The 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans (Club 100), the veterans’ organization incorporated in December 1945 by the men who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion, has compiled and maintained records of the battalion and its soldiers for more than eight decades. The organization continues to honor and represent the men who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate), or its successor, the 100th Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, at any time between June 5, 1942, and August 15, 1946.
Fifty years after the formation of the 100th Infantry Battalion, available records listed 3,147 men as having served in the battalion. As additional historical research and records have been examined, Club 100 has refined its 100th Infantry Battalion roster to reflect the information currently available. Approximately 3,130 men are identified to date as having served in the 100th Infantry Battalion during World War II. Of these men, 340 died in service during the war. The Roll Call is based on historical research and available records and is not an official U.S. military personnel record.
While almost all of the enlisted men in the battalion were Americans of Japanese ancestry (AJA), the battalion was not composed exclusively of men of Japanese ancestry. About 24 men were of various ethnic backgrounds, including Native Hawaiian, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, and mixed ethnicities. Some had Japanese ancestry, while others did not. One enlisted man of Hawaiian ancestry accompanied his Japanese-Hawaiian cousin when he joined the battalion. They reflected the diverse demographics of Hawaiʻi, where European, Polynesian, and Asian peoples and cultures had intermingled for nearly a century.
According to Masayo Duus in “Unlikely Liberators: The Men of the 100th and 442nd” (1983), four mainland born Japanese joined the 100th at Camp McCoy. Later at Camp Shelby, a Korean American officer from Los Angeles arrived who would become one of the outstanding officers of the battalion.
The 100th was originally composed almost entirely of men from Hawaiʻi, and roughly two-thirds of the 442nd RCT’s original members were from Hawaiʻi. After the 100th entered combat in September 1943 and casualties increased, replacements were AJA volunteers from Hawaiʻi and the mainland. Most were transferred from the 442nd RCT, while some were transferred to the 100th from other Army units. According to an analysis of Echoes of Silence data, of the approximately 3,130 men who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion during the war, about 68% were from Hawaiʻi.
The veterans of the 100th never forgot the comrades they lost. Their sacrifice remained at the heart of the battalion’s legacy and of the continuing service of the 100th Infantry Battalion veterans’ organization, Club 100. The veterans dedicated their Club 100 clubhouse to the memory of their comrades who gave their lives in service, providing a lasting place to honor their sacrifice. For more than eight decades, Club 100 has preserved the names, stories, and memories of the men who served in the 100th, ensuring that the service and sacrifice of every man who served are never forgotten.