Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is in May, but I'll be out of pocket till June. Most interested in WWII history have heard of the Japanese American Unit, the 442nd Inf Regiment, which became one of the most decorated American units of the War after combat in Italy. Fewer have heard of the secret units of Japanese Americans in the Pacific war. Merrill's Marauders had many Japanese Americans in that secret special forces team, who slid behind enemy lines to scout at extremely high risk and negotiated with a fanatical enemy under fire. Some never returned. MacArthur had his own Japanese American intelligence advisors. I cover the basics in my book, Reflections of the Pacific, yet there's nothing like reading Yankee Samurai by Joe Harrington and Rising Son by Sandra Vea. I had the privilege of interviewing WWII Japanese American Veteran Terry Shima, who had many fascinating tales of espionage. His interview will be in my next book, My War in the Pacific. The history remained classified until years after the war. Few Japanese Americans received recognition until recently; many passed away before Congress acted.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is in May, but I'll be out of pocket till June. Most interested in WWII history have heard of the Japanese American Unit, the 442nd Inf Regiment, which became one of the most decorated American units of the War after combat in Italy. Fewer have heard of the secret units of Japanese Americans in the Pacific war. Merrill's Marauders had many Japanese Americans in that secret special forces team, who slid behind enemy lines to scout at extremely high risk and negotiated with a fanatical enemy under fire. Some never returned. MacArthur had his own Japanese American intelligence advisors. I cover the basics in my book, Reflections of the Pacific, yet there's nothing like reading Yankee Samurai by Joe Harrington and Rising Son by Sandra Vea. I had the privilege of interviewing WWII Japanese American Veteran Terry Shima, who had many fascinating tales of espionage. His interview will be in my next book, My War in the Pacific. The history remained classified until years after the war. Few Japanese Americans received recognition until recently; many passed away before Congress acted.
Outstanding post!!