Honoring Nisei Veterans

Japanese-American service members fought World War II enemies abroad — and were seen as enemies back home

By Tyler Francke, Veterans News Magazine

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked the United States’ military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, marking the beginning of World War II for the U.S.

While it was a “day that will live in infamy” for all Americans, Japanese-Americans and those of Japanese descent (known as “Nisei”) in particular faced prejudice at home. Three days after the attack, members of the 298th and 299th Hawaii National Guard had their rifles stripped from them because of their ethnicity.

And yet, just a few months later, as the critical Battle of Midway was underway, 1,432 Nisei members of the Hawaii National Guard boarded the U.S. Army transport USAT Maui under the cover of night without saying goodbye to their families or loved ones. Under the title “Hawaiian Provisional Infantry Battalion,” the week-long journey took them to a port in Oakland, Calif., where they were designated the 100th Infantry Battalion.

It would eventually gain the unofficial nickname of the “Purple Heart Battalion” and — along with another Japanese-American combat unit, the 442nd Infantry Regiment — would go on to fight in Europe earning themselves the title of the most decorated American units of World War II.

Initially, the 100th was an “orphaned battalion,” meaning it was not assigned to any larger unit. The unit was known to its members as “One Puka Puka.” The word “puka” is Hawaiian for the term “hole,” referring to the zeros in the number.

In May 1943, the 100th participated in training maneuvers in Louisiana. That August, the 100th deployed across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, where they took part in the Italian campaign. The men selected the motto “Remember Pearl Harbor” to reflect their anger at the attack on their country.

In September 1943, the 100th engaged in combat in southern Italy near Salerno. The fighting in Italy was tough, and the men of the 100th were a driving force during the campaign. In January 1944, they fought at Cassino and later accompanied the 34th Infantry Division to Anzio. In May and June of that year, the battalion took part in the breakout from Anzio and successfully pushed the Germans north of Rome.

Following the Italian campaign, on Aug. 10, 1944, the 100th was officially integrated into the 442nd Infantry Regiment and participated in the invasion of Southern France. In total, the men of the 100th spent 20 months in Europe and fought in six campaigns across Italy and France.

The battalion was awarded six Distinguished Service Crosses during the first eight weeks of combat and earned three Presidential Unit Citations. Along with the 442nd, the 100th Infantry Battalion is recognized as the most decorated American unit for its size and length of service.

Some Nisei service members were women, like Susan Ahn Cuddy, the first female gunnery officer in Navy history.

The daughter of the first married Korean couple to immigrate to the United States, Cuddy grew up hearing about her father An Chang-ho’s fight to free Korea from Japanese imperialism.

When World War II began, Cuddy was determined to help the United States in any way she could, becoming the first Asian American woman to enlist in the U.S. Navy in 1942 as a member of WAVES (Women Accepted for Emergency Volunteer Service) — despite first being rejected because of her race.

Despite facing prejudice in their home country of America, the 100th Infantry Battalion would gain the unofficial nickname of the "Purple Heart Battalion" and earn the title of the most decorated fighting unit of the Second World War.

Cuddy also worked as a combat air tactics instructor, training naval personnel before they deployed, and as a Navy codebreaker.

As a young, Asian-American woman training men, she often faced discrimination because of both her sex and her race. But she quickly gained recognition for her skill as an instructor.

“It was funny because she was tiny,” her son Philip Ahn Cuddy later said in an interview. “She would have to really contort herself to pull back on the firing mechanisms to load the machine gun.”

Susan Ahn Cuddy, who also served during World War II as the first female gunnery officer in U.S. Navy history.

On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan officially surrendered, ending World War II and breaking Korea free from Japan’s rule and occupation. Cuddy’s father’s dreams of Korean independence were finally realized. He eventually became a national hero in South Korea for his activism on behalf of Korean independence.

Cuddy left the Navy in 1946. In her waning days with Navy intelligence, she met Chief Petty Officer Francis Cuddy, an Irish American code-breaker who also worked on matters pertaining to Korea’s independence. The two fell in love and married in April 1947.

As a civilian, Cuddy worked as an intelligence analyst and section chief at the National Security Agency and ran a think tank during the Cold War.

She worked on top secret projects for the Defense Department and supervised more than 300 scholars and experts in Russian affairs.