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The Nisei Japanese Americans (二世
pronounced Nee-say, lit. second generation) are American-born
citizens of the
United States of
Japanese ancestry who generally reached adulthood by the outbreak of
World War II.
Americans of Japanese ancestry living in the western
United States, including the Nisei were, forcibly
interned with their parents and children (the
Sansei Japanese Americans) during WWII.
Most
Japanese Americans who fought in WWII were Nisei. The 100th Infantry
Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, fighting in the European
theatre, became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its
size and length of service, earning it the title, the "Purple Heart
Battalion."
Americans of Japanese ancestry were generally forbidden
to fight in a combat role the Pacific theatre. No such limitations were
placed on Americans of
German or
Italian ancestry who fought against the
Axis Powers in Europe. However, about 6,000 Nisei did serve in the
Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as linguists and in other non-combative
roles, interpreting captured enemy documents and interrogating POWs. MIS
linguists translated Japanese documents known as the "Z Plan," which
contained Japan's counterattack strategy in the Central Pacific. This
information led to Allied victories at "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot," in
which the Japanese lost most of their carrier planes, and the Battle of
Leyte Gulf in the
Philippines. An MIS
radio operator intercepted a message describing Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto's flight plans, which led to P-38s downing his plane
over the Solomon Islands. General
Douglas MacArthur stated, "Never in military history did an army know so
much about the enemy prior to actual engagement." General
Charles Willoughby, MacArthur's
intelligence chief, said, "The Nisei saved countless Allied lives and
shortened the war by two years."
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