The Pearl Harbor Sneak Attack By Japan December 7, 1941
Source: Club 100 30th Anniversary Reunion, June 1972
Description: 100th Infantry Battalion veteran talks about being drafted before Pearl Harbor.
No different from any other state of the Union, National U. S. Military Conscription had called up the eligibles from the Territory of Hawaii, a most integral possession of the United States, then, not a state.
Prior to December 1941, four draft calls had called up among her draftees, nearly 1500 AJA’s (Americans of Japanese Ancestry), and except for the Fourth Draft draftees undergoing recruit training at “Boom Town,” Schofield Barracks, all had been assigned to various stations throughout the major islands of Hawaii, primarily with the Hawaii National Guard’s 298th and 299th Infantry Regiments, which had been Federalized and mobilized into Active Duty prior to the Summer of 1940.
“Little did I dream that, when Uncle Sam ‘invited’ me involuntarily to join the Army through the 4th draft call in October 1941, 31 years ago, that I would be involved in a world conflict and be engaged in mortal combat elsewhere from the land of our birth.
On Saturday, December 6, 1941, routinely 90% of us went home on week-end passes, and luckily, not having caught any weekend details, I was one of the lucky 90 percenters.
Note: The Hawaii National Guard’s 298th and 299th Infantry Regiments were federalized and called to active duty on October 15, 1940.
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This article was originally published by Club 100 in the 100th Infantry Battalion 30th Anniversary Reunion Souvenir Booklet (June 1972). The booklet was prepared under the direction of Souvenir Booklet Committee Chairman Harry Katahara (Co. B), with editorial sta Richard “Dick” Oguro (Co. B), Ken Iha (Co. F), and James T. Oshiro (Co. C). The content reflects the veteran’s personal recollections, perspectives, and information known to him at the time.
This publication is available through eVols, the open-access digital institutional repository of the University of Hawaiʻi (http://hdl.handle.net/10524/18465)
Drafted! Prelude To The Day Of Infamy: The Pearl Harbor Sneak Attack By Japan December 7, 1941
No different from any other state of the Union, National U. S. Military Conscription had called up the eligibles from the Territory of Hawaii, a most integral possession of the United States, then, not a state.
Prior to December 1941, four draft calls had called up among her draftees, nearly 1500 AJA’s (Americans of Japanese Ancestry), and except for the Fourth Draft draftees undergoing recruit training at “Boom Town,” Schofield Barracks, all had been assigned to various stations throughout the major islands of Hawaii, primarily with the Hawaii National Guard’s 298th and 299th Infantry Regiments, which had been Federalized and mobilized into Active Duty prior to the Summer of 1940.
“Little did I dream that, when Uncle Sam ‘invited’ me involuntarily to join the Army through the 4th draft call in October 1941, 31 years ago, that I would be involved in a world conflict and be engaged in mortal combat elsewhere from the land of our birth.
On Saturday, December 6, 1941, routinely 90% of us went home on week-end passes, and luckily, not having caught any weekend details, I was one of the lucky 90 percenters.