Young Oak Kim

Headquarters Company, 100th Infantry Battalion

 

Path into the 100th Infantry Battalion

Young Oak Kim was born on January 18, 1919, in Los Angeles and was the second child of five, born to Korean immigrants Soon Kwon and Nora Koh Kim. Growing up in the Bunker Hill area of downtown Los Angeles amid Japanese, Mexican, Chinese, and Jewish communities, he developed an early understanding of how race shaped opportunity.

Understanding the importance of serving his country, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 1941 and was later selected for the Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he was the only Asian American in his class.

In February 1943, as a second lieutenant, he was assigned to the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate), who was then training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Aware that his opportunities for advancement would be limited in a “white man’s army,” he later reflected, “If I wasn’t with the 100th, I would be a PR [Public Relations] officer or have some insignificant duty someplace else, because nobody was going to let me, as an Asian, command regular troops” — and concluded that a “bastard” battalion like the 100th offered him a rare chance at combat leadership.

When Second Lieutenant Young Oak Kim arrived at Camp Shelby, he was immediately offered a transfer. Lieutenant Colonel Farrant Turner, commander of the 100th Infantry Battalion, assumed that “Koreans and Japanese historically did not always get along.”

Kim, who had just returned from visiting interned Japanese American friends from Los Angeles at Jerome, Arkansas, was stunned. He responded without hesitation, “Sir, the soldiers are American and I am American. We are going to fight for America.”

Shocked, Colonel Turner, replied, “But others that have preceded you have all desired a transfer so the procedure has already been established.” Kim stood firm: “No sir! I want to stay.” Colonel Turner agreed.

Upon meeting the men of the original 100th, Kim pushed them to maintain Army standards — insisting on haircuts, tucked shirttails, and properly laced shoes —believing, as the Army taught, that a well-dressed and well-groomed soldier was a good combat soldier. The men were unconvinced, and in time, Kim himself acknowledged the limits of that thinking, later noting, “in sustained combat, everyone soon looks like bums.”

Kim also drove the men through rigorous and often unpopular training. He persuaded Baker Company Commander Clarence Johnson to implement special advanced small-unit exercises, pushing the men to train for hours each day in the oppressive, humid Mississippi summer heat. Recognizing the potential of his troops, Kim abandoned conventional training methods and instead required every private to act as a squad leader, every squad leader to act as platoon guide or platoon sergeant, and all soldiers to take turns acting as a platoon leader.

Kim trained his men under conditions that closely resembled combat, incorporating live ammunition into maneuvers and even used real explosives to simulate combat conditions. He emphasized aggressive small-unit tactics, teaching what he later described as “a procedure that later was accepted by the Army during the Korean War — movement and fire.” Rather than relying on static drills and range practice, his approach focused on coordinated movement under fire. At the time, the soldiers resented the intensity of the training, but Kim later recalled that once they entered combat, they understood its purpose — long before they reached Italy, the soldiers of the 100th were ready to fight.

The soldiers did not welcome these demands, and Kim later learned they had nicknamed him “GI Kim” for his relentless adherence to Army discipline. When later asked whether the men resented him because he was Korean, he recalled that their initial resentment had little to do with his ethnicity. Instead, he explained, they saw him as “too GI” — overly strict and demanding — viewed him as a so-called “90-day wonder” to join the battalion fresh from Officer Candidate School.

Yet these tensions faded once the 100th entered combat. In battle, Kim expected to be obeyed, but he also listened closely to his men, treating them as intellectual and personal equals. He encouraged their ideas and comments regardless of rank, and many of the innovative tactics later credited to him were, in fact, born from the experience and insight of the soldiers he led.

In time, Kim also came to understand that the battalion’s strength came from its determination. The men resented being kept out of combat and were eager to prove their patriotism. “They had to succeed. They couldn’t fail,” he recalled. “We had to be as good as any other Caucasian outfit. And we knew that we had to shed blood…. And we all had to be prepared to pay that price.”

Evenings in camp often turned into serious campfire discussions about the future, where Kim joined Spark Matsunaga, Sakae Takahashi, and others. Beyond cards and routine talk, the men spoke about what they would do after the war — how they might transform their homeland of Hawaii, challenge the power of the “Big Five,” reshape its political dynamics, and create new opportunities for Japanese Americans. They believed that as veterans, they would have both the voice and the authority to change their community.

