTRY WE WERE AT WAR WITH.

THE 100TH INFANTRY BATTALION, MADE UP ALMOST ENTIRELY OF NISEI FROM HAWAII, WOULD BE A TEST CASE OF JAPANESE AMERICANS IN THE MILITARY.

HOW WELL WOULD THEY TRAIN?

WOULD THEY BE LOYAL?

WOULD THEY FIGHT?

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE 100TH INFANTRY BATTALION WOULD BE THE FIRST TEST OF HOW THE ARMY AND THE COUNTRY WOULD MEASURE THE LOYALTY OF ALL JAPANESE AMERICANS.

>> THEY SPENT THE REST OF THE SPRING AND THE SUMMER AND FALL IN CAMP MCCOY, WISCONSIN IN BASIC INFANTRY TRAINING, TO BE USED AS AN INFANTRY BATTALION.

AND THEN FALL BECAME WINTER, AND IT GOT VERY, VERY COLD.

IMAGINE IF YOU’VE GROWN UP IN HAWAII, AND THEN YOU GO OFF TO WISCONSIN; THAT FIRST WISCONSIN WINTER MUST HAVE BEEN JUST ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL.

>> THE NISEI ADOPTED THE NICKNAME “ONE PUKA PUKA”, FOR THE 100TH BATTALION, AS “PUKA” STANDS FOR “HOLE” IN HAWAIIAN.

THEY TRAINED AS INFANTRY, BUT HIDDEN WITHIN THEIR RANKS WAS A TREASURE THE ARMY WAS DESPERATELY LOOKING FOR: MEN WHO COULD TRANSLATE AND INTERPRET JAPANESE, LIKE KAZUO YAMANE.

>> IN NOVEMBER OF 1942, THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE SENT RECRUITERS TO CAMP MCCOY AND GAVE JAPANESE LANGUAGE TESTS TO ALL THE SOLDIERS THERE.

A NUMBER OF THEM, INCLUDING KAZUO YAMANE, SCORED VERY HIGHLY.

I MEAN, YAMANE HAD GRADUATED FROM A JAPANESE UNIVERSITY, BUT HE ALSO HAD GROWN UP IN HAWAII AND GRADUATED FROM AN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL.

SO HE HAD JAPANESE LANGUAGE SKILLS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS AND WAS MATURE, YOU KNOW, IN HIS LATE TWENTIES, AND HE WAS AN IDEAL PICK FOR THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE.

AND SOMEONE ELSE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE HIS PLACE AS A RIFLEMAN.

>> AFTER TRAINING FOR SIX MONTHS AT CAMP MCCOY, THE ARMY ASKED FOR VOLUNTEERS TO TRAIN AS JAPANESE LINGUISTS WITH THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

FIFTY-EIGHT OF US VOLUNTEERED, AND WE WERE SENT TO CAMP SAVAGE IN MINNESOTA.

>> REMEMBER, THIS IS BEFORE THE 100TH BATTALION WENT INTO COMBAT, BEFORE THE 442ND WENT INTO COMBAT.

THERE WERE NO JAPANESE AMERICAN SOLDIERS FIGHTING FOR THE UNITED STATES ANYWHERE.

AND IT WAS IMPRESSED ON THEM BY THE FACULTY THAT THEY WERE THE ONE HOPE FOR THE REDEMPTION OF THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY IN AMERICA.

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAD TAKEN THE JAPANESE AMERICANS, WHETHER THEY WERE CITIZENS OR NOT, REGARDLESS OF AGE OR GENDER, OR PRIOR MILITARY SERVICE EVEN, HAD PUT THEM BEHIND BARBED WIRE.

AND THIS WAS A SMALL, SELECT GROUP OF YOUNG MEN, JUST A FEW HUNDRED, AND THE BURDEN AT THAT POINT WAS REALLY ALL ON THEM TO PROVE THAT THEY WERE LOYAL AMERICANS AND WOULD FIGHT FOR THEIR COUNTRY WHEREVER THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SENT THEM.

