BACKGROUND ON MIS
Unlike the better known stories and exploits of the 100th
Infantry Battalion and 442nd
Regimental Combat Team, most are unaware of a special group
of Japanese American soldiers who served in World War II. This
is the unique story of the Military
Intelligence Service (MIS).
The MIS servicemen included Nisei
(second generation Japanese American) and Kibei
(Nisei raised in Japan for any length of time) who were
specifically recruited for their linguistic ability. Japan had
a firm belief that because of the complexity of its language no
foreigner would be able to comprehend it, therefore its battle
plans were perfectly safe without special code. It did not consider
the fact that some Japanese Americans learned the language or
were educated in Japan. The U.S. military brought together these
young Nisei and others knowledgeable in the Japanese
language to perform Japanese combat intelligence and psychological
warfare. Trained intensively at the Military
Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS), the MIS held
the important task of translating captured enemy documents, interrogating
POWs, and participating in war crime trials. Serving confidentially,
the MIS soldiers worked individually or in small units assigned
to every combat division and every campaign in the Pacific after
the battle of Midway. The MIS acted as what President Harry Truman
referred to as the “human secret weapon” and “eyes
and ears” in the fight against Japan.
The MIS soldiers were shipped out to various locations in the
Pacific and Southeast Asia, ranging from Alaska
and the Philippines, to Australia and Japan. The work of the MIS
was invaluable in several battles, such as the battle of the Philippine
Sea, Okinawa,
Bougainville,
not to mention the capture and translation of the “Z”
Plan document that contained Japan’s entire strategy and
tactical plan to defend the Marianas Islands and the Philippines.
The MIS also served in the China-Burma-India
Theater, participating in important combat missions. Furthermore,
the linguists continued their role in the occupation
of Japan after the war. They became the essential link between
MacArthur’s general headquarters and the Japanese people.
Despite the fact that the MIS Nisei were first mistrusted,
they were later recognized as invaluable men to every group in
the Pacific. In all, 6,000 men graduated from MISLS and served
in the MIS. According to Major General Charles Willoughby, “the
Nisei saved countless lives and shortened the war by
two years.”
In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed Executive Order 11652
declassifying all military intelligence documents during World
War II. The role of the MIS was finally recognized as its stories
and experiences opened to the general public. In June 2000, the
MIS received a well-deserved Presidential
Unit Citation.
