Licensing

Nice, France; (left to right: Richard, Kay, Joe)

The 100th/442nd Infantry was not just a group of soldiers, but a band of brothers. Kay explained that in the beginning of the war there was much tension from the Mainland and Islander Japanese Americans. Mainland Japanese Americans would often call Islanders, "Buddha head" meaning pig headed, while Islanders called Mainlanders, "kotonks" meaning no brained. However, as time went on this tension decreased as they saw themselves no longer as different, but rather as Japanese American soldiers fighting for a similar cause. For Kay, it was his fellow soldiers from the "islands" that often helped the sad atomosphere with their seemingly "laidback" attitudes. For instance, it was explained that a common pasttime of singing and playing island music, as well as telling each other stories of their homes, brought a sense peace to the atmosphere. The picture taken in Nice, France Christmas Eve.