The Urgent Campaign To Honor Nisei Veterans

The four men — one of them 100 years old, three in wheelchairs — watched from the yawning stage of the Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa as a couple thousand people serenaded them Wednesday night with “America the Beautiful” and waved American flags.

“It was wonderful,” said Ed Nakamura, a 97-year-old former linguist for the Military Intelligence Service, in between taking photos with eager audience members afterward. “I was glad to see so many people interested in our legacy."

One-hundred-year-old Toke Yoshihashi, a veteran of the decorated 100th Infantry Battalion made up of Japanese Americans, was floored by the attention.

"Wow," Yoshihashi softly chuckled later. "Sure, we were part of a unit. But we didn't win the war ourselves."

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The last several years have seen a growing focus on the stories of second-generation Nisei like Nakamura, who were drafted into the armed forces while the U.S. government held more than 125,000 people of Japanese descent in desolate camps around the country.

Nakamura served in northern Japan while his family was incarcerated at the Tule Lake camp in Northern California. Afterward, the war — and the sacrifices made by the Nisei service members — was not dwelled upon in many households traumatized by the experience.

Journalist David Ono (forefront, far right) introduces four nisei veterans at a performance of "Defining Courage" at the Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.

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“No one talked about the suffering that we went through and that we were loyal, but we kept working on it,” said Nakamura, who lives in San Pedro.

Nakamura credited greater awareness of the integral role played by some 30,000 Nisei service members in WWII to the work of younger Japanese Americans like the journalist David Ono, who co-created the stage show Defining Courage, a blend of live narration, documentary and music performances.

Ed Nakamura, a former military linguist, was surrounded by well-wishers after a performance of "Defining Courage."

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Ono, an ABC7 news anchor, said it has been a race against time to honor the veterans because of their advancing ages. He said three veterans who had been expected to appear died in the weeks leading up to the sold-out show in Costa Mesa.

“The few that are left, we want to give them those moments of appreciation,” Ono said. “These aren't just soldiers. They went above and beyond and were dealing with so much in between."

The other men honored Wednesday were part of another celebrated Japanese American unit. Bob Izumi and Yosh Nakamura fought in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which later absorbed the 100th Infantry Battalion.

Yoshihashi said he thought their military service, which threw them into the battlefields of Italy, France and Germany, helped to counter racist views about Japanese Americans.

Toke Yoshihashi, 100, is surrounded by admiring audience members after a performance of "Defining Courage."

“Before the war, we were looked down upon, especially being Japanese,” Yoshihashi, who lives in San Gabriel, said. “Now that we went and did a lot during the war, it’s helped the situation.”

Yoshihashi recalled feeling "proud" taking part in a recognition ceremony after the war in D.C. during which President Harry S. Truman told the Japanese American service members: "You fought not only the enemy, but you fought prejudice — and you have won." 

Nisei veterans got widespread recognition in 2021 when the government issued a postage stamp featuring an image of a young Japanese American soldier wearing his uniform and a pensive look alongside the phrase “Go For Broke” — the motto of the 442nd and the 100th.

The U.S. postage stamp "Go For Broke: Japanese American Soldiers of WW2" was issued in 2021.

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The next Defining Courage show, which has been staged several times in Hawaii and Southern California, is July 23 in Little Tokyo, at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. It coincides with the national convention of the Japanese American Citizens League, but will be open to the general public.