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Nisei Veterans Memorial Center announces ‘Our Heroes’ series

Tom Yamada (clockwise from top left), Masao Motooka, Robert Nishida and Harold Okumura will share stories of their assignments during WWII.

The Nisei Veterans Memorial Center’s 2017 “Our Heroes” speaker series will commence with a panel discussion at 2 p.m. March 11 at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center Education Center in Kahului. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and reservations are recommended. RSVP to 244-6862.

The panel will include guest speakers Tom Yamada, who served in the Military Intelligence Service; Masao Motooka (MIS); Harold Okumura (MIS in Okinawa); and Robert Nishida, who served in the Counter Intelligence Corps.

Thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry waged war against their parents’ homeland in World War II as members of the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence Service, using their knowledge of the enemy’s language and culture that benefitted American forces and likely shortened the war and saved lives. From Guadalcanal and the Aleutians to Okinawa, the MIS soldiers served in every major battle and campaign of the war against Japan, gleaning vital information from prisoners and documents, flushing caves, fighting as infantrymen.

After the war, they were essential in rebuilding Japan as a modern democracy and staunch U.S. ally. The MIS soldiers’ feats were classified for years. They usually served in small groups on temporary duty, so their work too often went unrecorded, yet they put to rest any doubts about the loyalty of Japanese-Americans.

The Counter Intelligence Corps was formed in January 1942 with a force of under 5,000 officers and noncommissioned agents. In the immediate postwar period, the CIC operated in the occupied countries, countering the black market and searching for and arresting notable members of the previous regime.

The panel members will share their stories of their assignments during WWII.

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