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 (277)
Military service (4131)
Military Intelligence Service (1387)

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1387 items

img Man sitting on beach (ddr-ajah-2-665)

Caption below photo: Bernard Strain

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-665/

img Man in uniform standing by car (ddr-ajah-2-758)

Caption: Tsutomu "Tsunch" Inouye, of Alameda, while at Fort Ord, near Monterey, CA., for basic training. June 1941. Supplemental scan of ddr-ajah-2-75 with additional notes

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-758/

img Portrait of women in photo folder (ddr-ajah-2-817)

Inscription on folder: To Mrs. Tsuchiya and Mary / Always Taniyo Alice / 12/15/1943. Caption: Alice Taniyo Iwataki, of Alameda, CA., was born in 1913 and died in 2016. She married Masaru "Roy" Iwata. She is Joe Iwataki's sister. Photo: December 15, 1943 in st. Paul Minnesota.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-817/

img Five tiered shrine (ddr-ajah-2-729)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-729/

img Man sitting at desk (ddr-ajah-2-703)

Caption below photo: Hubert D. Minnis, WOJG Missouri

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-703/

img Damaged building (ddr-ajah-2-682)

Caption below photo: Normal school building

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-682/

img Two men outside camp building (ddr-ajah-2-538)

Caption below photo: Kan Takgami / John Kawachi / Senseis

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-538/

img Man sitting at table reading (ddr-ajah-2-502)

Caption below photo: George I. Hatakeda

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-502/

img Two men in suits (ddr-ajah-2-496)

Caption below photo: Joseph C. Grew / Col. Rasmussen

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-496/

img Band and majorettes in yard outside camp buildings (ddr-ajah-2-519)

Caption below photo: Band Concert

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-519/

img Line of men standing outside camp buildings (ddr-ajah-2-449)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-449/

doc Program for MIS graduation ceremony (ddr-ajah-2-830)

Supplemental scan of ddr-ajah-2-20

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-830/

img Ruins of building with trees in foreground (ddr-ajah-2-677)

Caption below photo: Administrative Bldg in ruins

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-677/

img Men in barracks (ddr-ajah-2-430)

Caption below photo: Barrack #10 - Senseis' Stronghold

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-430/

img Two men in uniform outside camp building (ddr-ajah-2-518)

Caption below photo: Yuk / Taro

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-518/

img Man standing in snow outside building with icicles. Inscribed on front: to Joe / Your bunk mate, Yuki (ddr-ajah-2-456)

Caption below photo: Yuk

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-456/

img Two men in suits (ddr-ajah-2-501)

Caption below photo: Grew / Rasmussen

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-501/

img Joe Iwataki (ddr-ajah-2-574)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-574/

img Man in overcoat in uniform standing in snow (ddr-ajah-2-440)

Caption below photo: Tak Hirabayashi

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-440/

img View of bridge (ddr-ajah-2-598)

Caption below photo: Grey Street Bridge

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-598/

img Group of men lined up outside building (ddr-ajah-2-503)

Caption below photo: Morning break period

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-ajah-2-503/

av Voices Behind Barbed Wire (O'ahu Version) (ddr-densho-1024-43)

Short film that tells the story of Japanese Americans on O'ahu who were interned during World War II using a combination of contemporary interviews, historical photographs and footage, and historical reenactments. It is one of a series of four films produced by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i about the internment experience in each of the …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1024-43/

doc Commendation to Heart Mountain resisters and Fair Play Committee (ddr-densho-122-568)

from Military Intelligence Services Association

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-122-568/

av We the People (ddr-densho-1024-121)

In cooperation with the California Museum, the seven part series (which here appears as one video) was designed as an educational tool for the purpose of teaching what had happened to Japanese Americans during WWII. The series includes interviews with those who had been in the camps as children, along with historical research, photos and summary. …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1024-121/

img Group portrait of MIS Class (ddr-densho-563-3)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-563-3/