AND WOULD USE THEIR LANGUAGE SKILLS TO EMPHASIZE THE THING THAT MADE MOST AMERICANS SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THEM AND WOULD PROVE THEMSELVES IN THE HOPES THAT IN THE YEARS TO COME, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WOULD REVERSE ITS DECISION.

>> BECAUSE OF HIS MASTERY OF JAPANESE, KAZUO WAS ASSIGNED TO SECTION 1, THE TOP GRADE CLASS AT CAMP SAVAGE.

WHILE HE WAS STUDYING, THE 100TH BATTALION LEFT CAMP MCCOY FOR FURTHER TRAINING AT CAMP SHELBY IN MISSISSIPPI.

>> BASED ON THE SUCCESS OF THESE DRAFTEES, THE WAR DEPARTMENT DECIDED TO CREATE AN ALL-JAPANESE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER COMBAT UNIT: THE 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM.

THEY PLANNED TO TAKE THREE THOUSAND VOLUNTEERS FROM THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS ON THE MAINLAND AND FIFTEEN HUNDRED FROM HAWAII.

BUT THE WAR DEPARTMENT UNDERESTIMATED THE EFFECTS OF INCARCERATION.

>> THERE WERE LESS THAN FIFTEEN HUNDRED, I THINK, FROM THE CAMPS AND ALMOST TEN THOUSAND HAWAII.

SO THE DISPARITY, I’M NOT SURE IF ANYBODY’S ACTUALLY TRIED TO FIGURE THIS OUT, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

BUT THAT YOU KEEP A PEOPLE FREE, EVEN IF YOU HAVE IMPOSED MARTIAL LAW AND THERE’S SYSTEMATIC OPPRESSION AND PREJUDICE, STILL YOU WILL HAVE A BODY OF FOLKS WHO ARE WILLING TO FIGHT AND DIE FOR THE COUNTRY IF YOU HAVEN’T INCARCERATED THEM.

>> MOST OF THE NISEI WERE LOCKED UP BEHIND BARBED WIRE.

I MEAN, EVEN ME, IF I WERE IN THAT SITUATION, I WONDER WHETHER I WOULD HAVE VOLUNTEERED.

I DON’T KNOW.

OVER HERE, YEAH, JEEZ, WHERE’S THE PEN?

THERE WAS NO QUESTION THAT WE WERE VOLUNTEERING BECAUSE WE WEREN’T IMPRISONED LIKE THE ONES ON THE MAINLAND.

THERE WAS NO QUESTION IN ANY NISEI’S HEART AND MIND, WHO HE WAS AND WHERE HIS LOYALTY LAY.

NO QUESTION AT ALL.

>> THE WAR DEPARTMENT REALIZED THAT THEY WEREN’T GOING TO GET THEIR QUOTA OF VOLUNTEERS FROM THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, SO THEY KEPT INCREASING THE MAN QUOTA FROM HAWAII.

FINALLY, ON MARCH 28, 1943, ALMOST THREE THOUSAND VOLUNTEER NISEI OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MEN ASSEMBLED AT IOLANI PALACE FOR SENDOFF.

SEVEN THOUSAND ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEERS FROM HAWAII WOULD WAIT.

THE NISEI VOLUNTEERS FROM HAWAII ARRIVED IN CAMP SHELBY, MISSISSIPPI, IN APRIL OF 1943.

THERE THEY MET UP WITH A LESS THAN ONE THOUSAND NISEI VOLUNTEERS FROM THE MAINLAND.

THEY HAD THEIR DIFFERENCES.

>> LET’S PUT IT THIS WAY.

I LOOK AT A NISEI ON THE MAINLAND AS A HAOLE WITH A JAPANESE FACE.

THEY’RE HAOLES; THEY CAN’T PIDGIN ENGLISH.

CULTURALLY, WE’RE VASTLY TWO DIFFERENT BREEDS.

YOU KNOW.

AND OF COURSE, THERE WERE FIGHTS.

>> THE FOLKS FROM THE MAINLAND CAME FROM DIFFERENT PLACES.

THEY WERE NOT A UNIFIED GROUP.

THE GUYS FROM HAWAII, MAYBE THEY CAME FROM DIFFERENT PLANTATION TOWNS OR DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE ISLANDS, BUT AMONG OTHER THINGS, PIDGIN ENGLISH WAS SOMETHING THAT BOUND THEM TOGETHER.

