The 442nd Regiment Combat Team at the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation

The Library of Virginia’s U.S. Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection includes a handful of photos of the 442^nd Regiment Combat Team, which was a segregated Japanese American unit. For its size and length of service—14,000 men and 19 months—the 442^nd was the most decorated in the history of the U.S. military. Their motto of “go for broke” reflected their determination.¹ The Japanese American soldiers who are named in the photos include:

• Pfc. Henry Sinichi Asato
• Pfc. Sterling Shunichi Suga
• S/Sgt. Hideo “Joe” Noyama
• Capt. Bert Noboru Nishimura
• WOJG James Noburo Yamamoto
• T/Sgt. Goro Tsuchida
• T/Sgt. Hiromi Omura

As well as four white officers: Col. Charles Wilbur Pence, Regimental Chaplain Capt. Thomas Eugene West, Capt. Walter Lesinski, and Maj. Emmett L. O’Connor.

The U.S. Army Signal Corps dates back to 1860 and a communication system of flags and torches, which is still depicted on their branch insignia. Today, the Corps oversees all forms of communication for U.S. military; they have a long history of integrating and advancing new communications technologies, from the electric telegraph to radiotelephones to satellite communications. The Corps began taking photographs by 1881. By the late 1890s, photography was a part of the course of study for members of the Corps, and their first Manual of Photography was published in 1896. During World War I, ground and aerial photography became an official mission of the Corps and not just a secondary responsibility, and in June of 1917, the Photographic Section was created. The Army Pictorial Service was created on 17 June 1942. Their duties included creating films as well as photographs.²

The Corps created an enormous number of photographs during World War II that included civilian contributions to the war effort, training, battles, materiel, and formal portraits. Much of the collection is housed at the U. S. National Archives,³ but portions may be found in other repositories as well, including at the Library of Virginia.

The Library of Virginia’s 3,500 8”x10” black-and-white Signal Corps photographs chronicle activities at the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation from 1942 to 1946. This site, originally named the Newport News Port of Embarkation, opened during World War I in July 1917. In size, it was second only to the New York Port of Embarkation. The port was reactivated during World War II on June 15, 1942, to transport soldiers and cargo to the European Theater and was managed by the Transportation Corps. From its reactivation until August 1945, 725,880 passengers and 12,521,868 tons of cargo passed through the port.⁴

Members of the 442^nd Regimental Combat Team were among those who departed from the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, and the U.S. Signal Corps Collection includes a handful of images that document their departure. Most are dated May 1, 1944, although a couple have the date of May 2^nd.

The 442^nd Regimental Combat Team was organized in 1943, although its history goes back to the 298^th and 299^th Regiments of the Hawaii National Guard. On October 15, 1940, these regiments were called to active duty. Of the 1,851 officers and enlisted men, 40 were Japanese Americans, including 2^nd Lieutenant—later Captain—Bert Noboru Nishimura, who joined the 299^th Regiment on April 20, 1941. Their numbers were bolstered by almost 1,400 men who were called up in the draft, nearly half of whom were of Japanese descent.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the National Guard unit was federalized but remained in Hawaii in case of another attack by Japan. The Hawaii Territorial Guard was created to take the place of the National Guard and drew many of its members from the University of Hawaii ROTC program. The Japanese American members of the two units were eventually sent to Schofield Barracks in Honolulu because their loyalty to the United States was questioned after the attack. Concerns intensified, and all Japanese Americans were classified as “enemy aliens” by the U.S. government on January 5, 1942. On January 21^st, Japanese Americans were no longer permitted to be a part of the Hawaii Territorial Guard. One month later, President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 of February 21^st called for the incarceration of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. On March 31^st, the War Department followed the lead of local Selective Service boards and declared Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) to be either unfit for service (4-F) or ineligible because of their race or ancestry (4-C) until February 1944, when Japanese Americans could again be drafted.⁵

As the Battle of Midway became imminent, the U.S. government began to fear that Japanese Americans would be a security problem. The soldiers at Schofield Barracks were organized into the Hawaiian Provisional Infantry. On June 5^th, the 1,406 Japanese American enlisted men and 28 officers—almost 50% of whom were Japanese American— were sent to San Francisco, where they became the 100^th Infantry Battalion. They were transferred to Camp McCoy in Wisconsin and then to Camp Shelby in Mississippi for training. By September, the unit was in Italy and fought at Salerno and Monte Casino—where 700 of the 1,300 men suffered causalities—as part of the 34^th Division.⁶

The actions of the 100^th Infantry Battalion, along with lobbying from the Japanese American community and the work of the Hawaiian Varsity Victory Volunteers, convinced President Roosevelt to announce the creation of a Japanese American unit on February 1, 1943, as a way to counter Japanese claims of racism and to increase the number of soldiers by allowing for Japanese American volunteers, given that Japanese Americans were not eligible to be drafted. The majority of this segregated unit’s officers were to be white. Nonetheless, 2,686 Nisei volunteered from Hawaii, and 1,500 volunteered from the continental U.S. to create the 2^nd Infantry Battalion, the 3^rd Infantry Battalion, the 422^nd Field Artillery Battalion, the 206^th Army Ground Forces Band, the 232^nd Combat Engineers Company, a Cannon Company, a Medical Detachment, and an Anti-Tank Company. Among those who were drafted were Pfc. Henry Sinichi Asato, S/Sgt. Hideo “Joe” Noyama, T/Sgt. Hiromi Omura, and Pfc. Sterling Shunichi Suga. They commenced their training at Camp Shelby.

