Nisei and Pacific - Revision history

Admin: Add MISLS WAC yearbook photos and Camp Ritchie transfer counts

2026-09-17T03:38:41Z

Add MISLS WAC yearbook photos and Camp Ritchie transfer counts

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 == Sources ==
 * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisei_women_translators_in_World_War_II English Wikipedia, ''Nisei women translators in World War II''] (MISLS → PACMIRS at Camp Ritchie; Hurt and Kato biographies)
 * [[:File:MID_908_1945-07-24_Bissell_Weckerling_JA_soldiers_in_training.pdf|MID 908 file, 24 July 1945 (Bissell / Weckerling) and related Camp Ritchie / WRA papers]] — MITU organization, Section IX policy, WRA concerns (NARA RG 107; JAVA packet)

Admin: Distinguish 1945 Pacific MITUs from earlier European Elyachar MITUs

2026-09-17T03:32:36Z

Distinguish 1945 Pacific MITUs from earlier European Elyachar MITUs

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:32, 17 September 2026
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	== Mobile Intelligence Training Units (MITU), 1945 ==		== Mobile Intelligence Training Units (MITU), 1945 ==
	In mid-1945 the War Department also used Camp Ritchie to form '''Mobile Intelligence Training Units''' for Army Ground Forces '''redeployment''' training (troops being prepared for the Pacific). July 1945 G-2 memoranda (MID 908) state that '''29''' MITUs were being organized, trained, and equipped at the Military Intelligence Training Center. Each unit was described as two Caucasian officers, two Caucasian enlisted men, and about '''thirteen''' enlisted Americans of Japanese ancestry (an earlier draft of the same memo said fifteen).		In mid-1945 the War Department also used Camp Ritchie to form '''Mobile Intelligence Training Units''' for Army Ground Forces '''redeployment''' training (troops being prepared for the Pacific). (Distinct from earlier European-theater Mobile Intelligence Training Units that demonstrated captured '''German''' equipment under Colonel Elyachar—see [[Training materials#Featured: Early ETOUSA G-2 organization (Settle, 1944)\|Settle’s 1944 G-2 account]].) July 1945 G-2 memoranda (MID 908) state that '''29''' MITUs were being organized, trained, and equipped at the Military Intelligence Training Center. Each unit was described as two Caucasian officers, two Caucasian enlisted men, and about '''thirteen''' enlisted Americans of Japanese ancestry (an earlier draft of the same memo said fifteen).

	MITU demonstrations presented Japanese squad tactics (Nisei in Japanese uniforms with Japanese weapons) and an orientation play (''A Scrap of Paper'') in which Nisei played Japanese roles and an American Nisei interrogator—explicitly framed as showing that Nisei in the U.S. Army were Americans like soldiers of any other ancestry. As of late July 1945, '''six''' units were already in the field and '''ten''' more were expected to finish training by '''15 August 1945'''. Some former members of the '''442nd Combat Team''' were among those training with the teams. Camp Ritchie Section IX policy (Maj. Robert B. Noack, 23 July 1945) stressed that Nisei were not kept on a team against their wishes; of the then-current ten teams, two Nisei enlisted men had been released for refusing to wear a Japanese uniform.		MITU demonstrations presented Japanese squad tactics (Nisei in Japanese uniforms with Japanese weapons) and an orientation play (''A Scrap of Paper'') in which Nisei played Japanese roles and an American Nisei interrogator—explicitly framed as showing that Nisei in the U.S. Army were Americans like soldiers of any other ancestry. As of late July 1945, '''six''' units were already in the field and '''ten''' more were expected to finish training by '''15 August 1945'''. Some former members of the '''442nd Combat Team''' were among those training with the teams. Camp Ritchie Section IX policy (Maj. Robert B. Noack, 23 July 1945) stressed that Nisei were not kept on a team against their wishes; of the then-current ten teams, two Nisei enlisted men had been released for refusing to wear a Japanese uniform.

Admin: Incorporate Wikipedia Nisei women translators; merge Sugi into Hurt card

2026-09-17T03:26:11Z

Incorporate Wikipedia Nisei women translators; merge Sugi into Hurt card

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:26, 17 September 2026
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	{{DISPLAYTITLE:Nisei and Pacific}}		{{DISPLAYTITLE:Nisei and Pacific}}
	'''Nisei and Pacific''' gathers Japanese American (Nisei) soldiers and WACs tied on this wiki to Pacific document work, PACMIRS, or related Military Intelligence Service language training at [[Camp Ritchie]] — a story often missing from the popular “European interrogator” picture of the Ritchie Boys.		'''Nisei and Pacific''' gathers Japanese American (Nisei) soldiers and WACs tied on this wiki to Pacific document work, PACMIRS, or related Military Intelligence Service language training at [[Camp Ritchie]] — a story often missing from the popular “European interrogator” picture of the Ritchie Boys. English Wikipedia’s overview of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisei_women_translators_in_World_War_II Nisei women translators in World War II] notes that the top twenty-one Japanese American women translator graduates from the Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS) were assigned to translate captured documents in the Pacific Military Intelligence Research Section (PACMIRS) at Camp Ritchie.