Kim shared in that vision. “You’re going to do it for the Japanese Americans, but in the end you’re going to do it for all Asians — and that’s why I’m here,” Kim told them during their campfire discussions. “I look like you. No one can tell the difference, and when it’s done, it’s going to be for everybody.”

Though he opposed segregation, he later reflected that the 100th’s status as a segregated Japanese American unit meant its achievements would be unmistakable — if the 100th succeeded, it would receive full credit. When the battalion finally entered combat, its performance proved exactly that.

Combat with the 100th in World War II

In combat, Kim became one of the 100th’s fiercest leaders. On the Italian front, he led from the front lines and earned a Silver Star and Purple Heart within the first few months of combat. In winter and summer, under mortar and machine-gun fire, he wore only a knit cap. Kim believed a helmet made a soldier more visible to snipers and felt it was better not to be targeted than to rely on a helmet to stop a bullet. No longer called “GI Kim” by the men of the 100th, he came to be known as “Samurai Kim.”

Promoted to first lieutenant, Kim distinguished himself near Cisterna, Italy, during the Anzio campaign on May 16, 1944. Volunteering for a dangerous patrol in a heavily defended sector where earlier efforts had failed, he and Private Irving Akahoshi crawled hundreds of yards through enemy lines in broad daylight under constant observation.

They surprised two German soldiers at an outpost, forced their surrender, and successfully brought them back through enemy positions without detection. The intelligence they secured contributed to the Allied advance on Rome. For this extraordinary heroism, Kim was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, personally presented by General Mark Clark, commander of the U.S. Fifth Army.

Kim’s bond with the men of the 100th Infantry Battalion developed not only in combat, but also in the small, unexpected moments of daily life behind the lines. He later reflected on this special dynamic that transcended race, linking leadership, logistics, and morale in combat. Kim recalled an encounter in Anzio:

“On my only trip to the rear near the beaches for a shower, I learned how concerned General (Charles) Ryder (commander of the 34th Infantry Division) was about the welfare of the men of the 100th.

Some of our men were using concussion grenades which was forbidden, in a small stream trying to catch fish and eels. The noise attracted my attention so I headed in the direction of the explosions to see how many fish had been caught.

Also, attracted by the noise was General Ryder who happened to be in the vicinity. He arrived on the scene from another direction just a few moments before me. Everyone suddenly became motionless. He ignored the illegal fishing and asked me what the vegetation was that some of the men were gathering. I explained watercress. He expressed his concern that Army Combat rations did not provide fresh vegetables and seafood which the men must sorely miss.

He then questioned me about the quality and quantity of the rice available and whether there was an adequate number of small size boots coming through normal supply channels. He had requested General Clark to send all small boots coming into Italy to the 100th and explained the entire 34th Division rice ration was being funneled to the 100th. He then stopped to talk to almost every man before wandering off. Everyone sighed with relief.”

Later promoted to captain, Kim and the 100th/442nd fought in the battles that liberated the towns of Bruyères and Biffontaine. At Biffontaine, France, he was seriously wounded and nearly captured before managing to escape with a medic through dense forest. With Kim and Sakae Takahashi both wounded and removed from combat in this battle, the 100th lost two of its original leaders — but by then, Kim’s imprint on the battalion was indelible.

Korean War and Continued Military Service

After World War II, Kim returned to Los Angeles and started a successful business. When the Korean War began, he reenlisted in the Army in 1950.

Kim would later recall:

“My success in Korea was due to a great degree to my having been a member of the 100th in World War II. Arriving in Japan in early February 1951, I was greeted by Colonel Gordon Singles, who had been the 100th battalion commander and now was the Commander of Camp Drake in Japan. He pulled strings to get me to the front lines. Without his assistance, I would have been a poor interpreter or translator somewhere in Japan or Korea.

Upon reaching the 7th Infantry Division, I was requested by General William McCaffrey, who was then a colonel commanding the 31st Infantry Regiment. Without knowing me personally, he wanted me solely on the basis of my having been the Plans and Operations Officer of the 100th during WWII. He had been the Chief of Staff for the 92nd Division in Italy with whom the 100th/442nd fought their final battles.

I fought just as we, the 100th, learned to do in Italy. We officers had been taught to fight on rolling terrain like the French battlefields of WWII. We learned the hard way how to fight in the mountains of Italy. By using the same tactics learned in Italy, the 1st Battalion of the 31st had great success. We always quickly took our mountain peak before noon and suffered the least number of casualties of all the surrounding battalions. This amazed the high brass.”

