Bond Between WWII, Iraq Veterans Grows
By ELLEN ENDO
RAFU CONTRIBUTOR
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008

Army Reserve unit serving in Iraq continue legacy of World War II Nisei.

Donations from veterans, their families, and Mikawaya USA yielded Japanese-style goodies for 100th/442nd soldiers on active duty in Iraq. Among those helping to prepare the “care packages” are Robi Shibao-Martin, left, Chiz Ohira, Chris Ichikawa, and Kim Taira.

At first glance, it would seem that a group of Nisei and Sansei women in the South Bay and soldiers newly returned from Iraq and the Philippines have little in common.

Recently, World War II veterans, their wives, widows, and staff members of the Go For Broke National Educa­tion Center in Torrance packed boxes with instant ramen, manju, and senbei for Iraq veterans. The young soldiers, mostly of Asian/Pacific descent, carry the name and legacy of WWII’s leg­endary 100th Battalion/442nd Infantry. They requested the Asian “comfort foods” because such items are often impossible to find when you’re serving overseas.

“It’s something we can do for them,” said Chris Ichikawa, wife of a veteran and Go For Broke board member. Japa­nese American veterans recall having cravings for soy sauce in Europe. However, the connection became much deeper during the 100th/442nd’s first tour of duty in Iraq.

On July 17, 2005, Staff Sgt. Frank Tia’i of the unit that today bears the name of the 100th/442nd was killed by enemy fire while heading back from a patrol. It was the first time since being deployed to Iraq in January 2005 that the 675-member 100th/442nd had lost one of its own. Like the Nisei who saw so many of their friends die during World War II, the sorrow of losing Tia’i was devastating.

The death prompted Commanding Master Sgt. Harold P. Estabrooks to write an open letter to the Nisei veter­ans. “No amount of training could have prepared us. In the quiet, we think about it. It has made our respect and gratitude for you grow. We think how the loss of one soldier has changed us. We cannot imagine what changes it brought to you,” he said.

After the benediction, everyone stood and sang “Go for Broke.” The words of the song written by Nisei soldiers more than six decades earlier meant more now.

“Their voices thundered, in our hearts we hoped that we were heard by Frank,” MSgt. Estabrooks continued.

“It was overpowering. In front of me… a senior officer broke into tears and looked to the heavens. He had no knowledge of the 100th, and (although) he did not know Frank…he had felt the spirit of the Battalion.”

Based at Fort Shafter, Honolulu, the 100th/442nd Infantry includes soldiers from Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and Saipan. It is the only remaining ground combat unit in the U.S. Army Reserve and combines the identities of both the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of World War II.

In recognition of the legacy estab­lished by their namesakes two genera­tions earlier, the 100th/442nd requested permission to wear the Go For Broke torch insignia instead of the 29th Bri­gade Combat Team patch. It would be the first time the Go For Broke torch had been worn in combat since World War II.

The 100th/442nd is expected to be re-deployed soon to an undisclosed destination.

According to Captain Kyle Yonemu­ra, 29th Brigade public relations officer, when the 100th/442nd headed home after one year of combat duty in Iraq, the 100th Battalion flag, carried in Italy and France during World War II, was furled in a Transfer of Authority ceremony and cased for shipment to Hawaii.

Retired Colonel Walter Ozawa, for­mer 100th/442nd Commanding Officer and currently Deputy Administrative Director of the Courts for the Hawaii Judiciary, remembers that on Dec. 30, 2005 over 200 people had been waiting patiently for two hours.

Then at midnight, they saw “long rows of soldiers dressed in their desert camouflage uniforms with the subdued 100th Battalion shoulder patches on their right sleeves. Once the formalities were done, rather than dismissing…to go to their families and friends, the (men) regrouped into a tighter forma­tion. Led by one of their own, they began to sing the Go For Broke’ song.” The Washington, D.C.-based Japa­nese American Veterans Association estimates that there are 310,889 Ameri­can veterans of Asian/Pacific Island ancestry.