Japanese American National Guard in WWII

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otis11
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Japanese American National Guard in WWII

#1

Post by otis11 » 03 Jun 2008, 17:00

I recently read about a US Army West Coast Harbor Defense unit on December 8,1941 that contacted thier Headquarters about the Japanese Paratroopers they saw dressed as Americans outside. The Commander told the Coast Artillery guys that they were California National Guard protecting them from attack. Does anyone know what unit this was? The Army was segregated by race at this time. Did this unit have Japanese American officers? What happened to it after the second-generation Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent to camps? Were there any Japanese American units in the Hawaiian Territorial Guard? Did these Japanese American troops have anything to do with the 100th Infantry Battalion, or 442nd Infantry Regiment? Were there any Chinese American units in the Natonal Guard?

Thanks in advance for any info Otis!!!

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Cantankerous
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Re: Japanese American National Guard in WWII

#2

Post by Cantankerous » 29 May 2023, 03:07

Japanese Americans enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Captain Francis B. Wai, who was born in Hawaii, became the most distinguished Chinese American member of the Hawaii National Guard, being called to active duty in 1940. He earned his commission through officers candidate school in 1941 and was assigned to the 34th Infantry, part of the 24th Infantry Division. On October 20, 1944, his unit landed at Leyte in the Philippines, and he was killed in action while leading soldiers off the beach against accurate and concentrated enemy fire.

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https://history.army.mil/html/topics/ap ... icans.html


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Re: Japanese American National Guard in WWII

#3

Post by OpanaPointer » 29 May 2023, 06:50

otis11 wrote:
03 Jun 2008, 17:00
I recently read about a US Army West Coast Harbor Defense unit on December 8,1941 that contacted thier Headquarters about the Japanese Paratroopers they saw dressed as Americans outside. The Commander told the Coast Artillery guys that they were California National Guard protecting them from attack. Does anyone know what unit this was? The Army was segregated by race at this time. Did this unit have Japanese American officers? What happened to it after the second-generation Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent to camps? Were there any Japanese American units in the Hawaiian Territorial Guard? Did these Japanese American troops have anything to do with the 100th Infantry Battalion, or 442nd Infantry Regiment? Were there any Chinese American units in the Natonal Guard?

Thanks in advance for any info Otis!!!
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Re: Japanese American National Guard in WWII

#4

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 29 May 2023, 07:56

a US Army West Coast Harbor Defense unit on December 8,1941 that contacted thier Headquarters about the Japanese Paratroopers they saw dressed as Americans outside. The Commander told the Coast Artillery guys that they were California National Guard protecting them from attack.
Have to check to see if there were any National Guard formations still in existence in California that date. Starting autumn of 1940 the States National Guard formations were taken into Federal service and their status as National Guard terminated. Officially they became US Army formations. Many states had (& many still have) a State militia organization that exists in tandem with the state National Guard. Terminology and legal status varies from one state to another for these organizations. Militia formations were not inducted into Federal service in 1940-41 tho individuals did leave the state service for enlistment in the Army of Navy. The militia remained in state service through the war. Tho I don't remember anyone bragging about their war time service in the Militia, or any Hollywood movies about the militias.

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Re: Japanese American National Guard in WWII

#5

Post by daveshoup2MarDiv » 27 Jan 2024, 06:16

Carl Schwamberger wrote:
29 May 2023, 07:56
a US Army West Coast Harbor Defense unit on December 8,1941 that contacted thier Headquarters about the Japanese Paratroopers they saw dressed as Americans outside. The Commander told the Coast Artillery guys that they were California National Guard protecting them from attack.
Have to check to see if there were any National Guard formations still in existence in California that date. Starting autumn of 1940 the States National Guard formations were taken into Federal service and their status as National Guard terminated. Officially they became US Army formations. Many states had (& many still have) a State militia organization that exists in tandem with the state National Guard. Terminology and legal status varies from one state to another for these organizations. Militia formations were not inducted into Federal service in 1940-41 tho individuals did leave the state service for enlistment in the Army of Navy. The militia remained in state service through the war. Tho I don't remember anyone bragging about their war time service in the Militia, or any Hollywood movies about the militias.
The California State Guard was a fairly substantial organization in 1941-42; "Although the authorized strength of the State Guard was originally set at 10,000 (in January, 1941), the actual mustered strength reached 21,615 by the end of 1941. By February of 1942, a total of 13 Infantry Regiments (numbers 1 through 13) were activated along with a Medical Regiment (and) a Quartermaster Regiment ... Thousands of State Guardsmen were assigned the mission of guarding lines of communications, key facilities, and vital installations during the early days of the war. For example, in February of 1942, 59 men guarded the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Marin Counties, 37 Guardsmen from another unit searched for a downed Navy airplane in the rugged San Jacinto Mountains, 61 men guarded the water supply for Vallejo, 40 men guarded bridges in Sacramento, 108 Guardsmen protected the Torrance water supply and oil refineries, and special units guarded piers and harbors from San Diego to Redding. In January of 1944, nearly 6,000 officers and men were still on statewide active duty, often with great personal sacrifice of time, wages, and careers."

The "regiments" noted above were closer to battalions in size, but still, fairly impressive for a volunteer reserve force with only state funding. These troops were organized and uniformed along regular US Army lines, and were equipped with individual weapons (sidearms, "trench" shotguns, rifles, including M1917s) and - to a small degree - crew-served weapons and equipment (machine guns, searchlights, etc.) There were also observation flights with light aircraft and even a small port security element.

In 1942, a second line state reserve force, the California State Militia, was formed; this was much more of a "local" force than the State Guard, but included a wide range of small units, company-sized and below; these included quite a few organized along ethnic lines, as well, including (for example) Chinese-American and Korean-American units. The divide between the two elements - the CSG and the CSM - was significant in terms of capabilities and mobility, but "by the end of World War II, over 75,000 Californians had served with State troops."

https://www.militarymuseum.org/SMR%20History.html

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Re: Japanese American National Guard in WWII

#6

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 28 Jan 2024, 07:35

Thanks for that

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Re: Japanese American National Guard in WWII

#7

Post by daveshoup2MarDiv » 30 Jan 2024, 02:44

Carl Schwamberger wrote:
28 Jan 2024, 07:35
Thanks for that
Sure. The state forces in the Pacific coast states, and the similar forces in Alaska and Hawaii - in the strategic situation of 1941-43, especially - are interesting case studies of wartime mobilizations in the US absent (other than in Hawaii) much in the way of federal authority or resources.

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