RAF Alconbury Library Receives New Book on Japanese Americans in WWII

  • Published
ROYAL AIR FORCE ALCONBURY, England --  During a Tribase visit, Dr. James C. McNaughton, U.S. European Command Historian provided a book on a formerly secret WWII role of Japanese Americans. 

His book "Nisei Linguists: Japanese American in the Military Intelligence Service during World War II" covers a unique and little known chapter in the contributions of Americans of Japanese descent to victory in WWII. 

The book, published by the U.S. Army Center of Military History in 2007, is described on the U. S. Government Printing Office website: "At the start of World War II, the U.S. Army turned to Americans of Japanese ancestry, the Nisei, to provide vital intelligence against Japanese forces in the Pacific. During the war their work remained a closely guarded secret. Even after the war, their contributions were often overlooked Now, a new book, Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service during World War II, tells the story of these soldiers, how the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) recruited and trained them, and how they served in every battle and campaign in the war against Japan. 

"Nisei linguists served with Army and Marine units from regiment to corps and above from Guadalcanal to the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Their duties included translation, interrogation, radio monitoring, and psychological warfare. In China, Burma, and India they served with the Office of Strategic Services, Merrill's Marauders, and Commonwealth forces. Others served with the Army Air Forces or within the continental United States. Commanders came to rely on the timely and accurate intelligence they provided. Dozens were decorated for valor, while several were killed or wounded in action. 

"At war's end the Nisei help arrange local surrenders of Japanese forces, and then fanned out across Japan to begin the occupation. Working in military government, war crimes trials, censorship, and counterintelligence, the MIS Nisei contributed to the occupation's ultimate success. They served as a bridge between America and Japan and helped cement the alliance that has lasted until today." 

The book is now available for checkout in the RAF Alconbury Library.  The library has other volumes on the experiences of Japanese Americans during World War II, and can obtain other books not in its own holdings from other USAFE libraries.