AND SO THERE WAS PROBABLY A TENDENCY FROM THE WHITE OFFICERS TO SELECT THE GUYS TO BE CORPORALS AND SERGEANTS FROM AMONG THOSE PEOPLE WHOM THEY COULD UNDERSTAND AND COULD SPEAK THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, YOU KNOW.

SO THERE WERE INEVITABLE CLASHES.

>> WHILE THE NISEI FROM HAWAII AND THE MAINLAND WORKED OUT THEIR DIFFERENCES, THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE BEGAN TO SEND GRADUATES OUT TO THEIR ASSIGNMENTS.

ONE OF THE EARLY MIS GRADUATES WAS KAZUO YAMANE.

>> IN EARLY ’43, SOMEONE IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC DISCOVERED AN OFFICER LIST THAT LISTED BY NAME AND UNIT AND DATE OF RANK, AND UNIT AND DATE OF RANK, EVERY SINGLE OFFICER IN THE JAPANESE ARMY.

THE PROBLEM WAS, IT WAS ALL WRITTEN IN JAPANESE CHARACTERS.

AND SO, THE WAR DEPARTMENT CONTACTED THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE LANGUAGE SCHOOL AND SAID: WE NEED FOUR OF YOUR TOP TRANSLATORS TO COME HELP US TO BUILD THIS IDENTITY LIST OF JAPANESE OFFICERS.

AND SO, KAZUO YAMANE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST FOUR SELECTED TO COME.

NOW, THE PENTAGON WAS A RUSH-RUSH EMERGENCY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT BEGUN IN THE FALL OF 1941, AND SOME WAR DEPARTMENT FUNCTIONS BEGAN MOVING INTO THE BUILDING WHILE IT WAS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN THE SUMMER OF ’42 AND ON INTO ’43.

IT WAS STILL AN ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION SITE, AND IN WALKED FOUR JAPANESE AMERICAN SOLDIERS.

PEOPLE DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WHO THEY WERE, FOR THE MOST PART.

YAMANE TOLD ME A STORY THAT ONCE, HE AND A COUPLE OF THE OTHER NISEI WERE JUST STANDING AT A COFFEE BAR IN THE PENTAGON IN ONE OF THE CORRIDORS, AND ANOTHER SOLDIER THERE SAID: HEY, YOU GUYS INDIANS?

AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE NOT SURE HOW TO RESPOND TO THAT, SO YAMANE SAID: YEAH.

HE SAID: REALLY?

WHAT TRIBE?

AND YAMANE, THINKING VERY FAST ON HIS FEET, SAID: THE OSAKA TRIBE.

>> WHILE KAZUO WORKED AT THE PENTAGON, THE NISEI FROM HAWAII IN THE 100TH AND THE 442ND TRAINED AT CAMP SHELBY.

THE 100TH SHIPPED OUT FIRST, SAW COMBAT IN SALERNO, ITALY, IN SEPTEMBER OF 1943, AND THEN WORKED THEIR WAY UP ITALY, TAKING HEAVY CASUALTIES.

MEANWHILE, THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SCHOOL AT CAMP SAVAGE CONTINUED TO GRADUATE JAPANESE INTERPRETERS.

THE VAST MAJORITY WOULD WORK IN THE ARDUOUS, COSTLY, ISLAND-HOPPING THAT DROVE THE JAPANESE IMPERIAL ARMY BACK TOWARD THEIR HOMELAND IN THE PACIFIC.

>> BACK IN HAWAII, THE ISLANDS WERE BECOMING A FORTRESS, WITH EXPANDING MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AND SUPPORT FACILITIES.

WHILE MANY LEADERS OF THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY REMAINED UNDER GUARD, ISSEI BUSINESSMEN LIKE KAZUO’S FATHER UICHI, WHO HAD ENTERPRISES CRUCIAL TO THE WAR ECONOMY, CONTINUED TO OPERATE THEM UNDER MARTIAL LAW.