Initially, the volunteers from Hawaii and the continental United States did not get along well with one another, but visits from other Japanese Americans from incarceration camps in Jerome and Rohwer in Arkansas remedied that situation by creating a sense of unity. These events included music, dancing, refreshments, and a religious service. In a few instances, family and friends were able to reunite at these events. The unit left the United States for Italy on May 1, 1944, from the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation to join the 100^th Infantry Battalion, which became a part of the 442^nd Regimental Combat Team on August 10, 1944. The unit fought in Italy at Monte Casino and Anzio and broke through the Gothic Line in northern Italy that the Allies had been trying to get through for nearly six months, they rescued the 1^st Battalion, 141^st Regiment of the 36^th Division from the Vosges Mountains after two other units failed, and they liberated Bruyères, Belmont, and Biffontaine in France and the extermination camp at Dachau in Germany.⁷

The 100^th Infantry Battalion and the 442^nd Regiment Combat Team suffered an enormous number of casualties in their 19 months of combat. S/Sgt. Hideo “Joe” Noyama, T/Sgt. Hiromi Omura, Pfc. Sterling Shunichi Suga, and T/Sgt. Goro Tsuchida were all wounded between October 1944 and April 1945. Ultimately, the unit had 67 men missing in action, 650 killed, and 3,700 wounded. The unit received 2 Meritorious Service Plaques, 7 Presidential Unit Citations, 36 Army Commendation Medals, and 87 Division Commendations. The soldiers themselves received 15 Soldier’s Medals, 21 Medals of Honor, 22 Legion of Merit Medals, 53 Distinguished Service Crosses, 588 Silver Stars, 5,200 Bronze Stars, and 9,486 Purple Hearts by the time they were disbanded in August of 1946. In 2011, members of the 442^nd Regiment Combat team were among the 450 Japanese American soldiers who received Congressional Gold Medals.⁸

The 442^nd unit accomplished so much amidst racism and prejudice. Within the military, they were required to serve in segregated units with white officers. They encountered prejudice within the Jim Crow South, where they had to navigate the binary division of Black and white while being neither, although their officers informed them that they were considered white. At times, members of the 442^nd attempted to defend African Americans who were subjected to segregation. And most significantly, President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 resulted in the incarceration of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast and the eventual incarceration of 110,000 Japanese Americans.⁹ Most of the men named in the photographs were not directly impacted by this order. At the time of the draft, Pfc. Henry Sinichi Asato, S/Sgt. Hideo “Joe” Noyama, T/Sgt. Hiromi Omura, and Pfc. Sterling Shunichi Suga were all living in Hawaii. T/Sgt. Goro Tsuchida was in Illinois. WOJG James Noburo Yamamoto; however, was in Los Angeles, California. He enlisted on January 7, 1942. Later that year, his family was later sent to the Santa Anita Assembly Center and then on to Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas.¹⁰

The 442^nd Regimental Combat Team attempted to counter the accusations of disloyalty through events that emphasized their patriotism. For instance, the unit held an “I Am an American Day,” as reported by the Hattiesburg American on May 18, 1943:

Japanese-American troops of the 442nd Combat Team celebrated “I Am an American Day” Sunday in their own regimental area with a special program extolling the advantages of citizenship and acknowledging its responsibilities.

By voluntarily enlisting for service in the combat team, these soldiers already have taken the first step to demonstrate their patriotism, but as citizens of Japanese ancestry they realize they are under close public scrutiny.

In the words of their commanding officer, Colonel Charles W. Pence, each one “is a symbol of the loyalty of the Japanese-American population both on the mainland and in Hawaii.”¹¹

Two months later, the newspaper reported the outcome of a contest for the 442^nd to learn the words to patriot songs: “There are songs aplenty these days around the Anti-Tank company of the Japanese-American Combat Team since it was awarded the music book, “America Sings” by junior regimental chaplain Lt. Thomas E. West for being the first company to learn the words of America’s national songs. As an additional gift to the champion singers of the Combat Team, Chaplain West gave the Anti-Tank men six gallons of ice cream which was supplemented at supper with a giant cake bought with the company fund.”¹²

As they were about to enter the war in Europe, two soldiers shared a portion of their stories with a U.S. Signal Corps photographer. Both emphasized their patriotism. T/Sgt. Goro Tsuchida remarked that “his father, a Chicago restauranteur with 40 years residence in this country, refuses to teach children Japanese, so intent is he that they be thoroughly Americanized. The Sergeant has a brother in the U. S. Marine Corps. S/Sgt. [T/Sgt. Hiromi] Omura said, ‘We would rather fight in the Far East than in Europe; we have a grudge against the Japanese because thay [they] bombed Honolulu.’ ‘We are not Japanese, we are Americans.’ “¹³

The words of President Truman as he awarded one of the Distinguished Unit Citations summarize the experience of the 100^th Battalion/442^nd Regimental Combat Team well: “You fought the enemy abroad and prejudice at home and you won.”¹⁴