Interviews

1. Basic Training

2. A visit to Jerome after OCS

3. Resisting transfer from Jerome

4. Appearance vs. Combat Effectiveness

5. Fully aware of discrimination in America

6. They had to succeed

7. Do it for all Asians

8. People with talent in the 100th infantry battalion

9. “Agreement of silence”

10. Horrible pictures of war

11. Near-death experience

12. General Ryder’s faith in the 100th infantry battalion

13. 442nd’s contribution to redress

14. Comfortable in combat

15. “Equal as a human being”

16. Commitments for a better life

Kim,Young O.

(1919 - 2006) World War II and Korean War veteran

People with talent in the 100th infantry battalion

The 100th was a rare collection of people. We didn’t lose anybody. The average American unit, in those days, anytime you showed any ability or had any education or had anything, often you were promoted and then left to form another unit. Well no one’s gonna go form another unit so in the 100th everybody stayed. We didn’t lose anybody and when you stop to think of the educational average in our group was very, very high. He later became the first sergeant of B Company, but at the time, when we were training, he was my platoon sergeant, my platoon sergeant was a graduate of the Texas law school. He later became the first Japanese American federal judge in Hawaii; he became the judge of Maui, that’s after the war. But a man of that caliber is a platoon sergeant and then later a first sergeant, no you don’t have law school graduates in the average outfit, you know. But we had all kinds of people with talent.

100th Infantry Battalion 442nd Regimental Combat Team armed forces military United States Army World War II

Date: August 28, 1995

Location: California, US

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Colonel Young Oak Kim (U.S. Army Ret.) was a decorated combat veteran as a member of the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II and a respected community leader. He was born in 1919 in Los Angeles, CA to Korean immigrants.

Following the outbreak of war, he was assigned to the “all-Nisei” 100th as a young officer, but was given a chance for reassignment because the common belief was that Koreans and Japanese did not get along. He rejected the offer stating that they were all Americans. A natural leader with keen instincts in the field, Colonel Kim’s battlefield exploits are near legendary.

Colonel Kim continued to serve his country in the Korean War where he became the first minority to command an Army combat battalion. He retired from the Army in 1972. He was awarded 19 medals, including the Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, and the French Croix de Guerre.

Later in life, Colonel Kim served the Asian American community by helping to found the Go For Broke Educational Foundation, the Japanese American National Museum, the Korean Health, Education, Information and Research Center and the Korean American Coalition among others. He died from cancer on December 29, 2005 at the age of 86. (August 8, 2008)