	This is '''not''' a complete roster. Names appear when soldier pages on this wiki document the connection; more will be added as sources grow.		This is '''not''' a complete roster. Names appear when soldier pages on this wiki document the connection; more will be added as sources grow.
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	<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Hurt, Haruko (WAC)\|Haruko Hurt]]</div>		<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Hurt, Haruko (WAC)\|Haruko Hurt]]</div>
	<ul>		<ul>
	<li>Nisei ~~WAC linguist / PACMIRS-linked roster entry~~</li>		<li>née Sugi; MISLS → PACMIRS translator at Camp Ritchie (1945–1946)</li>
			<li>Featured in ''Nisei women translators in World War II'' (Wikipedia)</li>
	</ul>		</ul>
	</div></div>		</div></div>
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	<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>		<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
	<div class="notable-slide-body">		<div class="notable-slide-body">
	<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Kato, Sue (WAC)\|Sue Kato]]</div>		<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Kato, Sue (WAC)\|Sue Suzuko “Susie” Kato]]</div>
	<ul>		<ul>
	<li>Nisei WAC ~~linguist roster entry~~</li>		<li>née Ogata; among the first Nisei WAC volunteers (Dec 1943); MISLS → Camp Ritchie / PACMIRS</li>
			<li>Featured in ''Nisei women translators in World War II'' (Wikipedia)</li>
	</ul>		</ul>
	</div></div>		</div></div>
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	<div class="notable-slide-body">		<div class="notable-slide-body">
	<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Oda, Trooda (WAC)\|Trooda Oda]]</div>		<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Oda, Trooda (WAC)\|Trooda Oda]]</div>
	~~<ul>~~
	~~<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>~~
	~~</ul>~~
	~~</div></div>~~
	~~<div class="notable-slide-card">~~
	~~<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>~~
	~~<div class="notable-slide-body">~~
	~~<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Sugi, Haruko (WAC)\|Haruko Sugi]]</div>~~
	<ul>		<ul>
	<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>		<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
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	== Sources ==		== Sources ==
			* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisei_women_translators_in_World_War_II English Wikipedia, ''Nisei women translators in World War II''] (MISLS → PACMIRS at Camp Ritchie; Hurt and Kato biographies)
	* [[:File:MID_908_1945-07-24_Bissell_Weckerling_JA_soldiers_in_training.pdf\|MID 908 file, 24 July 1945 (Bissell / Weckerling) and related Camp Ritchie / WRA papers]] — MITU organization, Section IX policy, WRA concerns (NARA RG 107; JAVA packet)		* [[:File:MID_908_1945-07-24_Bissell_Weckerling_JA_soldiers_in_training.pdf\|MID 908 file, 24 July 1945 (Bissell / Weckerling) and related Camp Ritchie / WRA papers]] — MITU organization, Section IX policy, WRA concerns (NARA RG 107; JAVA packet)
	* [[:File:MID_908_1945-07-21_Bissell_JA_soldiers_in_training.pdf\|MID 908 memorandum, 21 July 1945 (Bissell)]] — earlier draft wording on MITU / Nisei demonstration teams (NARA RG 165; JAVA packet)		* [[:File:MID_908_1945-07-21_Bissell_JA_soldiers_in_training.pdf\|MID 908 memorandum, 21 July 1945 (Bissell)]] — earlier draft wording on MITU / Nisei demonstration teams (NARA RG 165; JAVA packet)

Admin: Add MITU 1945 facts from JAVA/NARA MID 908 memos

2026-09-17T03:13:57Z

Add MITU 1945 facts from JAVA/NARA MID 908 memos

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:13, 17 September 2026
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	</div></div>		</div></div>
	</div>		</div>

			== Mobile Intelligence Training Units (MITU), 1945 ==
			In mid-1945 the War Department also used Camp Ritchie to form '''Mobile Intelligence Training Units''' for Army Ground Forces '''redeployment''' training (troops being prepared for the Pacific). July 1945 G-2 memoranda (MID 908) state that '''29''' MITUs were being organized, trained, and equipped at the Military Intelligence Training Center. Each unit was described as two Caucasian officers, two Caucasian enlisted men, and about '''thirteen''' enlisted Americans of Japanese ancestry (an earlier draft of the same memo said fifteen).

