The 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor: Remembering my Japanese-American Grandfather's Service

For the 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, I wanted to share a note about Richard Masaaki Yamada, my Japanese-American grandfather who served the United States before and during WWII.

As a member of the Hawaii National Guard at the time, Grandpa Yamada was among the first responders in the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor 80 years ago. His regiment of the Hawaiian National Guard was later reconstituted as the racially segregated Nisei (American-born sons of Japanese immigrants) 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) of the United States Army. The 100th selected "Remember Pearl Harbor" as its motto to honor the 2,403 service members and civilians killed during the Empire of Japan's attack on December 7, 1941.

Some of this history was lost to my family until I started researching notes, journals, memoirs, and other reference materials a few years ago. Grandpa Yamada rarely spoke about the war and, when he did, it was usually to reflect on the hardships of others. In fact, I learned more about the history of the 100th Infantry Battalion from the Irish side of my family; my Great Uncle Bud was a quartermaster assigned to the 100th, and my Grandpa Kelly was stationed in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor. It's uncanny that my Irish and Japanese family crossed paths well before my parents were born, but that's a story for another day. The real breakthrough for understanding my Grandpa Yamada's service came when I found an old article written about him in Kodak's employee newsletter. Equipped with dates and context, I was able to tie together several fragments that we compiled over the years:

My grandfather was a carpenter who joined the Hawaii National Guard in 1938. As tensions with Japan increased, the Hawaii National Guard began active training in June 1941, which continued for the next six months. On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. In under two hours, the attack concluded. Every battleship in Pearl Harbor sustained significant damage, and 2,403 Americans were killed.

My grandfather was still training on Oahu and, like many members of the Hawaii National Guard, witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor and its aftermath. The Hawaii National Guard immediately responded by preparing for a potential invasion, clearing the debris from the attack, and assisting the wounded. His regiment was even credited with capturing the first POW of the Empire of Japan on December 8, 1941. However, as our country was thrust into WWII and the Hawaii National Guard was federalized, even Japanese Americans serving the country before the attack were treated with suspicion. On January 5, 1942, the War Department issued a directive classifying all Japanese Americans as "4-C" -- enemy aliens who were ineligible for the draft. When troops from the Mainland arrived, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was established on January 21, 1942, to supplant the predominantly-Japanese Hawaii National Guard. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the internment of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans across the country.

Even with the marginalization of the Hawaii National Guard and clear distrust for Japanese Americans, several civic leaders successfully prevented my grandfather and others from being discharged from military service. For several months following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the approximately 1,400 Nisei members of the Hawaii National Guard were in limbo; many of the journal entries that I've read reflect the uncertainty of their fate. At midnight of June 5, 1942, my grandfather and his fellow Nisei members of the Hawaii National Guard were secretly loaded onto an Army transport ship. They were not told where they were going, and many thought they were being sent to internment camps. Upon their arrival at Oakland, California, they were activated as the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) of the United States Army.

The newly-formed 100th Infantry Battalion was designated as "(Separate)" because it was an orphan unit, and it was established as an opportunity for the Nisei to prove that Japanese Americans could be trusted. No pressure. They were covertly transported to Camp McCoy in Wisconsin for their basic training. The exceptional performance of the 100th and their volunteer service to residents of Wisconsin helped normalize the idea that Japanese Americans remained in our armed service. While the War Department continued to debate the assignment for the 100th, they were transferred to Camp Shelby in February 1943 to receive more training. While in Mississippi, my grandfather encountered Jim Crow laws for the first time; the Japanese were, ironically, told that they were "white" for the purposes of segregation. This inconsistency deeply troubled my grandfather and many of his comrades; perhaps a story for another day, too.

After a year of training without assignment, the 100th traveled to Oran, Algeria, in June 1943, where they were attached to the 34th Infantry Division of the Fifth Army and staged to join the battlefront in Italy. On September 22, 1943, the 100th landed on the coast of Salerno, Italy. My grandfather spent the next year and a half in Italy, as the 100th fought north through German occupation. The 100th suffered heavy casualties on the road to Rome, but they also established an impressive combat record, including six awards of the Distinguished Service cross during their first two months of combat. The visibility of the all-Nisei battalion persuaded the War Department that Japanese Americans were motivated and loyal members of the armed forces, and on February 1, 1943, a second, all-volunteer Nisei combat unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, was established. This started the erosion of the anti-Japanese policies established in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In January 1944, the 100th arrived at the town of Cassino, which was a key stronghold along the German's Gustav Line and the road to Rome. Cassino featured a river valley, minefields, and a hilltop (Monte Cassino Abbey) atop which the Germans had built several pillboxes. On January 25, 1944, the 100th's B Company, to which my grandfather belonged, attempted a daytime assault of Monte Cassino Abbey; however, their smokescreens blew away, and they suffered incredible casualties from German machinegun and artillery fire. Of the 187 men in B Company, only 14 reached the walls of the Abbey. My grandfather was shot multiple times, hit by artillery shrapnel, and was hospitalized for eight months on the Mainland with heavy nerve damage to his leg and hip.

Monte Cassino was the last major battle that the original members of the 100th completed as a standalone unit, and they earned the moniker the "Purple Heart Battalion" due to their heavy casualties. There were over 50,000 allied casualties in this battle, but only 500 members of the 100th were able to carry on by the time that the battle was won. The 100th was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for their role at Monte Cassino, and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team arrived in Italy to supplement their ranks. The combined all-Nisei unit of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team became the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare.

My Grandpa Yamada passed away when I was 11, but I was fortunate to have learned from him during my formative years. Every year, I've gained a deeper appreciation of his service to the country and how difficult it was for him as a Japanese American and as a resident of Hawaii whose home was attacked. I have his business card (significant in Japanese culture) from Kodak framed in my office as a daily reminder of his stoicism, courage, and quiet humor. He is interred in the National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific (Punchbowl) on Oahu, along with many veterans and unknown sailors from the Pearl Harbor attack.