History of the 100th Infantry Battalion
They were men from working class families – mainly from Hawaii – with later arrivals volunteering from barbed wire-enclosed internments camps on the United States mainland. Called to duty in World War II, the men of the legendary 100th Infantry Battalion performed extraordinary feats fighting for their country.
Here are their stories – of their lives as sons of immigrants from Japan growing up in Hawaii’s multicultural society and as an ethnic minority on the mainland; of unwavering loyalty when faced with racism, of perseverance and loss; of the families they nurtured and communities they helped shape after they returned. Their stories are the stories of America.
Memoirs & Journals
These memoirs and journals contain not only the veterans’ documentation of their combat experiences, but also provide priceless information about social and economic conditions in their communities.
Kazuto Shimizu
In 2014, at eighty-nine years old, Kazuto Shimizu was still an active member of the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Club in Honolulu. He and his wife Lynn attended a line dancing class in the clubhouse every week. He would also attend functions with other Nisei veterans and breakfast meetings with the descendants of C Company veterans.
In 1943, when Kazuto was 19 years old, he volunteered for the Army…
Read more… Kazuto Shimizu
Kakuto Higuchi
Born in Aiea, Hawaii, Mr. Kakuto Higuchi wrote this memoir of the Biffontaine campaign for his children in 1996. He was part of the third wave of 442nd replacements to the 100th and was assigned to C Company. A fire captain with the Navy, he retired in 1973 and then traveled extensively throughout the world.
The village of Biffontaine was located in the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France, near the…
Read more… Kakuto Higuchi
Photo Collections & Biographies
The photographs shown here were loaned for digitizing by 100th Infantry Battalion veterans and families. Most images have previously not been available to a wider audience. Often a veteran’s collection included photos of his comrades, photos their families may have never seen. In some cases, the photographs included on the website may represent a sampling of a veteran’s total collection.
Letters
Most descendants of the men who wrote these letters will be seeing them for the first time. This was the case for a 100th daughter who has been part of the team developing this website. When she first saw a letter written by her father, she expressed her reaction in Island slang – “It was a chicken skin moment.”
Lt. Colonel Farrant L. Turner
Lt. Colonel Farrant L. Turner was the first commanding officer of the 100th Infantry Battalion. Born in Hilo, Hawaii, he was the Executive Officer of the 298th Infantry Regiment, Hawaii National Guard, at the time of the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Five months later, when the decision was made to create a battalion composed of Nisei soldiers, he was one of several officers who volunteered to command this…
Read more… Lt. Colonel Farrant L. Turner
Stanley Izumigawa
Stanley Izumigawa enlisted when he was 18 years old and was assigned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team which was training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. A year later, he and two friends from his squad were among the first group of replacements for the 100th Infantry Battalion which had been decimated by casualties. They joined the 100th in March 1944 near Benevento, Italy. In his memoirs, written some 50 years…
Read more… Stanley Izumigawa
Publications
Puka Puka Parades
The PPPs have chronicled the lives of the veterans and the many Club activities that took place for over 65 years.
Remembrances
“Remembrances” was published for the 50th anniversary celebration of the formation of the 100th Infantry Battalion.
Newspaper Articles
Ben Tamashiro, a 100th veteran, wrote many articles about his comrades, including a series for the Hawaii Herald, “From Pearl Harbor to the Po.”
Our Mission
Our mission is to preserve the history of the men of the 100th Infantry Battalion by creating this digital library of their stories and photographs and other records of their service to our country.
Besides being a tool for research and education, this website is intended as an ever-expanding repository of information, a living memorial that will honor these men. If you have stories, images or documents such and letters and diaries to share, please contact the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans’ office in Honolulu, Hawaii.