Story of the 100th Infantry Battalion: One Puka Puka Leads the Way

Story of the 100th Infantry Battalion: One Puka Puka Leads the Way

Hawaiʻi’s Japanese American Soldiers in World War II — and How They Changed the World 

Thank you for taking the time to learn about the American of Japanese ancestry (AJA) men who were born into laborer families in Hawaiʻi and lived their destiny to achieve worldwide recognition as the 100th Infantry Battalion. These men received thousands of awards and recognition for outstanding performance of duty in action, military valor, great courage in the face of danger having been wounded or killed as a result of enemy action, and other noteworthy acts of military service and personal accomplishments. Among the numerous unit and individual awards received by the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II, are seven Distinguished Unit Citations (redesignated the Presidential Unit Citation), which is the highest award a unit can receive for performing a mission; 21 Medals of Honor, which is the nation's highest medal for valor in combat that can be awarded to members of the armed forces; 29 Distinguished Service Crosses for individual achievement; more than 4,000 Purple Heart medals; and the Congressional Gold Medal award, which is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. Congress. The 100th Infantry Battalion, with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) became the most decorated unit in US military history for its size and length of service.

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The 100th Infantry Battalion, which would lead to the formation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), is uniquely called “One Puka Puka," giving a nod to their Hawaiian roots, since “puka” in Hawaiian means zero.

These American of Japanese ancestry (AJA) soldiers of the 100th Infantry Battalion were born in Hawaiʻi in the early 1900s to parents from Japan who had immigrated to Hawaiʻi, largely to work in the sugar plantations. The immigrants, who started to arrive in 1868, are referred to as “Issei” (first generation), and their children are called “Nisei” (second generation). The Issei worked hard for meager wages, yet overall, they were content as they built new lives for themselves in a foreign land.

Tokuichi Hayashi (back row, far right), original member of the 100th Infantry Battalion, with Issei parents and family.

When the Nisei were born, Hawaiʻi was a territory of the United States of America and would not become a state until 1959. The Nisei went to local schools where lessons were taught in English, yet returned to homes where their parents spoke in Japanese and practiced Japanese values. They also had many friends who were from other racial and ethnic groups, including native Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese, and Portuguese. They had a purposeful and happy life living in peace and aloha with the different cultures, speaking a unique language called, “Pidgin English,” developed from a mixture of words from the different languages spoken in Hawaiʻi.

In the late 1930s, war clouds started to gather in Europe and in Asia. In July 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army invaded China, leading to fears in Hawaiʻi that the islands could suffer a similar attack. This led to the United States federalizing the Hawaiʻi National Guard and commencing a Selective Service draft to protect the shorelines from invasion by the Japanese military. The Hawaiʻi National Guard were comprised of a multi-ethnic group that was trained and serving before Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941.

Second Draft Inductees (March 24, 1941), with Masanobu Eugene Kawakami, original member of the 100th Infantry Battalion, pictured second from the left in sunglasses and hat. [100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Center, M. Eugene Kawakami Collection]

After the Pearl Harbor bombing, the U.S. War Department feared that, should Japan attack Hawaiʻi again, the AJA would choose to side with their parents’ homeland. Thus, in the frenzy of that wartime hysteria, in May 1942, the AJA were removed from their multi-ethnic units and segregated into a separate AJA unit, where they could be easily controlled and scrutinized. The Nisei were suspected of being spies by both their birth country of America, and their parents’ birth country of Japan. The AJA felt angry and frustrated being stuck in the middle, distrusted by both sides.

Designated the Hawaiian Provisional Infantry Battalion, the unit was secretly shipped from Honolulu on June 5, 1942 to Oakland, California in a U.S. Army transport ship. The men followed orders to keep their departure a secret, leaving without being able to say goodbye to their families nor allow the community a chance to wish them farewell. For those who would later be killed in action, their family and friends did not have a chance to see them one more time before they would die in combat.

