Military Intelligence Service

The first Japanese Americans to serve in the military during World War II were linguists involved in the Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS). The MISLS was charged with training soldiers in the Japanese language for intelligence purposes. Japanese Americans served as both instructors and students at the school, which opened on November 1, 1941. The Language School began recruiting instructors and later students directly from concentration camps as early as July 1942. MISLS graduates were assigned in small teams to units fighting in the Pacific and to intelligence centers throughout the Allied command. They translated captured documents, interrogated prisoners of war, wrote propaganda, encouraged Japanese soldiers and civilians to surrender, and monitored radio broadcasts. After the war, they acted as interpreters at the war crime trials and for the occupation government in Japan.

World War II (231)
Military service (2806)
Military Intelligence Service (1145)

Related articles from the Densho Encyclopedia :
John Aiso, Fort Snelling, Masaji Marumoto, Jack Matsuoka, Military Intelligence Service, Military Intelligence Service Language School, Walter Tsukamoto, Karl Yoneda

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1145 items
Man sitting at desk (ddr-ajah-2-688)
img Man sitting at desk (ddr-ajah-2-688)
Caption below photo: Sgt. William M. Cox Newton, New Jersey
Church (ddr-ajah-2-679)
img Church (ddr-ajah-2-679)
Caption below photo: San Agostin Church inside the walled city
Men with machine gun (ddr-ajah-2-772)
img Men with machine gun (ddr-ajah-2-772)
Caption: Machine gun training with the 7th Division, 53rd Infantry Regiment, Company A, Fort Ord, near Monterey, CA 1941. Supplemental scan of ddr-ajah-2-96 with additional notes
Group outside camp building (ddr-ajah-2-491)
img Group outside camp building (ddr-ajah-2-491)
Caption below photo: Tad / Tommy / Sus / Alex / Yuk / Masami
Three men on ship.  Joe Iwataki in center (ddr-ajah-2-646)
img Three men on ship. Joe Iwataki in center (ddr-ajah-2-646)
Caption below photo: Don Parsons / Remo / Taken aboard "Panama Express" en route to P.I.
Men with machine guns (ddr-ajah-2-773)
img Men with machine guns (ddr-ajah-2-773)
Caption: Machine gun training with the 7th Division, 53rd Infantry Regiment, Company A, Fort Ord, near Monterey, CA 1941. Supplemental scan of ddr-ajah-2-99 with additional notes
Man studying at desk (ddr-ajah-2-790)
img Man studying at desk (ddr-ajah-2-790)
Caption: Ben Moriwaki studies at Camp Savage, Minnesota, as a member of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), October 1942-June 1943. Supplemental scan of ddr-ajah-2-508 with additional notes
Three men standing outside building (ddr-ajah-2-754)
img Three men standing outside building (ddr-ajah-2-754)
Caption: Joe Iwataki (left) xx Kusuda and Tsutomu "Tsunch" Inouye, all from Alameda, take their basic training at Fort Ord, near Monterey, CA. 1941. Supplemental scan of ddr-ajah-2-142 with additional notes
Man standing outside building (ddr-ajah-2-422)
img Man standing outside building (ddr-ajah-2-422)
Caption below photo: Colonel Kai Rasmussen / Commandant, MISLS
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