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-2-704)
img Man sitting at desk (ddr-ajah-2-704)
Caption below photo: Sgt Bernard J. Strain San Francisco
Street and building (ddr-ajah-2-596)
img Street and building (ddr-ajah-2-596)
Caption below photo: Rich Building / G.H.Q. Barracks
Portrait of Cecil Lulham (ddr-ajah-2-737)
img Portrait of Cecil Lulham (ddr-ajah-2-737)
Caption on right of photo: Sgt. Cecil Lulham A.I.F. / Brisbane Queensland Australia
Men studying at tables (ddr-ajah-2-804)
img Men studying at tables (ddr-ajah-2-804)
Caption: Nisei soldiers of the "famous" C-3 class study while at Camp Savage, Minnesota. They were members of the Military Intelligence Service Language School during WWII. Photo October 1942 to June 1943. Supplemental scan of ddr-ajah-2-428 with additional notes.
Men walking down stairs from plane (ddr-ajah-2-713)
img Men walking down stairs from plane (ddr-ajah-2-713)
Caption below photo: General Torashiro Kawabe, Imperial Japanese Army envoy
Man working at a drafting table (ddr-ajah-2-795)
img Man working at a drafting table (ddr-ajah-2-795)
Caption: Private Don Hikido, Camp Savage, Minnesota Military Intelligence School (MIS), October 1942-June 1943. Supplemental scan of ddr-ajah-2-483 with additional notes
Group standing around tank (ddr-ajah-2-767)
img Group standing around tank (ddr-ajah-2-767)
Caption: The public climbs aboard an old tank on Visitors Day at Fort Ord, near Monterey, CA., 1941. Supplemental scan of ddr-ajah-2-176 with additional notes
Street and buildings (ddr-ajah-2-696)
img Street and buildings (ddr-ajah-2-696)
Caption below photo: Taft Avenue and the City Hall
API