Navajo Code Talkers
Navajo children were punished for speaking their language. Years later, that same language became an unbreakable WWII military code.
Military & War
Karl Bendetsen
Karl Bendetsen conceived, drafted, and processed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the mass removal of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Decades later, he denied responsibility while lying about his own identity.
MIS in the Battle of Saipan
The Battle of Saipan was fought with more than rifles and artillery. Japanese American MIS soldiers used their understanding of Japanese language and culture to save lives and gather vital intelligence.
Hawaii Provisional Infantry Battalion
The Army wasn’t sure they could be trusted. A year later, commanders were calling them some of the finest soldiers they had ever seen. On June 6, 1942, 1,432 Nisei soldiers left Hawaii as the Hawaii Provisional Infantry Battalion. One week later, they became the 100th Infantry Battalion.
Z Plan
In May 1944, Japanese American Military Intelligence Service linguists began translating the Japanese Navy’s secret “Z Plan” after critical documents were recovered from a plane crash in the Philippines. The intelligence would help shape one of the most decisive American victories of the Pacific War.
Richard Sakakida
Before Pearl Harbor, Richard Sakakida was one of only two Japanese American spies the U.S. government ever publicly identified — both created by the government itself.
Operation Meetinghouse
March 9, 1945: The firebombing of Tokyo became the deadliest air raid in history, killing an estimated 100,000 people and destroying much of the city.
Bombardment of Ellwood
On February 23, 1942, a Japanese submarine shelled the California coast in the Bombardment of Ellwood. The damage was minor, but panic spread. The next night, the so-called “Battle of Los Angeles” sent more than 1,400 U.S. anti-aircraft shells into the sky. Within days, mass removal of Japanese Americans formally began.