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. Initially, the 100th was an orphaned battalion, meaning the battalion was not assigned to any larger unit. The 100th was a racially segregated unit, comprised of more than 1,400 second generation Japanese Americans, known as Nisei. On June 12, 1942, the 100th Infantry Battalion was activated. Two Japanese American combat units, the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Infantry Regiment, went on to fight in Europe earning themselves the titles of the most decorated American units of World War II. Though they faced discrimination at home, many Japanese American men were given the opportunity to enlist in the military. Over 100,000 Japanese Americans living on the west coast were labeled as “enemy aliens” and placed in internment camps due to fear and suspicion of collaboration with the Japanese government. Top Image: Discharged men of the 100th Infantry Battalion taking part in a Veterans Day Parade at Kapiolani Park. Courtesy of the UHM Library Digital Image Collection.įollowing the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor, American suspicion of its Japanese citizens was at an all-time high.
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