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Kazuo E. Yamane
| Kazuo E. Yamane | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1916 Kalihi, Hawaii |
| Died | 28 April 2010 |
| Nativity | United States |
| Known for | MIS linguist; PACMIRS ordnance-inventory find |
| Awards | Legion of Merit |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 30101877 |
|
| Legion of Merit |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Kazuo E. Yamane (1916–28 April 2010) was a United States Army Military Intelligence Service linguist who later served at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, with the Pacific Military Intelligence Research Section.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Kazuo E. Yamane was born in Kalihi, Hawaiʻi, in 1916. He was among about sixty soldiers from the 100th Infantry Battalion recruited for the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Camp Savage, Minnesota—later remembered as the Senpai Gumi (the pioneers). Language instruction began in December 1942, with emphasis on Japanese military terminology and tactics; Yamane and other kibei excelled there and completed the course in June 1943.
After graduation Yamane and three other MIS nisei were assigned to Washington, D.C., becoming the first nisei soldiers posted inside the Pentagon, in the Pacific Order of Battle office. They spent about a year cross-referencing and indexing a roster of roughly 40,000 Japanese army officers. Yamane was then sent to Camp Ritchie, Maryland, to help establish the Pacific Military Intelligence Research Section (PACMIRS). There, while reviewing crates of papers captured on Saipan that the Navy had judged of little military value, he identified the Imperial Japanese Army Ordnance Inventory, a classified catalog of Japanese armaments and the locations of arms depots and manufacturing plants. The find supplied targeting information for the Allied air campaign and later helped occupation forces seize arms caches. Yamane and two other MIS nisei were afterward chosen for a planned British-commando raid into Berlin to recover documents from the Japanese embassy; the mission was cancelled after Soviet forces took the city. In 1997, he received the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious wartime service that influenced the war against Japan.
After returning home, Yamane led the family business in developing commercial properties in Hawaiʻi, including Kalihi Shopping Center and other island landmarks. He died on 28 April 2010 at the age of 93. His wartime story is the subject of the documentary Proof of Loyalty: Kazuo Yamane and the Nisei Soldiers of Hawaiʻi.
Research notes[edit | edit source]
- No MITC courses
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Technical record[edit | edit source]
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 94 |
| Nara ASN | 30101877 |
| Nara Name | YAMANE KAZUO |
| Nara State | 03 |
| Nara County | 000 |
| Nara POE | 0391 |
| Nara DOE | 141141 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PVT |
| Nara Race | 4 |
| Nara Race Description | Japanese citizen |
| Nara Height (inches) | 63 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 114 |
| row_source | demographics |
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
- Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
- NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
- 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
- Kazuo Yamane — MIS Veterans Hawaiʻi (includes Legion of Merit)