It was a scary and sad departure for these Hawaiʻi-born AJA. Most had never left their island home and because there was no communication on where they were going, fear shrouded the ship as rumors flew about that they might be going to a concentration camp. Many worried about the well-being of their families in Hawaiʻi in the event of another attack.

How could their beautiful and peaceful life change overnight with the bombing of Pearl Harbor?

With quiet perseverance, or gaman, they managed to carry on, despite all the injustice of being accused of disloyalty with no evidence, and of being called derogatory names like “Japs,” just for looking like the Japan-born enemy who had bombed Pearl Harbor. They knew in their hearts that they were loyal Americans and that truth would one day prevail. Through their actions, they would prove that every American deserves equal rights, and that no person should be judged based on the color of his or her skin.

As the men of the soon-to-be renamed 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) left the Hawaiian shorelines, the Issei and Nisei remaining on island lived in fear of being labelled “enemy aliens,” and they were also disappointed and angry. They just could not believe that Japan would execute a surprise attack without any declaration of war. Due to the significant presence of Issei, Nisei, and even Sansei (children of Nisei) in Hawaiʻi's working class, their enthusiastic voluntary contributions to the American war effort, and the support from an ethnically-diverse local community — including from civilian police, the FBI, and military institutions who advocated for the local Japanese American community, there was no widespread incarceration of Asian Japanese Americans (AJAs) in Hawaiʻi. Unfortunately, however, some Issei and Nisei who were seen as leaders who might potentially agitate anti-U.S. sentiments, were sent to incarceration facilities in both Hawaiʻi and on the mainland.

On the mainland, Issei and AJAs (born U.S. citizens) were also under extreme suspicion due to their ethnicity and perceived risk to national security. With President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, about 120,000 were moved away from the western coastlines of the continental U.S. and incarcerated against their civil rights for no wrongdoing. All this because of mass wartime hysteria and fears that Japan would attack the West Coast with help from the Issei and Nisei who lived there. All these fears were unfounded as no AJA was ever found guilty of espionage during World War II.

As for the Hawaiian Provisional Infantry Battalion, after arriving in Oakland, the 1,432 men were redesignated the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate), and transported to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, then later to Camp Shelby in Mississippi, for additional training. Because they had already been through basic training with the Hawaiʻi National Guard or regular U.S. Army units before being segregated into an AJA unit led by Caucasian officers, the 100th Infantry Battalion men used this opportunity to cross train and to learn new skills that would serve them well in the future, as combat conditions often required them to take over different positions and equipment when their comrades were killed or wounded.

Taken June 1942 along the rails on the Mississippi River. Left to right: Toshio Kawamoto, James Komatsu, Isao Nadamoto, and Fred Kanemura. [100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Center, Isao Nadamoto Collection]

During their rest time, the 100th soldiers received letters in Japanese from their parents in Hawaiʻi, unaware that the U.S. government was routinely intercepting and censoring the correspondence. In doing so, the U.S. was surprised that the Issei parents were encouraging their sons to fight bravely for America. They told them to try their best to fight for the country of their adoption, America. Some went further, saying not to bring shame, or haji, to the family name or their hometown of Hawaiʻi, and to ganbaru — give their all to be most courageous and brave in every deed, even dying if necessary.

100th Infantry Battalion (Separate), Company E, 3rd Platoon, training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin in August 1942. [100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Center, Thomas "Taro" Higa Collection]

By February 1943, the U.S. government and military became impressed and were won over by the training record and loyalty of the 100th, enough so that they decided to allow other AJAs to volunteer to join a newly formed segregated unit called the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. For the 442nd, the military originally set up an objective of 4,500 men: approximately 1,500 more from Hawaiʻi and 3,000 from the mainland incarceration camps. Understandably, the response from the mainland for volunteers fell short of the 3,000 quota. Because more than 10,000 men showed up to volunteer for the 1,500 slots in Hawaiʻi, the allotments were adjusted. Ultimately, the 442nd RCT started with approximately 3,000 from Hawaiʻi and 1,500 from the mainland. This group went straight to Camp Shelby for basic training. These AJAs were mainly in their early twenties and had no military training prior to volunteering. Some were only in their teens, as high school students were allowed to graduate early. In contrast, the 100th Infantry Battalion soldiers were in their mid to late twenties and were already well-trained through their time in the Hawaiʻi National Guard or regular U.S. Army units, when they became soldiers of the 100th. In time, the 100th and 442nd would combine as one team with the relationship of an older and younger brother.

