Ben Kuroki

Nisei male. Born May 16, 1917, in Hershey, Nebraska. Admitted to the Army Air Corps and flew thirty missions in Europe in a B-24 as a tailgunner and top turret gunner. Earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses and was acclaimed as the first Nisei war hero. Spoke at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, and two other camps in order to help encourage draft recruitment. Subpoenaed as a witness in the conspiracy trial of Heart Mountain's Fair Play Committee leaders. Later became the only Nisei to service in active combat with the Air Corps in the Pacific Theater, and flew twenty-eight additional missions over Japan. After World War II, became the first Japanese American editor of a general newspaper in Nebraska, and later edited newspapers in suburban Michigan and Southern California.

Interviews

An oral history with Ben Kuroki — ddr-csujad-29-63
10/17/1994. Ojai, California; Los Angeles, California.
4:34:16 — 1 segments.
Ben Kuroki - Shige Kuroki Interview — ddr-densho-122-21
January 31, 1998. Camarillio, California.
01:22:47 — 21 segments.
Ben Kuroki
API