JAPANESE AMERICANS WERE PROHIBITED FROM WORKING IN SENSITIVE AREAS, AND HAOLES FROM THE MAINLAND WERE BROUGHT IN TO FILL THESE POSITIONS.

TO SHOW THEIR LOYALTY, THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY INTRODUCED A “SPEAK AMERICAN” CAMPAIGN.

AT THE PENTAGON, KAZUO MET MARY SHIOMURA, A JAPANESE AMERICAN TYPIST FROM COLORADO, AND THEY BECAME ENGAGED.

>> IN EUROPE IN MID-JANUARY OF 1944, THE 100TH BATTALION BECAME INVOLVED IN THE FIRST TWO ASSAULTS IN THE HORRIFIC BATTLE OF MONTE CASSINO, SUFFERING HEAVY CASUALTIES AND EARNING THE NICKNAME OF “THE PURPLE HEART BATTALION”.

SOON, ALL OF THE 442ND WOULD JOIN THEM IN FIERCE FIGHTING IN ITALY.

IN WASHINGTON, KAZUO YAMANE WAS MOVED TO WHAT WILL BE HIS MOST SIGNIFICANT ASSIGNMENT.

>> BY 1944, THE WAR DEPARTMENT WAS BEGINNING TO TRANSLATE SO MUCH JAPANESE CAPTURED DOCUMENTS THAT THEY COULDN’T DO IT IN THE PENTAGON ANYMORE; THE PENTAGON WAS JUST BURSTING AT THE SEAMS.

SO THEY MOVED THAT WHOLE TRANSLATION ACTIVITY UP TO CAMP RITCHIE.

>> CAMP RITCHIE WAS A SECLUDED MILITARY INTELLIGENCE FACILITY IN NORTHERN MARYLAND THAT HOUSED AN UNUSUAL ASSORTMENT OF PERSONNEL.

BEHIND ITS WALLS, JEWS WHO HAD FLED GERMANY TRAINED TO GO BACK TO EUROPE AS INTERROGATORS AND TRANSLATORS.

NISEI WORKED ON VERY SPECIFIC THEATER ISSUES.

THE FACILITY WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO WASHINGTON FOR QUICK COMMUNICATION, BUT REMOTE ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN SECRECY, ALTHOUGH LOCALS SOMETIMES SPOTTED WHAT APPEARED TO BE GERMAN SOLDIERS AND JAPANESE IMPERIAL ARMY CAVALRY MANEUVERING THROUGH THE MARYLAND COUNTRYSIDE.

KAZUO WAS PART OF PACMIRS, THE PACIFIC MILITARY INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH SECTION, TRANSLATORS WHO PORED OVER CAPTURED DOCUMENTS, LOOKING FOR HIDDEN GOLD.

ONE DAY, ALONE AT WORK, HE FOUND THE MOTHERLODE.

>> ONE DAY, MR. YAMANE OPENED A CRATE OF CAPTURED DOCUMENTS THAT HAD BEEN SHIPPED ALL THE WAY TO CAMP RITCHIE MARKED: “NO MILITARY VALUE”.

HE OPENED UP THE CRATE, REACHED INTO THE DOCUMENTS, AND HE FOUND ONE DOCUMENT THAT HAD KIND OF A TATTERED COVER AND IT LOOKED NONDESCRIPT.

AND HE OPENED IT UP AND WAS SURPRISED TO SEE IT WAS PUBLISHED MINUTES OF A MEETING THAT HAD BEEN HELD IN THE SPRING OF 1944 AMONG ALL THE KEY LEADERS OF THE JAPANESE ARMAMENTS INDUSTRY.

>> THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON, D.C., HOLDS A TATTERED DOCUMENT THAT IS THE TRANSLATION MADE AT CAMP RITCHIE OF WHAT KAZUO FOUND.

>> THEY DETAILED THE PRODUCTION RATE OF KEY ORDINANCE EQUIPMENT: RIFLES, ARTILLERY, AIRCRAFT, THE AVAILABLE INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY FOR EACH OF THOSE, AND THE FUTURE PLANS FOR HOW THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT WAS GONNA CONTINUE TO PRODUCE WAR MATERIAL DURING THE WAR.