In Korea, he commanded a South Korean guerrilla unit and took part in the United Nations’ final push north. He earned a second Silver Star and Bronze Star. After being promoted to major, he became the first Asian American to command a regular U.S. combat battalion in war, leading the 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.

After the Korean War, Kim continued serving in the U.S. Army in Germany and the United States. From 1963 to 1965, he returned to Korea as a military advisor, helping revise South Korea’s defense plan, which later became the foundation of its modern defense strategy.

Kim was promoted to colonel in 1965 and retired from the Army in 1972. After earning a history degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills, he became CEO of a technology company in San Diego and remained active in civic and nonprofit work, especially in Asian American communities.

Post-War Contributions and Legacy

Kim was proud of his service with the 100th Infantry Battalion and devoted much of his later life to preserving the legacy of the World War II American soldiers of Japanese ancestry. He was a member of Club 100, the veterans’ organization of the 100th Infantry Battalion incorporated in 1945 to preserve wartime friendships and the unit’s legacy. The organization also promoted community service, patriotism, and social welfare in Hawaii, while providing a support network for the men of the 100th and their families. In 1952, veterans of the 100th constructed a clubhouse for the organization, which was dedicated to their fallen comrades. Kim remained actively involved in Club 100, participating in banquets, memorial services, and joining his 100th comrades on a tour of Europe to revisit the battlefields where they had once fought while sharing memories of their wartime experiences.

Kim helped to found both the Japanese American National Museum and the Go For Broke National Education Center in Los Angeles. He also helped to establish the Go For Broke Monument in Los Angeles in 1999, and after a nationwide search failed to produce a suitable inscription, Kim reached out to Ben Tamashiro (Co. D) for assistance.

Tamashiro’s inscription on the Go For Broke Monument in Little Tokyo reads:

“Rising to the defense of their country, by the thousands they came — these young Japanese American soldiers from Hawaii, the states, America’s concentration camps —to fight in Europe and the Pacific during World War II. Looked upon with suspicion, set apart and deprived of their constitutional rights, they nevertheless remained steadfast and served with indomitable spirit and uncommon valor, for theirs was a fight to prove loyalty. This legacy will serve as a sobering reminder that never again shall any group be denied liberty and the rights of citizenship.”

Kim served as chairman emeritus of the Go For Broke Educational Foundation until his passing.

His legacy is preserved through educational institutions that carry his name and reflect his commitment to leadership and service. The Young Oak Kim Academy, a public middle school in Los Angeles opened in 2009, was named in his honor. The Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies at the University of California, Riverside is dedicated to the study of Korean American history, identity, and diaspora experiences.

In a speech delivered at Washington Place in Honolulu in 2001, Kim reflected on the special bond he felt with Hawaii and his comrades in the 100th Infantry Battalion:

“Although I am a Kotonk, I have a very strong affection for Hawaii because of my World War II ties. Most of my many true friends are from this lovely state. Hawaii is truly a beautiful place physically, but I love Hawaii for its wonderful aloha spirit, which brings everyone together into one happy family.

Hawaii to me represents how America will look someday if we live up to our Constitution. I am grateful that my life put me in such close contact with Hawaii. Despite the war today, celebrate and welcome the diversity of the many ethnic groups that make Hawaii so unique and wonderful.

Your late Governor Jack Burns made me officially a Calabash Cousin of Hawaii. He stated this was Hawaii’s highest award for a non-Hawaiian. This award was for my contributions toward helping make the 100th famous.

Governor Burns believed the 100th was Hawaii’s most effective ambassador for its bid for statehood. During WWII, thousands of US soldiers from the Midwest, fighting in Italy, wrote home to parents and siblings praising the little iron men from Hawaii.

After the war, these same veterans spearheaded the drive to convince their Congressmen and Senators in Washington, DC, and their state governments, to support statehood for Hawaii.

Thus, Hawaii became the 50th State.

And as a member of the 100th, I became a Calabash Cousin and can claim to be one of you.”

Young Oak Kim died on December 29, 2005, at 86 years old. He selected the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) as his final resting place, choosing to be laid to rest among his comrades and eternal friends in Hawaiʻi.

Read Young Oak Kim’s Officer profile

40th Anniversary Banquet (July 1982) Keynote Address given by Young Oak Kim

A Korean War Veteran Remembers (2001) by Young Oak Kim