Remembering A Most Honor able Son
By Tim Holbert
We have the humbling opportunity to meet a great many American heroes at the American Veterans Center and World War II Veterans Committee. Every once in awhile, however, one makes an unforgettable impression.
That could be said for Ben Kuroki, who passed away on September 1, 2015 at age 98.
Ben’ s World War II story alone was nothing short of inspiring: he was the only Japanese American allowed to fly combat missions over mainland Japan.
Though the Army Air Forces were rejecting Japanese Americans from service, Ben – a native of Nebraska who dreamt of being a pilot – enlisted anyway. Though often ostracized, he was determined to prove his value – and his loyalty – to his country. He eventually became a gunner on a B-24 Liberator, flying combat missions in Europe, including the harrowing raid on Ploesti in August, 1943.
Ben completed his required 25 missions, then volunteered to keep flying. He was allowed to fly 30 missions before returning home. There, he became somewhat of a celebrity for his service, profiled in a 1944 TIME magazine article under a story titled“ HEROES: Ben Kuroki, American.”
That same year, in remarks to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, he said to great ovation,“ When you live with men under combat conditions for 15 months, you begin to understand what brotherhood is all about, what equality and tolerance really mean.”
Remarkably, throughout this time Ben Kuroki traveled to Japanese American internment camps, speaking to those interned about his own service, and encouraging the service of the young men interned.
Yet, it was not the spotlight that Ben craved – rather, it was serving his country in combat. When Ben’ s requests to fly missions in the Pacific were denied by his commanders, Secretary of War Henry Stimson intervened, citing Ben’ s“ splendid record” and ordering he be allowed to return to combat – this time over Japan.
FOLLOWING HIS INCREDIBLE SER- VICE IN EUROPE, BEN KUROKI TRAVELED TO INTERNMENT CAMPS TO SPEAK ON HIS OWN SERVICE AS AN AMERICAN FLYER- IN SPITE OF THE UNFORTUNATE FACT THAT HIS AUDIENCE WAS OFTEN TREATED AS LESS THAN AMERICAN.
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