On August 21, 1943, the 100th Infantry Battalion deployed for combat, first landing in Oran, North Africa, before fighting in Italy and France. The 100th landed in Salerno, Italy with about 1,300 men, and due to the severity of the battles, by early February 1944, the unit had dropped to only 521 able to fight. Due to the tremendous number of soldiers killed in action and casualties sustained in its first five months of combat, war correspondents referred to the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) as “The Purple Heart Battalion.” 

100th Infantry Battalion Company E (1943), shortly after first crossing of the Volturno River, Italy. Back row, Left to Right: Yozo Yamamoto, Henry Shiyama, Yoshikatsu Matsumoto, Kaoru Yamamoto, Charles J. Okimoto, Takeshi ‘Lefty’ Kimura. Front row, Left to Right: Kunio Fujimoto, Susumu Kunishige, Raymond Yokoyama, Katsui Jinnohara, Kaoru Yonezawa. [U.S. Signal Corps Photo]

The 100th began to receive replacement soldiers transferred to the battalion from the 442nd RCT in March 1944. The growing need for trained AJA soldiers to assign to these segregated units, resulted in the War Department resuming Selective Service induction of AJAs in January 1944.

When the 442nd RCT joined the 100th Infantry Battalion in Italy in June 1944, the 100th was attached to the regiment, performing the role of its 1st Battalion. The redesignation of the unit to become the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry was made official in August 1944, with the battalion retaining its numeric 100th designation because of its incredible training and combat record and identity built as the famed One Puka Puka.

Kazuto Shimizu and Tom Miyoken of the 100th Infantry Battalion (Co. C), who were part of the first group of replacements that transferred from the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. [100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Center, Kazuto Shimizu Collection]

The 100th Infantry Battalion was the first AJA unit to fight for the U.S. in the European Theater, and Sgt. Shigeo “Joe” Takata became the first in the unit to be killed in action on September 29, 1943. Since 1946, the men of the 100th Infantry Battalion who survived the war have held an annual memorial service timed around September 29, to honor their comrades killed in action, for whom a formal service or ritual could not be held in the heat of battle. This tradition is still being carried on by the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans organization today, as families of the 100th men participate in an annual memorial service at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, to honor the men in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service, and 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion, who died in service during World War II, as well as the veterans who served and have since passed on.

The 37th Annual Memorial Service, held at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl on Sunday, September 26, 1982. [100th Infantry Battalion Veterans, Puka Puka Parade]

The 100th, along with the 442nd, earned numerous medals and awards by fighting for their country with valor and honor. On October 29, 1945, Major Mitsuyoshi Fukuda flew home as the last original member of the 100th Infantry Battalion in Europe. Major Fukuda served as the last commanding officer of the 100th Infantry Battalion, becoming the first American of Japanese ancestry to command a combat infantry battalion, was the first Nisei combat officer to hold field rank in the U.S. Army, and then broke precedence once again, becoming Executive Officer of the 442nd Regiment.

Major Fukuda requested and was granted a meeting with John J. McCloy, the Assistant Secretary of War. During this meeting in November 1945, Major Fukuda asked that steps be taken to perpetuate the identity of the 100th Infantry Battalion, possibly with one of the units of the National Guard being given the 100th designation, and that the official policy of segregation against Japanese Americans in the military be formally discontinued.