			MITU demonstrations presented Japanese squad tactics (Nisei in Japanese uniforms with Japanese weapons) and an orientation play (''A Scrap of Paper'') in which Nisei played Japanese roles and an American Nisei interrogator—explicitly framed as showing that Nisei in the U.S. Army were Americans like soldiers of any other ancestry. As of late July 1945, '''six''' units were already in the field and '''ten''' more were expected to finish training by '''15 August 1945'''. Some former members of the '''442nd Combat Team''' were among those training with the teams. Camp Ritchie Section IX policy (Maj. Robert B. Noack, 23 July 1945) stressed that Nisei were not kept on a team against their wishes; of the then-current ten teams, two Nisei enlisted men had been released for refusing to wear a Japanese uniform.

			War Relocation Authority director D. S. Myer had forwarded concerns from 442nd circles that using Nisei as “enemy” stand-ins could increase racial antagonism; G-2 replied that the MITU “Japanese squad” was a '''demonstration team''', not the opposing force in maneuvers. Japan’s surrender ended the need to deploy the full MITU program. Site course counts list '''18''' MITU courses (1 September 1944 – 15 August 1945) with '''306''' graduates—see [[By The Numbers/Student Numbers - All Classes]]—a different tally from the “29 units being organized” language in the July memos.


			== Sources ==
			* [[:File:MID_908_1945-07-24_Bissell_Weckerling_JA_soldiers_in_training.pdf\|MID 908 file, 24 July 1945 (Bissell / Weckerling) and related Camp Ritchie / WRA papers]] — MITU organization, Section IX policy, WRA concerns (NARA RG 107; JAVA packet)
			* [[:File:MID_908_1945-07-21_Bissell_JA_soldiers_in_training.pdf\|MID 908 memorandum, 21 July 1945 (Bissell)]] — earlier draft wording on MITU / Nisei demonstration teams (NARA RG 165; JAVA packet)
			* [[By The Numbers/Student Numbers - All Classes]] — MITU course/graduate counts from the Camp Ritchie student-numbers spreadsheet

	== See also ==		== See also ==
	* [[Themes]]		* [[Themes]]
	* [[Camp Ritchie]]		* [[Camp Ritchie]]
			* [[By The Numbers/Student Numbers - All Classes]]
	* [[Introduction]]		* [[Introduction]]
	* [[The Stories]]		* [[The Stories]]

Admin: Add Nisei and Pacific theme gallery

2026-09-13T17:47:44Z

Add Nisei and Pacific theme gallery

New page

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Nisei and Pacific}}
'''Nisei and Pacific''' gathers Japanese American (Nisei) soldiers and WACs tied on this wiki to Pacific document work, PACMIRS, or related Military Intelligence Service language training at [[Camp Ritchie]] — a story often missing from the popular “European interrogator” picture of the Ritchie Boys.

This is '''not''' a complete roster. Names appear when soldier pages on this wiki document the connection; more will be added as sources grow.

<div class="notable-slides">
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Yamane, Kazuo E. (30101877)|Kazuo E. Yamane]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei document work / PACMIRS; identified Japanese armory notes from Saipan</li>
<li>Featured on [[Camp Ritchie]]</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Abe, Davis (36918429)|Davis Abe]]</div>
<div class="notable-slide-meta">[[Class 2|Class 2]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei / Pacific intelligence connection on profile</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Moriyama, Charles H. (30107766)|Charles H. Moriyama]]</div>
<div class="notable-slide-meta">[[Class 29|Class 29]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei soldier; Pacific / MIS connection on profile</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Wakai, Theodore Y. (30107713)|Theodore Y. Wakai]]</div>
<div class="notable-slide-meta">[[Class 29|Class 29]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei soldier; Pacific / MIS connection on profile</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Hurt, Haruko (WAC)|Haruko Hurt]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist / PACMIRS-linked roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Iseri, Katherine (WAC)|Katherine Iseri]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Kahapea, Florence Kanashiro (WAC)|Florence Kanashiro Kahapea]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Kato, Sue (WAC)|Sue Kato]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Kono, Alice Tetsuko (WAC)|Alice Tetsuko Kono]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Mikami, Akiko (WAC)|Akiko Mikami]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Nishimura, Betty (WAC)|Betty Nishimura]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Oda, Trooda (WAC)|Trooda Oda]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Sugi, Haruko (WAC)|Haruko Sugi]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Tsuchiyama, Tamie (WAC)|Tamie Tsuchiyama]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
<div class="notable-slide-card">
<div class="notable-slide-nophoto">No portrait yet</div>
<div class="notable-slide-body">
<div class="notable-slide-name">[[Yamashita, Hisako (WAC)|Hisako Yamashita]]</div>
<ul>
<li>Nisei WAC linguist roster entry</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
</div>

== See also ==
* [[Themes]]
* [[Camp Ritchie]]
* [[Introduction]]
* [[The Stories]]
* [[Ritchie WACs]]
* [[Photos]]

[[Category:Ritchie Boys Wiki]]