The Unsung Nisei Heroes of MIS

     I have previously blogged about the underappreciated members of MIS, the Military Intelligence Service of World War Two.  This was primarily a Japanese language intelligence service created before the war started.  Although it did have a German language component, it ended up being a Japanese language outfit.
     Even prior to the outbreak of the war, the US Army saw a need for Japanese linguists.  According to various sources, including research done by Life magazine, there were approximately 100 bona fide Japanese linguists in America at the time.  They were mostly missionaries and academics, too old to serve in the military!  The shortage of Japanese linguists was critical in the military.  There were Caucasian service members who were university trained and considered linguists, but as it proved out, although they could read and write, therefore translate documents, their command of the spoken language was not good enough for the most part.
     The army established Japanese language schools in Presidio of San Francisco in California, Camp Savage and Fort Snelling in Minnesota.  It was decided to recruit soldiers who already had at least some knowledge of Japanese to expedite the process.  This meant that Nisei or Americans of Japanese descent had to be recruited.  There weren't that many Nisei soldiers in the army, so essentially most Nisei soldiers were "volunteered" by their commanding officers.  The program was set up for a six month course and the first batch of graduates emerged in the spring of 1942.  There were 40 Nisei enlisted men and two officers.
     The biggest problem that these and subsequent members of MIS faced was the lack of trust by Caucasian members of the service.  Initially, the Nisei MIS members were assigned to rear echelon to translate captured documents etc.  However, as it was discovered quickly, there was an urgent need for Japanese linguists in the front lines to interrogate prisoners and interpret for front line units.  Although Nisei linguists were assigned to most army infantry units, at first the commanders were reluctant to put these Japanese Americans on the front lines.  Additionally, those who did assign the Nisei's to the front lines, had to provide them with Caucasian G.I.s as bodyguards so they would not be killed by friendly fire! The Nisei soldiers found themselves in a doubly dangerous situation.  If captured by the Japanese, they would have been summarily executed, since the Japanese considered everyone of Japanese descent as Japanese citizens.  With their own units they had to suffer through racial prejudice and the danger of being shot mistakenly as an enemy!  But amazingly, they soldiered on.
     As MIS began to rapidly produce more and more Nisei Japanese linguists, they were assigned not only to US infantry units, but to British and Australian and New Zealand forces as well, since those countries lacked the language capability.  Ironically, the US Marines stubbornly refused to use Nisei linguists in the early stages of the war.  Then in Guadalcanal, it was discovered that the Caucasian Marines who were supposed to interrogate prisoners were unable to do so.  They complained that the prisoners spoke too rapidly and used expressions that they did not understand.  At that point the Marines decided to use the Nisei soldiers.  By the time the Marines took control of Guadalcanal and began the invasion of other islands, the Nisei MIS soldiers became permanent fixtures with front line units.  All subsequent island invasions, like Saipan and Iwo Jima had Nisei MIS members with the Marines.
     What I think is incredible is that the Nisei soldiers of MIS served in every branch of the service and with our allies in the Pacific as well!  By 1944 there were thousands of Nisei soldiers who were products of MIS.  The little known fact is that the famous 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Battalion would never have been formed had it not been for the success of the Nisei soldiers of MIS.  The War Department decided to create an all Nisei unit after seeing the success of the MIS soldiers and their loyalty to the United States, something that was unjustifiably questioned at first.  Still, the War Department was reluctant to send the Nisei unit to the Pacific, instead the 442nd was sent to Europe.  It is ironic, because the Nisei soldiers of MIS were trained specifically to serve in the Pacific, and all of them did so with distinction in various Army, Navy, and Marine corps units.
     The Nisei MIS members were assigned to and served with the famous intelligence gathering Sixth Army Unit called the Alamo Scouts, the predecessors of the famous SOG of Vietnam era.  They also served with the OSS.  While OSS in Europe could find enough candidates who spoke German, OSS in the Pacific was lacking in Japanese linguists, so the Nisei soldiers from MIS were seconded to this pre-CIA organization.  Some saw a lot action and suffered through incredible hardships while assigned to OSS Detachment 101, the ones that led the famous Kachin Rangers.
     Perhaps the Nisei soldiers who had the most harrowing experiences and served the most in combat were those assigned to the famous 5307th Composite Unit, nicknamed Merrill's Marauders, a commando type brigade size unit especially created to fight behind the Japanese lines in Burma.  Merrill's Marauders' experience in Burma is well documented, and their accomplishments are legendary, especially that long march through incredibly difficult terrain that they made before attacking the crucial air strip at Myitkyina.  Books have been written and a popular movie was made in the 1960s, so their accomplishments are well known.  But what has been left out for the most part was the crucial contribution that the Nisei soldiers made! 
     The Marauders were mainly so successful because of the intelligence that they were able to gather and stay one step ahead of the Japanese.  That was because the Nisei soldiers intercepted Japanese communications and were also able to extract information from prisoners.  General Frank Merrill, the commanding officer of this elite unit knew the value of Nisei soldiers.  He simply said that the Marauders would not have been able to accomplish their missions had it not been for the Nisei soldiers who provided the crucial intelligence.  Major General Charles Willoghby, the Pacific area G-2, Intelligence Chief, said that the contribution made by the Nisei soldiers of MIS made it possible to end the war two years early!  Now perhaps he was stretching things a bit, but there is no doubt that the contribution made by Nisei soldiers was significant.
     After all the contributions made by the Nisei soldiers and their service on the front lines with the Infantry units, most Infantry unit commanders would not recommend the MIS members for the CIB, the Combat Infantryman Badge.  Their reasoning was that MIS soldiers were not infantry so they did not qualify for the CIB, even though they served shoulder to shoulder with infantrymen.  It was a very narrow-minded and mean-spirited interpretation of army regulations.  Racial prejudice was still alive and well.  General Frank Merrill, on the other hand, awarded the CIB to all members of MIS.  As far as he was concerned, they served with the Marauders so they were Marauders!
     Despite countless testimonies and official reports lauding the work of the Nisei soldiers of MIS, they were never singled out for an award or recognition.  There were those who received personal awards for heroism and outstanding performance.  These were mostly from the Merrill's Marauders that General Merrill personally awarded.  But most others, serving in other Army units or with Marines or Navy and Air Corp, never got the recognition that they deserved.  A pity and a shame!
     In 2000, some 55 years after the fact, a Presidential Unit Citation was awarded to the MIS, but it was a blanket award and did not single out the Nisei soldiers!  Oh well, as they say, such is life!