American Valor Quarterly Issue 2 - Spring 2008 | Page 19

that came from the Army’s military intelligence looking for sergeant who told me to come to his office. He told me that I
volunteers to fight against Japan.
had been discharged for the convenience of the government. I
didn’t know why they were discharging me—I didn’t do anything
My question was, “Why are they visiting us seeking recruitments wrong. But it was because the government had decided that I
when we were all considered to be loyal to Japan?” That was the was no longer fit for service because of my Japanese ancestry.
reason why we were in the camps to begin with. But anyway, I
wanted to prove my loyalty and asked my parents if I could So after saying goodbye to my new buddies, I went home to
volunteer. They said, “This is your country. Volunteer if you must. help my family prepare for the evacuation, and we shipped to a
But do not bring shame to this family.” So I volunteered and relocation camp in Arizona. Even though I had not been in
went to Ft. Snelling with about 25 others, and we were sworn in Arizona before, the camp in many ways reminded me of life in
as privates in the U.S. Army. When I put on that uniform, I felt the Army. You lived in temporary barracks, you went to a mess
whole again and regained my self-esteem. I was happy to have hall and ate the same food, and there were community bathrooms.
the opportunity to prove that we were loyal Americans.
The major difference was that the armed guards pointed their
guns in at us, and not out.
Grant Hirabayashi: As a soldier, I was exercising my right and
duty as a citizen, but in the back of my mind, I knew I faced two We made the best of it. We tried to maintain a normal life behind
wars: one against the enemy abroad and one against the enemy the barbed wire fence. We helped the camp director with
of prejudice at home. I felt that if I did my best, it might hasten administration of the various departments—health, food, security,
the release of my parents and siblings who were behind barbed education, social activities. We worked five days a week and played
wire.
sports in our free time. In the evenings we had dances, and on
Sundays we went to church.
George Joe Sakato: When I first volunteered, they told me that
I was 4-C and an enemy alien. How can I be an alien? I was born In 1943, the Army War Department authorized the formation
and raised here!
of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. They asked for volunteers
from Hawaii and the camps. When the recruiters came to my
The 100th Battalion, which was a reserve unit in Hawaii, allowed camp, I was among the first to volunteer. As I said, I wanted to
Nisei (second generation Americans of Japanese ancestry) to serve. prove that I was a loyal American and I also felt that this was the
After training at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin and Camp Shelby, only way to get my family out of the camp. After training, we
Mississippi, they deployed to Europe. They became known as were sent to Europe, landed in Naples, assembled and headed
the “Purple Heart Battalion” after fighting in Italy and earned a north, where the 100th Infantry Battalion became the 1st Battalion
reputation for fighting hard despite huge casualties. General Mark under the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. We entered combat
Clark told the Army to send him more men like this, so President in June of 1944 and fought for three months to push the Germans
Roosevelt finally signed the decree allowing us to join the Army. northward. In September 1944, we were sent back for rest and
replacement, and were then transferred to the Seve