In 1947, the 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry Regiment was reactivated in the United States Army Reserve, carrying on the World War II unit’s lineage and honors, with Major Fukuda as the 100th’s commanding officer. Today, the 100th Battalion 442nd Infantry, is the only infantry unit of the United States Army Reserve. They maintain a high level of readiness in case they are needed in a combat zone. With Executive Order 9981 signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1948, abolishing segregation in the Armed Forces, today’s 100th Battalion 442nd Infantry unit is comprised of men and women soldiers from all ethnicities.

Reactivation Ceremony held at Ft. Shafter on July 31, 1947. Left to Right: Lt. Col. Harry Albright, Commanding Officer of the 442nd Infantry Regiment with 1st Sgt. Harry Harimoto, holding the 442nd RCT colors, and T/Sgt. Kenneth Nakamoto with Major Mitsuyoshi Fukuda, holding colors of the 100th Infantry Battalion. [U.S. Signal Corps Photo]

On August 21, 2022, exactly 79 years after the men of the 100th Infantry Battalion (Sep) set sail together for the warfront, the final living member of the original 100th Infantry Battalion, Edward Ikuma, joined his comrades in full formation once more. Currently, 82 years since the formation of the 100th Infantry Battalion, there are only nine 100th/442nd veterans who joined the battalion as replacements, known to be alive.

After the war, the 100th/442nd veterans would often share how proud they were to have the fought for the U.S., proving their loyalty to their country and helping to make life better for their descendants and for people of color. Executive Order 9981 was the first act of civil rights in America and a reflection of how segregated units, like the 100th Infantry Battalion, proved they were deserving of the rights of any other American. This first act of recognizing civil rights for people of color was a defining moment for the United States. It led to future changes such as The Civil Rights Act of 1964, a landmark civil rights and labor law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

In Hawaiʻi, the 100th Infantry Battalion, men born from humble beginnings, led the way for social change when they returned from the war. They worked for their vocational and college educations via the G.I. Bill and helped to transform the islands. In the 1954 Democratic Revolution, the AJA and other minorities were elected into legislative seats, and in Hawaiʻi the Democratic Party with multi-ethnic leaders, loosened the grip of the Republican Party, then run by wealthy Caucasians from the “Big Five” businesses.

Several AJAs ultimately became known worldwide for their leadership and public service. Spark M. Matsunaga, an original member of the 100th Infantry Battalion, became a U.S. Senator and co-founded the United States Institute for Peace. Daniel K. Inouye, a member of the 442nd RCT, served as a U.S. Senator for nearly five decades and was the highest-ranking public official of Asian American descent in U.S. history.

Senator Spark Matsunaga poses with fellow veteran Ukichi Wozumi and others from Hawai‘i at the Capitol. [100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Center, Ukichi Wozumi Collection]

Gaman (quiet perseverance), ganbari (persistence), giri (duty or obligation), haji (not to bring shame and to honor one’s family), enryo (modesty and self-sacrifice), sekinin (responsibility), and chūgi (loyalty) — with these core values, the 100th Infantry Battalion soldiers overcame tremendous obstacles on and off the battlefield, proved their loyalty to their country, and achieved civil rights changes that have had an enormous positive impact on society. As sung in their marching song, “the 100th leads the way….”

100th Infantry Battalion Marching song (words partially improvised by Ray Nosaka, 100th Inf Bn, Co. B) : "One Puka Puka Infantry, we’re the boys from Hawaiʻi Nei. We’re fighting for you, and the Red, White and Blue, We’re going to the front, and back to Honolulu. Fighting for dear old Uncle Sam, 'Go for Broke' — we don’t give a damn. Let them come and run, at the point of our gun. When the 100th leads the way."

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Written by: Kathi Hayashi [daughter of Tokuichi Hayashi (100th Inf Bn, Co. A)], 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Chair; Amy Kwong [granddaughter of M. Eugene Kawakami (100th Inf Bn, Co. A)], 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Communications Chair; and Isami Yoshihara [brother of Hisashi Yoshihara (100th Inf Bn, Co. A)], 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Lead Docent.