SO HE WAS SURPRISED, AND HE BROUGHT IT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE LEADERSHIP THERE, AND THEY WERE FLABBERGASTED.

THEY LOOKED AT THE TABLE OF CONTENTS, AND NO ONE ELSE IN THE AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE HAD SEEN THAT.

AND IT WAS AN AMAZING INSIGHT INTO WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE INDUSTRIAL ARMAMENTS SECTOR OF JAPAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WAR.

SO HE WAS TOLD THAT WAS IT WAS TOP PRIORITY, AND HE AND SEVERAL OTHER NISEI BEGAN TRANSLATING THAT.

AND EACH DAY, THEIR DAILY TRANSLATION OUTPUT WAS PUT IN A STAFF CAR AND WAS RUSHED FROM CAMP RITCHIE DOWN TO THE PENTAGON.

SO THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE READING IT AS THEY RIPPED OUT OF THE MIMEOGRAPHING MACHINE, READING THAT PAGE-BY-PAGE.

WHAT THIS PLAN REVEALED WAS THAT JAPAN WAS REALLY STRUGGLING ALREADY AND THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE TO DEFEAT JAPAN.

>> KAZUO’S DISCOVERY IDENTIFIED MILITARY INDUSTRIAL TARGETS, HELPING TO GUIDE THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN DESIGNED TO FINISH OFF JAPAN’S CAPACITY TO MAKE WAR.

>> THE TIMING IS REALLY AMAZING BECAUSE THE STRATEGIC BOMBING CAMPAIGN WAS JUST GETTING STARTED AT THAT POINT.

SO JUST AS WE HAD THE LONG REACH OF THE U.S. TO STRIKE JAPAN’S INDUSTRIAL MIGHT, ONE NISEI FOUND THIS DOCUMENT, IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED ITS VALUE, BROUGHT IT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE INTELLIGENCE CHAIN OF COMMAND.

THEY GOT THE WHOLE THING TRANSLATED, DELIVERED INTO THE HANDS OF THE PLANNERS WHO WERE JUST AT THAT STAGE DECIDING: WHICH CITIES DO WE BOMB, IN WHAT ORDER?

WHERE DO THEY MAKE THE TANKS, WHERE DO THEY MAKE THE AIRCRAFT?

WHERE ARE THEIR PETROLEUM FACILITIES?

THEY WERE ASKING THE QUESTIONS JUST AT THE TIME WHEN KAZUO YAMANE PROVIDED THEM THE RAW MATERIAL.

>> KAZUO SAID THAT THIS WAS HIS PROOF OF LOYALTY.

IF THERE WAS ANY QUESTION IN HIS MIND, HE COULD HAVE IGNORED THE DOCUMENT, AND NO ONE WOULD HAVE KNOWN.

BUT THERE WAS NEVER A QUESTION OF WHERE HIS LOYALTY LAY.

>> THE UNITED STATES GAINED AN IMPORTANT STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE BECAUSE THE WAR DEPARTMENT TRUSTED A MAN WHO LOOKED LIKE THE ENEMY, BUT WHO POSSESSED INVALUABLE SKILLS EARNED BY STUDY AND TAKING MILITARY TRAINING IN JAPAN.

>> BECAUSE YAMANE WAS A KIBEI, BECAUSE HE’D STUDIED AT A JAPANESE UNIVERSITY, HE HAD THE RARE SKILL OF BEING ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRINTED MATERIALS THAT MIGHT SHOW UP.

I MEAN, HE’D LIVED IN JAPAN FOR FIVE YEARS AND HAD STUDIED IN JAPAN, SO HE HAD A FAMILIARITY WITH JAPANESE PRINTED MATERIAL THAT THE AVERAGE AMERICAN NISEI WASN’T EVEN CLOSE.

SO HE COULD SORT THROUGH MATERIALS AND HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WAS NEW, AND DIFFERENT AND IMPORTANT, VERSUS ROUTINE, OBSOLETE, NOT SO IMPORTANT.

