Kenichi Uyeno with his military section mates

Abstract/Description: Image shows a group portrait of Kenichi Uyeno and other members of his military unit, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), in front of a wooden structure. Members included (and identified on back of image) from back to front and left to right: Kenichi Uyeno [California], Cpl Maynard Matsunaga (Hawaii), Cpl M. Takahara (Compton, CA), Sgt Joe Iwataki (Alameda, CA), Cpl Minoru Hara (Terminal Island, CA), Cpl Calvin Morimatsu (Seattle, WA), Cpl Takashi Hirabayashi (California), Cpl Fukai (Compton, CA), Cpl Fuchiwaki (California); middle row, Cpl Nobuo Kishiuye (Sacramento, CA), Cpl Genji Norimoto (California), Sgt Robert Y. Honda (Hawaii), Cpl Kenichi Roy Nakata (Hawaii), Cpl Joe Ikuta (Wyoming), Cpl Tom Matsumura (Hawaii), Cpl Hisashi Komori; and seated in front row, Cpl William Toriumi, Sgt Masami Yahira (Honolulu, HI), Cpl George Nakamura (Gila, War Relation Authority (Arizona), Cpl James Izumi (Hawaii), and Cpl Sam Taketa (Marysville, CA). The US Military Intelligence Service (MIS) established a school for Japanese interpretation and translation in 1941 in San Francisco. Many of the students were "Nisei", US born children of Japanese immigrants. The first graduating class was in May, 1942, shortly after the issuance of Executive Order 9066, which led to mass incarceration of over 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry. Approximately 6,000 Japanese Americans trained and served as linguists, translators and interpreters for the MIS.
Subject(s): Soldiers
1941-1950
Portraits, group
Uyeno, Kenji (1918-1980)
Date Created: nd