This page is dedicated to 15 very extraordinary men who are in every sense, American Heroes. These men, 14 of which are Japanese Americans, known as "Nisei" (First generation born in the U.S.). Of these 14 men, 7 came from Hawaii, where the Japanese Americans where not subject to Internment Camps, the remaining 7 came from the continental U.S., 3 of which where already in the Army when the war broke out. While with the Marauders the leader of this group of M.I.S. men was 1st Lt. William A. Laffin, whose mother was Japanese. 1st Lt. Laffin was stuck in Japan when the war broke out and was repatriated when the U.S. and Japan exchanged nationals. These 15 men volunteered to serve their country in the Military Intelligence Service even though some where forced from their homes and livelihoods, and moved to remote internment camps. Yet once in the service of the Military Intelligence Service, all 15 volunteered a second time for a "Dangerous And Hazardous Mission", and became members of the 5307th Composite Unit Provisional, better known as "Merrill's Marauders". These heroes, along with the Marauders, were in constant combat deep behind enemy lines in the Jungles and mountains of Burma. One can only imagine what would have happened to them if captured by the Japanese. Doubling as interpreters while with the Marauders they were involved in many acts of heroism. In the face of danger they acted with total disregard for their own safety, using their knowledge of the enemy and the Japanese language, they saved countless lives of their brother Marauders.
GENERAL MERRILL'S EVALUATION OF THE NISEI GROUP: "As for the Nisei group, I couldn't have gotten along without them. Probably few realized that these boys did everything that an infantryman normally does plus the extra work of translating, interrogating, etc. Also they were in a most unenviable position as to identity as almost every one from the Japanese to the Chinese shot first and identified later." From "THE MARAUDERS" A Book By Charlton Ogburn: ". . . their persistent volunteering to go forward to intercept the commands of the enemy when the lead units were engaged by trailblocks. What was unspeakably hard for the others can only have been harder still for them. Some had close relatives living in Japan, all had acquaintances, if not relatives held in the concentration camps in the United States on the grounds that persons of Japanese descent and feature must be presumed disloyal. . . . What were their thoughts in the solitude of soul that jungle warfare enforces? I have no way of knowing. But in the case of Sergeant Roy Matsumoto, whose mother was living in Japan, we may perhaps justifiably surmise that he took some comfort from the reflection that she was not in one of the major cities but in a smaller one less likely to attract attack by American bombers - - Hiroshima."
THE MERRILL'S MARAUDERS ARE PROUD TO SALUTE THEIR FELLOW MARAUDERS AND AMERICAN HEROES

Click on the individual photo to read information on each man.
William A. Laffin K.I.A. May 18,1944
Howard H. Furumoto			Henry Gosho
Grant J. Hirabayashi	Robert Y. Honda	Calvin T. Kobata	Russell K. Kono
Roy H. Matsumoto	Edward Mitsukado	Herbert Y. Miyasaki	Roy K. Nakada
Ben S. Sugata	Thomas K. Tsubota	Jimmie Yamaguchi	Akiji Yoshimura
"For the most part, we came together as strangers. We shared, however, a common commitment to what we perceived to be a right and duty. Perhaps most important, each of us in our own way looked beyond the "barbed wires" (of the War Relocation Camps) to a better America." Akiji Yoshimura - A Marauder Samurai.

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L = T/Sgt. Herbert Miyasaki C = Gen. Frank D. Merrill R = T/Sgt. Akiji Yoshimura	L = Lt. Logan Weston R = Sgt. Henry Gosho	L = T/Sgt. Herbert Miyasaki C = Sgt. Howard Furumoto R = T/Sgt. Akiji Yoshimura
Circle = T/Sgt. Herbert Miyasaki	L = Gen. Frank D. Merrill R = S/Sgt. Roy Matsumoto	Circle = T/Sgt. Herbert Miyasaki
Marauder Nisei relax in India L = Herbert Miyazaki C = Rusell Kono R = Edward Mitsukado	T/4. Grant Hirabayashi interrogates "comfort girl" after the battle for the town of Myityina	L =T/Sgt. Akiji Yoshimura R =S/Sgt. Roy Matsumoto

A special thank you to a couple of real gentlemen, for their help and guidance in making this page possible. Grant Hirabayashi - A Nisei and a Marauder Samurai Howard Yamaguchi - The Proud Son of a Marauder Samurai

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