Today’s blog tells an interesting story of a Military Intelligence Service Plaque.
Military Intelligence Service Plaque Location
Walking along old town Herndon, the plaque is near 719 Pine Street.
This stone plaque is dedicated to the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the Military Intelligence Service, and to Muneo “Mike” Okusa.
I had to learn more about this military unit.
The 100th Infantry Battalion
I first learned that, the 100th Infantry Battalion, activated on June 23, 1942, was composed of 1,400 American-born Japanese soldiers.
Military Intelligence Service (MIS)
The Military Intelligence Service (MIS), with the Sphinx logo, was a US Military Unit during World War II.
The unit consisted of two branches; the Japanese-American unit and the German-Austria unit. The MIS trained over 6,000 linguists for a variety of jobs. They first recruited Japanese members from the Army and then from the Japanese interment camps.
The unit served in the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. They also served with British, Australian, New Zealand, Canadian, Chinese and Indian combat units.
During the war, their work included interrogating POW’s, acting as interpreters, translators, radio announcers, and propaganda writers. They would also translate captured enemy documents.
MIS members faced danger from both sides. From the US, dying from “friendly fire” was a possibility.
Because of that Military Intelligence Service personnel were often paired with another solider who could vouch for their loyalty.
The Japanese National, also, considered them traitors to Japan.
After America’s Victory
After the American victory over Japan, the unit provided interpretation for war crime trials. They also helped implement censorship of American and Allied activities, and stayed for the reorganization of Japan.
MIS Presidential Unit Citation
Over the years, the Military Intelligence Service’s work was a well-kept secret. That is, until, 1972, when Richard Nixon declassified military intelligence documents from the World War II era.
So in April of 2000, the Military Intelligence Service received the Presidential Unit Citation. This is the highest honor given to a US military unit.
Update on Muneo Michael Okusa
As for Muneo Michael Okusa, after his military service, he then became a US government employee. His home was in Great Falls. He passed away on January 8, 2016.
Muneo was recruited for his military service while he was in a Japanese interment camp.
Ending Notes on the Military Intelligence Service Blog
I hope you learned a little more about the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) unit during World War II.
A special thank you to all past and current and service members.
Resource Sites: The Washington Post, www.legacy.com, Go for Broke-National Education Center, Wikipedia, Military History at Fandom.com and Densho Encyclopedia.