>> ONE OF THE LESSONS WHICH WE HAVE NOT YET LEARNED IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE TWO GROUPS OF LINGUISTS THAT WE NOW SO TREASURE AND REVERE OUT OF WORLD WAR II ARE THE NAVAJO SPEAKERS, RIGHT, AND THE KIBEI.

THE LANGUAGE PEOPLE WHOM WE PROHIBITED THE NATIVE AMERICANS FROM SPEAKING THEIR OWN LANGUAGE; WE SYSTEMATICALLY TRIED TO STAMP THAT OUT.

WE TRIED TO STAMP OUT THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE SCHOOLS, THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOLS IN HAWAII AND ON THE MAINLAND BEFORE THE WAR.

AND YET THESE PEOPLE BECAME EXTRAORDINARILY IMPORTANT IN THE WAR EFFORT.

BY THE WAY, THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT NOT ONLY DID NOT TRUST JAPANESE AMERICANS, THEY DID NOT HAVE AN INKLING THAT JAPANESE AMERICANS WOULD ACTUALLY BE WILLING TO SERVE IN THAT CAPACITY.

WHICH MADE THIS AN EXTRAORDINARY SITUATION IN WHICH THE JAPANESE MILITARY HAD NO CLUE THAT THE UNITED STATES MILITARY HAD THESE FOLKS WHO COULD UNDERSTAND AND TRANSLATE ALL OF THIS STUFF.

SO THEY FELT THAT JAPANESE WAS SO DIFFICULT A LANGUAGE THAT NO STUPID GAIJIN, NO INFERIOR BARBARIANS WOULD BE ABLE TO TRANSLATE THIS STUFF.

SO THEIR SECURITY WAS NOT WONDERFUL.

>> IN THE FIGHT AGAINST JAPAN, THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC WAS SUCCEEDING WITH THE HELP OF THE NISEI IN THE MIS.

IN EUROPE, THE 442ND AND THE 100TH, NOW COMBINED, SUCCESSFULLY FREED A SURROUNDED AMERICAN BATTALION AFTER PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS HAD FAILED.

IN LESS THAN FOUR WEEKS OF INTENSE FIGHTING IN FRANCE, THE NISEI UNITS EARNED FIVE PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATIONS AND SUFFERED MORE THAN A THOUSAND COMBAT CASUALTIES.

AT THAT SAME TIME, KAZUO RECEIVED NEW ORDERS.

>> I DEPARTED ON A THREE-MAN SECRET MISSION TO GENERAL EISENHOWER’S HEADQUARTERS IN VERSAILLES, FRANCE.

OUR SECRET ORDERS, WHICH WE OPENED AFTER OUR C-54 PLANE LEFT NEW YORK, DIRECTED US TO LINK UP WITH A BRITISH COMMANDO UNIT TO INFILTRATE THE JAPANESE EMBASSY IN BERLIN, CONFISCATE DOCUMENTS, THEN WITHDRAW.

>> THE BRITISH AND THE AMERICANS HAD THIS PLAN TO DROP PARATROOPS ON BERLIN IN THE EVENT OF A SUDDEN COLLAPSE OF THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT.

THEY KNEW THERE WAS A JAPANESE EMBASSY THERE; THEY KNEW THERE WAS CORRESPONDENCE BY CODE FROM BERLIN BACK-AND-FORTH WITH TOKYO, AND THEY WANTED TO GET IN ON THAT.

SO THEY WERE ON STANDBY TO ACTUALLY JUMP INTO BERLIN.

>> BUT THE GERMANS FOUGHT ON UNTIL THE SOVIET MILITARY WAS IN BERLIN.

SO KAZUO’S MISSION TO RAID THE JAPANESE EMBASSY WAS CANCELED.

>> HE SPENT THE NEXT FEW MONTHS WORKING THROUGH ITALY AND GERMANY, TRANSLATING JAPANESE DOCUMENTS AND INTERROGATING JAPANESE NATIONALS FOUND DURING THE TUMULTUOUS CONCLUSION OF THE WAR IN EUROPE.

>> KAZUO VIEWED THE PERIOD SERVING WITH EISENHOWER’S SUPREME HEADQUARTERS AS HIS PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT THE CULMINATION OF INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ASSIGNMENTS HE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED FOR HIS COUNTRY.

