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.
Military & War
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.
Bonner Fellers
Born on February 6, 1896, Bonner Fellers would later help shape the American occupation of Japan. Influenced by the writings of Greek-born author Lafcadio Hearn, he argued that executing the Emperor would ignite resistance and cost countless lives.
Young-Oak Kim
He was Korean American. His unit was Japanese American. His loyalty was American. Born in Los Angeles in 1919, Officer Young-Oak Kim was assigned to the all-Nisei 100th Infantry Battalion. He chose unity over division — and proved that courage transcends ancestry.
Jack Johnson
Major Jack Johnson, beloved white officer of the 100th Battalion, was killed at Monte Cassino on January 25, 1944. He had red hair and freckles, but to the Hawaiian Nisei soldiers, he wasn’t just a respected leader who led by example — he was one of them.
The Eagles of Heart Mountain
The Heart Mountain Eagles were an all-Japanese American football team that played and defeated outside Wyoming high schools while imprisoned in a World War II incarceration camp.
The War Brides Act of 1945
After WWII, Japanese war brides married American servicemen, but U.S. immigration laws barred them. Love crossed borders. Law did not.
Stanley Hayami
Incarcerated at sixteen and killed in combat at nineteen, Stanley Hayami left behind a diary that speaks with rare honesty from behind barbed wire and war.