World War II Nisei Hero

Bravest of Brave - World War II Nisei Hero
By Lindsey Williams

Johnny Nakamura was a Nisei - first generation of native-born Japanese parents - and one of my schoolmates. He was killed in World War II fighting Germans in Italy.

How he and many of his Nisei buddies fought and died -- while their families were being viewed with suspicious by Americans or being herded into barbed-wire "detention" camps - is a lesson in patriotism.

Sojourners to this column may remember my recent piece on how to write your own epitaph. I mentioned Johnny when we were journalism students at Flint, Mich., Central High School struggling with our first lesson. We were directed to write our obituaries.

Johnny closed his assignment with an epitaph to be engraved on his tombstone: "I? Why?" His words have haunted me for a lifetime.

My dissertation about epitaphs on this newspaper's website was spotted by schoolmate Jason Austin of Davison, Michigan. He forwarded it via the Internet to Johnny's younger brother Frank. He lives in retirement at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Ah, the wonders of electronic journalism!

We are indebted to these and other sources about the Nisei Regimental Combat Team. It consisted of the 100th (Hawaii) Infantry Battalion and the 442nd (mainland) Infantry Volunteers.

It is the most decorated fighting unit in the U.S. Army for size and length of service. For the record: 22 Medals of Honor, 9,500 Purple Hearts and 18,000 Combat Bravery decorations.

After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the 100th Battalion already in existence pitched in to help rebuild the naval base. Native-born Japanese civilians were not segregated, but they voluntarily kept a low profile.