Did any Japanese Americans join the army during World War II?

before the pearl harbor incident broke out in p>1941, there were some Japanese soldiers in the American army, but they were scattered in various units. There was little between Pearl Harbor and 1943. After 1943, it was known as the 442 Infantry Regiment.

class 1, 4C.

on December 7, 1941, the Japanese army raided the Pacific naval base-Pearl Harbor, and immediately the United States declared war on Japan. Before that, Japanese people in the US military were just like ordinary ethnic minorities, and there was nothing special about them. However, after the Pearl Harbor incident broke out, the US military immediately expelled Japanese from the army, and at the same time divided Japanese in the United States into 4C groups.

what is 4C population? It roughly means "nationals of the enemy country". 4C people are not allowed to join the army and part of their property is confiscated. Therefore, it can be said that there are almost no Japanese in the US military during this period. In addition, after the Pearl Harbor incident, Japanese people were also bullied in the United States, and the slogan "Japs" can be seen everywhere. This insulting vocabulary for Japanese people is roughly the same as Chink and Negro.

2, concentration camps

At that time, most Japanese Americans were concentrated in the west coast of the United States, such as California, Washington, Arizona and other places, and of course, Hawaii, where there were the most Japanese. Because of the outbreak of the Pacific War, these places in the United States immediately became potential war zones. In order to prevent these Japanese from defecting after the Japanese invaded the United States, the United States established more than a dozen resettlement centers in Nevada and Arizona.

a resettlement center is actually a concentration camp. You are right, there were concentration camps in the United States during World War II. However, compared with the concentration camps in Germany at that time, and later in the Soviet Union and North Korea, the conditions in the concentration camps in the United States were much better. There were shops and hospitals run by Japanese people, and even schools and galleries appeared in the later period.

But after all, it is a concentration camp, which is definitely much worse than the free life before. And nearly 7% of the Japanese in the concentration camp have American citizenship. The first generation of Japanese people are fine. After all, they admit from the bottom of their hearts that Japan is their motherland, and it is understandable that their motherland should bear the consequences if it makes mistakes. However, the second generation of Japanese people are influenced by the environment since childhood, and most of them think that they are Americans from the bottom of their hearts (this is also extremely obvious in Chinese and Korean people). Why should they be treated like this? Therefore, all kinds of voices to join the US military have emerged in Japanese concentration camps.

By the way, the United States was still a country with serious racial discrimination. It should be said that racial discrimination was serious all over the world at that time. In fact, the full name of the Japanese concentration camp is "the settlement area for overseas Chinese of enemy countries", and the knowledge of high school history tells us that there were three axis countries in World War II. How many Italians and Germans have been locked up? Answer: Germans closed more than 1 thousand, Italians closed more than 3 thousand, and Japanese closed nearly 12 thousand Germans and British Americans are the two largest ethnic groups in the United States. If all Germans are arrested like Japanese, I am afraid there will be millions more. There are 3, Italians, and I'm afraid there are more Italians in Brooklyn. Therefore, Americans' deep distrust and discrimination against Japanese people are still obvious.

3. University Victory Volunteer Group &; 1 Infantry Battalion

The voice of the second generation of Japanese people demanding to join the army is getting louder and louder. Finally, the United States has put a small hole in Hawaii. In 1942, a group of Japanese youths from the University of Hawaii submitted a petition for joining the army to emmons, then general of the US Army in Hawaii. Emmons agreed to their request, but he still didn't trust the Japanese. He just compiled them into the Corps of Engineers-the University Victory Volunteer Group.

why did this special case first appear in Hawaii? I believe that a friend who knows a little about human geography can definitely guess. Because Hawaii has a large Japanese population, accounting for nearly 3% of Hawaii's population. Hawaii is located in the front line of the Pacific battlefield between Japan and the United States.

However, the United States has not opened its mind to Japanese people. Not long after, US Pacific Army General emmons said that 1,3 Hawaiian National Guard personnel were sent to Wisconsin for training. It is said that it is training, but it is actually afraid that they will turn their backs when the Japanese attack Hawaii. After finishing the training, these 13 people were sent to the Italian battlefield, with the designation-1 Infantry Regiment.

This is the first legion composed entirely of Japanese. It is extremely brave in the Italian battlefield, and of course it has heavy casualties. By the time we reorganized 1,3 people and captured Rome, there were less than 5 people left.

The outstanding performance of the 4,442 Infantry Regiment

1 Infantry Battalion, and the constant voice of Japanese people in concentration camps to join the army, the United States began to distribute questionnaires in concentration camps in 1943. One of them roughly means: are you willing to give up your loyalty to the emperor, swear unconditional loyalty to the United States, and swear to defend American territory and freedom to the death? Finally, the results of the questionnaire were similar to those expected in advance, and about 7% of Japanese chose to be willing. At this point, the United States began to lift the restrictions on Japanese participation in the US military. It can be said that from this time on, a large number of Japanese-Americans appeared in the US military.

Conscription was launched in the United States and Hawaii at the same time. Nearly 4,8 Japanese youths were recruited into the army, most of whom were incorporated into a new regiment, the 442nd Infantry Regiment, which is also one of the most well-known American legions in China. In 1944, the 1th Infantry Battalion with outstanding achievements was merged into the 442nd Infantry Regiment, and the 442nd Infantry Regiment reorganized 3,8 men and sent them to the European battlefield.

Although the fighting is tenacious, because of racial discrimination and other reasons, this detachment is still nicknamed the groundhog camp, which is discriminated against by other troops. When the Allies captured Rome, the first batch of troops who arrived at the gates of Rome, the 1 Infantry Battalion, were ordered not to enter the city, allowing the white American troops to take the lead.

5, Long live the charge

In October 1944, an American army of nearly 3 people was surrounded by German troops, and several rescues by the American army failed. At this time, the 442nd Corps received an order to rescue the trapped troops.

After marching day and night for three days in a row, the 442nd Corps finally arrived at the German front line and started an epic rescue operation-Long live the charge. Thousands of Japanese soldiers shouted long live under the strong artillery fire of the German army, and committed suicide charges in batches. Finally, more than 2 white soldiers were snatched back from the German army. To this end, the 442 Corps paid a painful price of more than 8 people.

This war greatly promoted the status of Japanese in the United States, and also won the trust of Japanese in the United States. The 442nd Corps won a total of more than 18, commendations in the war, and the number of commendations per capita exceeded that of the 11st Airborne Division, which China people are familiar with.

Gao Xiaosong said that the death rate of the 442nd Infantry Regiment was as high as 37%, and many people questioned it. Let's do a simple calculation. The establishment of the 442 Infantry Regiment is 3,8, and there are more than 14, soldiers serving back and forth. Roughly speaking, it is about 27%, and the information found is 317%. Whether it is 317% or 37%, the death rate of the 442 Infantry Regiment is rarely comparable to that of other troops. This is a respectable unit.

Wikipedia has introduced the battle of the 442nd Corps. 442 nd infantry registration (United States)

Finally, let's talk about a place that is easy to be misunderstood. Many people think that Japanese-American troops were in the European battlefield during World War II and did not participate in the Pacific War with their home country Japan. Actually, it is not.

most Japanese-American troops were sent to the European battlefields, but some were sent to the Pacific and China-Burma-India battlefields to fight against their home country Japan. These Japanese soldiers belonged to MIS Military Intelligence Bureau, and were responsible for deciphering and translating Japanese documents, interrogating and persuading Japanese soldiers during the war. It was really these Japanese American troops who saved the lives of many Japanese soldiers.