Japanese American Veterans Association

javapotomac

The Japanese American Veterans' Association, Inc. (JAVA), is a fraternal and educational organization with many purposes: Preserving and strengthening comradeship among its members; Perpetuating the memory and history of our departed comrades; Educating the American public on the Japanese American experience during WWII; and Striving to obtain for veterans the full benefit of their entitlements as veterans.

Updated Janurary 2019

war en

Nisei Role as America’s “Eyes and Ears” Against Japan During War II and as a “Bridge” Between the Two Nations During the Occupation - Part 2

By Japanese American Veterans Association
24 Jun 2021

Read Part 1 >> South Pacific Area Commanded by Admiral William Halsey, combat was centered on Guadalcanal, Bougainville and other parts of the Solomon Islands. Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti and New Caledonia, which were not occupied by Japan, served as Allied support bases. The following is an example of a skilled interrogator, Roy T. Uyehata, Gilroy, CA, as described by Dr. Stanley L. Falk and Dr. Warren M. Tsuneishi, MIS in the War Against Japan. In February 1944, the U.S. 37th Infantry Division and the America Division of the XIV Corps fought the Japanese 6th Division from Kumamoto Prefectu…

war en

Nisei Role as America’s “Eyes and Ears” Against Japan During War II and as a “Bridge” Between the Two Nations During the Occupation - Part 1

By Japanese American Veterans Association
23 Jun 2021

Washington, D.C.—When World War II began, the U.S. government and many Americans viewed all ethnic Japanese as potentially disloyal and collaborators of Imperial Japan. The War Department stopped enlisting Nisei and forcibly placed 110,000 ethnic Japanese residing along the Pacific Coast in internment camps guarded by sentries on the ground and from guard towers with machine guns. The Department of Justice and FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover, concluded mass internment was not necessary. Army, Navy and FBI intelligence penetration of Japanese communities disclosed no subversive activities.…

war en

Caucasian Officers’ Role as leaders of MIS Teams assigned to the Asia Pacific Theater During WW II

By Japanese American Veterans Association
28 Feb 2020

Washington, DC. “What are those two goddam Japs doing here? Shoot ‘em.” Someone said, “No, they’re good Japs, working for us. Well, shoot ‘em anyway.” The conversation occurred in 1942 in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, at XIV Corps, as Military Intelligence Service (MIS) linguists Shigeru Yamashita and Isao Kusuda walked by; American commanders as well as soldiers questioned the loyalty of Nisei and did not want them around. A major task of Caucasian MIS Team Leaders, with varying Japanese language skills, was to change this anti-Nisei bias. They a…

war en

Nikkei Serve their Nation in all Wars since the Spanish American War; Filipinos and Chinese Preceded Japanese

By Japanese American Veterans Association
11 Dec 2019

Washington, DC. Nobuteru Harry Sumida, a Nisei, and eight Japanese nationals who enlisted in the US Navy as seamen were the first Nikkei to serve in the US armed forces. The men all served in the Spanish American War of 1898, when the US declared war on Spain, resulting in US acquisition of Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico, and removal of Spain as a Caribbean power. They were followed by Kenji Inomata, a Japanese national who joined the US Navy in 1906 and eventually received US citizenship. Remarkably, Inomata was the only known ethnic Japanese resident of Los Angeles exempt from the mass …

war en

Twelve Nisei Sank with USS Royal T. Frank Torpedoed by Japanese Submarine — Eight Nisei Survivors Also Survived Combat with 100th

By Japanese American Veterans Association
27 Nov 2019

Eight Nisei were saved and 12 were killed when a Japanese submarine torpedoed a US Army transport near Maui, Hawaii, on January 28, 1942, just seven months after the Pearl Harbor attack. A few months later the eight Nisei joined the 100th Infantry Battalion and miraculously survived nearly two years of combat in Europe. The 20 Nisei were among the 60 men aboard the USS Royal T. Frank, which transported military personnel, equipment and ammunition to the various islands of the Territory of Hawaii. The Nisei were returning to Hilo after basic training at Schofield Barracks, Honolulu. The USS F…

Submit an article

Discover Nikkei

Japanese migrants and their descendants

Japanese American Veterans Association

Two Worlds: The Life and Photography of Wakaji Matsumoto

Part 1—Wakaji’s Beginnings

Narumi Ogusuku—Ubiquitous Nikkei Artist

The Power of Irei

Digging up Ways to Honor Her Ancestors—Kyoko Oda and Ireichō

Niki Nakayama: How a JA Angeleno Conquered the Rarefied World of Japanese Kaiseki Cuisine

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #10, 18, and 1958 are Good: "Best Numbers..."

