The United States already had Japanese Americans serving in its military before the Pearl Harbor attack in the 298th and 299th Infantry Regiments of the Hawaii National Guard and was unsure of where to put them (Davenport, 2010). They were eventually merged into one all Japanese American unit in May of 1942 and renamed the 100th Battalion. By August of that year, they were sent to Morocco to invade
North Africa. In early 1943, the War Department began calling for recruitment for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which would be composed of Nisei soldiers (Robinson, 2010). There were a large amount of volunteers from Hawaii, which meant that there would be no draft for soldiers. In March 1943, 2,686 Nisei were accepted and brought to Shelby, Mississippi for training (Davenport, 2010). Only a small amount of Nisei from the mainland volunteered. By the end of 1943 both the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regiment had dwindled down to the point that the draft was opened up to included Nisei both within and outside of camps (Robinson, 2010). During the war there were close to 33,000 Nisei soldiers enlisted in the United States Armed Forces from the mainland and Hawaii, which aided in disproving the accusations of their disloyalty (Robinson, 2010). |
442nd Regiment in France.
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