Takeichi Miyashiro

C Company

Born in Kohala, Hawaii in 1915, Takeichi Miyashiro graduated from Hilo High School where he was a star athlete. Miyashiro worked at Standard Oil Company in Hilo before he joined the army. He was part of the first draft and entered the army on December 8, 1940.

In October 1944, Miyashiro was wounded and captured during the battle to liberate Biffontaine, France. He ended up in a POW camp in Poland that was liberated in 1945 by the Russians. At the Russian port of Odessa, he was placed on a ship bound for Port Said, Egypt. From there he went to Naples, Italy and then on to Miami, Chicago, several places in California, and finally to Seattle where a ship took soldiers back to Hawaii. Miyashiro was wounded three times and was awarded a battlefield commission, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Silver Star.

After the war, Miyashiro returned to Standard Oil and retired as a plant foreman. He passed away in November 2003, age 89.

In the May 2003 issue of the Puka Puka Parade, Joy Teraoka, editor and wife of veteran Denis Teraoka, wrote “Looking Back: Salute to Takeichi ‘Chicken’ Miyashiro. She wrote:

During the course of my interviews with other veterans, one name often came up as the men described their combat experiences. That was the name “Chicken” Miyashiro, uttered with admiration and respect for his dauntless courage and heroism.

Although the nickname “Chicken” gives the derogatory connotation of someone who runs away from conflict or lacks courage, by contradiction, the “Chicken” Takeichi Miyashiro of 100th Inf. Bn.’s C Company we are paying tribute to has the irrefutable reputation of a man of outstanding courage and valor.

The full article detailing his family background and combat experiences can be found at: https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10524/18706/PPP-2003May-n04.pdf. Pages 5 – 8.

Fellow Company C veteran, Stanley Akita, recounted his memories of Miyashiro in his oral history, conducted by the Hawaii Nisei Project 2006 – 2007:

[Takeichi] “Chicken” Miyashiro [was very influential to me]. He was the lieutenant. He was one of the amazing kind of guys … What he [Chicken Miyashiro] did was, he placed his men strategically … Guys like Chicken, you have a feeling you can follow him anywhere and you won’t get hurt.

More documentation of Miyashiro’s combat experiences can be found in: “Ambassadors in Arms: The Story of Hawaii’s 100th Battalion” by Thomas Murphy, page 214 and “Remembrances: 100th Infantry Battalion 50th Anniversary Celebration, 1942 – 1992,” pages 176 and 177.