KAZUO YAMANE HAD ONE OF THE MOST UNUSUAL CAREERS OF ANY NISEI IN WORLD WAR II.

FROM GUARDING THE HAWAIIAN BEACHES AFTER PEARL HARBOR, TO TRAINING WITH THE 100TH BATTALION AT CAMP MCCOY, TO SERVING AT THE PENTAGON AND CAMP RITCHIE AND THEN SERVING UNDER GENERAL EISENHOWER, HE HAD FULFILLED HIS DUTY TO PROTECT HIS COUNTRY.

BUT NOW HIS MISSION WAS OVER, AND HE RETURNED HOME.

SOON, HE WOULD BE FOLLOWED BY THE TWELVE THOUSAND OTHER NISEI FROM HAWAII WHO HAD LOYALLY SERVED THEIR COUNTRY.

LESS THAN FORTY PERCENT OF HAWAII’S POPULATION, JAPANESE AMERICANS SUFFERED DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGH WAR CASUALTIES, INCLUDING SIXTY-THREE PERCENT OF THE DEAD.

THE SURVIVORS RETURNED AND CHANGED HAWAII FOREVER.

>> THE GUYS WHO WERE IN UNIFORM WHEN PEARL HARBOR WAS BOMBED, WHO BECAME THE 100TH BATTALION, WERE THE KEYS; THEY WERE THE CRUCIAL PIONEERS IN THE JAPANESE AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY.

BECAUSE IF ONE OF THEM HAD BROKEN FAITH WITH THIS COUNTRY AND DONE SOMETHING STUPID, NONE OF THE REST OF IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED, OR IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT.

ALL OF THESE GUYS ANSWERED THE CALL.

AND NOT JUST ANSWERED THE CALL; THEY WERE GOOD SOLDIERS.

THOSE GUYS WERE ALL FROM HAWAII, AND THERE’S SOMETHING, I THINK, ABOUT BEING FROM HAWAII THAT IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN BEING FROM THE MAINLAND.

THE WAR AND UNCLE SAM SENT THEM ALL OVER THE PLACE.

THEY CAME BACK TO A HAWAII THAT THEY SAW WITH A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.

THEY HAD SEEN THE INJUSTICE OF PRE-WAR HAWAII; THEY HAD SEEN THE REST OF THE WORLD.

THEY WENT TO WAR FOR DEMOCRACY, LIBERTY, FREEDOM.

THEY CAME HOME AND TRIED TO MAKE HAWAII MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.

PURE AND SIMPLE.

>> THE 100TH BATTALION, THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE, THE 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM, NISEI FROM HAWAII RETURNED FROM WAR.

ARMED WITH A NEWFOUND PERSPECTIVE AND MANY OF THEM WITH ADVANCED DEGREES EARNED THROUGH THE G.I.

BILL, THEY BECAME LEADERS IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF HAWAII.

IN THE EARLY 1950S, THE DISCRIMINATORY ENGLISH STANDARD SCHOOL SYSTEM BEGAN TO BE DISMANTLED, AND THE NISEI’S PARENTS, THE ISSEI, WERE FINALLY ALLOWED TO BECOME FULL CITIZENS.

WITH THEIR VOTES, HAWAIIAN POLITICS CHANGED, WHICH LED TO STATEHOOD.

KAZUO YAMANE WAS ONE BUILDER OF THE NEW HAWAII.

HE TOOK OVER HIS FATHER’S BUSINESS AND DEVELOPED BOWLING ALLEYS AND SHOPPING CENTERS.

THE FIRST ON THE SAME SITE AS HIS FATHER’S COFFEE SHOP.

HIS CONTRIBUTION IS UNIQUE, BUT HE REPRESENTS ONE SUCCESS STORY AMONG MANY OF HIS GENERATION.

>> PRIOR TO THE WAR, WE WERE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BECAUSE WE WERE JAPANESE AMERICAN.

AFTER THE WAR, NISEI LOYALTY WAS UNQUESTIONED.

THERE’S NO DOUBT ABOUT OUR LOYALTY ANYMORE.