アメリカの日本語媒体

第12回 全米に行き渡るインターネットラジオ『さくらRADIO』

Book review: Beyond the Betrayal, The Memoir of a World War II Japanese American Draft Resister of Conscience

Of Inomatas and Kingis: The Story of a Remarkable Family

Child Labor and Generational Business

書評：和泉真澄『日系カナダ人の移動と運動―知られざる日本人の越境生活史』

1992年渡米、目標は「アカデミー賞」— 俳優の井上英治さん

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tiempos pandémicos: teletrabajo y koden digital

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 e os heróis anônimos

香川県海外移民の父：今雪真一の情熱と功績

第３部：金子正則知事の南米訪問とその主な見解

NIMA VOICES

Get updates

Support this project

A project of the

Major support by

Journal Entry #10, 18, and 1958 are Good: "Best Numbers..."

Book review: Beyond the Betrayal, The Memoir of a World War II Japanese American Draft Resister of Conscience

Of Inomatas and Kingis: The Story of a Remarkable Family

Child Labor and Generational Business

Living, Dying and Passing It On — Alan Nishio Family at Ireichō

Part 1: Yone Hara

Journal Entry #Per 24 Hour Cycle: "Internet Inaction..."

A Vision Takes Root: The Legacy of Judy Nishimoto Ota and the San Pedro Firm Building

Aloha, France — Part 2

Aloha, France — Part 1

Finding Forgiveness: Director Stafford Arima on Bringing the Award-Winning Memoir to the Stage

When We Enable Racism

Postwar Japanese Emigration to the Dominican Republic — Part 2: The Japanese American Response

In Remembrance of the Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami: An Interview with The Hidden Japan’s Derek Yamashita—Part 1

Seiichi Higashide — A Man With Three Homelands

Futon, Shoyu, and More: Japanese Words Incorporated into the Vocabulary of Brazil

Remembering Them—Tsuchiya Family Honors Elders Through Ireichō

Yoshie Fujiwara and Japanese Americans I: A Night at the Opera

Setsuko Moriya — Part 3

Redress: A film about the Office of Redress Administration

Journal Entry #2/14/23: "The Most Dangerous Day..."

Manzanar, Diverted: An Appreciation

Ancestry and Toxicity: Breaking Free From Old Patterns and Toxic Relationships

Surrender

Postwar Japanese Emigration to the Dominican Republic — Part 1: A Tragic Tale

Barbed Wire, Guard Tower, Tar Paper Barracks, Roll Call

Dutch Leonard - The Ballplayer who challenged Fresno's racism

Toronto Japanese Canadian Duo Releases Groundbreaking EP

Yasuko Aratani—She Never Stopped Dreaming

Tokita Tales—Only in America

Journal Entry #My Top 6: "Holy Crappy Cartoon, Batman!"

Being Blasian

Bill Mauldin – An Artist with a Cause

70th Anniversary of Fukuoka Kenjinkai Mexico

A Letter to My Community Urging Protection of Minidoka

Thomas Takashi Nakahara

In Remembrance of the Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami: An Interview with The Hidden Japan’s Derek Yamashita—Part 2

Tea with my Ancestors

Lessons Realized

American Dream

Journal Entry #Only 2 Choices: "Do or Not Do..."

Our Man on the Hill: Sidney Yates — Part 2

OBITUARY - Juan Pollo Restaurant Founder Albert Okura, 71

Ask a Historian: How Did Alaska Natives Wind Up Inside Japanese American Concentration Camps?

Celebrating a Century: Nisei War Veteran and Esteemed Journalist Frank Moritsugu Turns 100

Journal Entry #At Least 4500 Years Old: "Infinite Bands..."

Pacific Bridges' Innovative Approach to Financial Services

Journal Entry #1 Supplier: "A Company Making Everything..."

Los Higa, una familia con legado en la comunidad nikkei

Journal Entry #15th C. Prose: "Weapons are Bad for Me..."

Maia Harima – Distinctive Fashion Designer

第12回全米に行き渡るインターネットラジオ『さくらRADIO』