Proposed center honors actions by nisei

To preserve the firsthand accounts and memories of the villagers of Bruyeres liberated by Japanese-American soldiers more than 70 years ago, French tourism officials have taken the first step in what they hope will be a $12 million visitor center.

The center, which organizers hope will be funded with private and government funds, will pay tribute to the nisei, or second-generation Japanese-American, veterans by recreating everything from the World War II battlefield in the Vosges forests to life in the once German-occupied territory.

Anais Casin, spokeswoman from the Bruyeres tourism office, said "the project won’t be a typical museum, but rather an interpretive center designed to be interactive" with sounds of the battlefield and recreations of the tiny village where the house-to-house fighting occurred in 1944.

On Jan. 14, Casin briefed Gov. David Ige, whose father served in the 100th Infantry Battalion; representatives from the Japanese and French consulates in Hawaii; and veterans from the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

With the battle cry "Go For Broke," the 442nd Regimental Combat Team with the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) earned the distinction of being the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service in battle.

The soldiers were awarded more than 18,000 individual awards for valor, including 21 Medals of Honor, seven Presidential Unit citations and 9,486 Purple Hearts.

"The proposed visitor center would be a wonderful tribute to the men who went ‘for broke,’" Ige said after the briefing. "I hope the organizers will update Club 100 as plans progress. It’s too early in the process to consider what, if any, the state’s contribution might be."

For 100th Battalion veteran Jack Nakamura, 91, the memorial "would be good for the children and grandchildren" since it would remind them of the sacrifices made by the nisei soldiers.

In October, Nakamura made his first trip to Bruyeres since World War II and said he had a hard time recognizing landmarks in the village of 3,200 and in the surrounding forests where much of the fighting took place.

Nakamura, who attended Casin’s briefing, was among the 27 nisei soldiers from the 100th Battalion and the 442nd who on Friday received the Legion of Honor — France’s highest honor — for their part in the liberation of the country.

To date, 72 veterans from the nisei Army units have been bestowed the rank of chevalier, which accompanies the medal.

Bill Thompson, president of the 442nd Club, said he was "surprised" by the briefing.

Thompson, 91, added: "But in recent years descendants of veterans have been frequent visitors to Bruyeres and the Vosges and the visitor center seems a way to welcome the 442nd Regimental Combat Team descendants."

Thompson, who hasn’t made a pilgrimage to the European battlefields since the war, served in the 442nd’s 2nd Battalion, Headquarters Company.

He contends the center should convey the message about "the gratitude of the French citizens for the role of Americans in the battle for freedom from tyranny," adding, "The cemetery at Epinal 25 west of Bruyeres is poignant reminder of the cost of freedom."

The Vosges towns of Bruyeres and Biffontaine are less than 45 miles west of the Rhine River. Bruyeres was strategically vital as a "crossroads" town — one of the reasons why the 100th/442nd was ordered to capture it.

In the past, Casin said, Bruyeres was a major trading hub and had paper and textile factories. These days, industry is limited and Bruyeres is trying to attract new sources of revenue, including tourism.

"In the Vosges, as in the U.S., we understand that the eyewitnesses of the World War II era won’t be able to share and teach us about their extraordinary story for much longer," Casin said. "Future generations have the right to learn from those who experienced these events. Therefore, it is imperative that we preserve these firsthand accounts and memories so that they may be shared in a space dedicated to the remembrance.

"In Bruyeres, we cherish these memories as they brought the people of the Vosges and the nisei of Hono­lulu together. Because the history we would like to preserve is specific to the Vosges and especially Bruyeres, we feel that it is most appropriate to build the interpretive center in the city itself."

She said Hill A, the first hill taken by the soldiers during the Battle of Bruyeres, is being considered as the site of the center.

The name of the proposed center is "Camp’US," which has similar meanings in French and English, Casin said.

"In English it is pronounced as ‘campus’ like a university campus, but can also be read as ‘Camp US,’ like a military camp belonging to the United States."

There are two monuments dedicated to the 100th/442nd in the Vosges, one in Bruyeres for the liberation of the town and one in Biffontaine for the rescue of the Lost Battalion. In addition, there are three locations in Bruyeres named in honor of the nisei Army unit — 100th442nd Road, Hono-lulu Street and Tomosu Hirahara Square, named after the first nisei killed during the liberation of Bruyeres.

Last October, 100th Battalion veteran Rikio Tsuda unveiled a plaque and photo renaming a town square after Hirahara, who was buried in the French cemetery at Epinal in 1944 along with 12 other nisei soldiers.

Of the seven campaigns in France and Italy in which the 100/442nd RCT participated, the most noteworthy was the Rhineland Campaign in France. Of the seven months in France, the deadliest, most demanding month was October 1944 for the units in the Vosges Mountains.

The campaign for Bruyeres was part of Operation Dogface and took place over 34 days, with the actual fighting to retake the city occurring in four days.

The 442nd was made up largely of Japanese-American men from Hawaii and the mainland who volunteered to prove their loyalty to the U.S. after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

It was one of several segregated units in World War II — including the 92nd Buffalo Division and the Tuskegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group.

There were 2,600 from Hawaii and 800 from mainland internment camps. The 100th Battalion was added to the 442nd when the newer unit (442nd) reached Italy in the summer of 1944.

The proposed 140,000-square-foot visitor center site is at the edge of the forest near the entrance to the town on the highway that connects Epinal and Saint-Die des Vosges to Bruyeres.

The visitor center will house an interpretation center on the first floor, a permanent exhibition on the second floor, tourism offices, auditorium and a restaurant.

The story of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, some of whose members volunteered while their parents were held in mainland internment camps, and the liberation of the Vosges Valley will be the centerpiece of the tour, according to a 40-page prospective of the proposal.

"Although the actions of the nisei took place over the course of a few short months and in a small geographical area, their bravery has left a lasting impression on this history of the Vosges, of Lorraine and of France," the proposal said.

The efforts of the nisei solders in liberating the Vosges region will be placed in context with the European war, highlighting the accomplishments of the U.S. 7th Army to present a comprehensive picture.

The nisei exhibit will include the bombing of the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941, the formation of the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the Italian and French campaigns, and will end with the soldiers returning to the islands and the creation of the sister-cityrelationship in October 1961.

Within the exhibit, there will be areas created to give visitors the feel of living in the Vosges region during the German occupation, when villagers hid in cellars.

The five-day struggle to rescue the 1st Battalion of the 141st "Alamo" Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, from Texas in the forest near Biffontaine will be depicted in another "experimental space." The 100th Battalion and the 442nd suffered 800 casualties to rescue 200 Texas soldiers of the "Lost Battalion."

Planners envision recreating the forest environment with silhouettes and the smell of fir trees, the dampness of the fall cold and the bitter rain with a soundtrack of artillery.

The Honolulu-Bruyeres sister-city relationship was spearheaded by former City Councilman and 442nd Sgt. Wilbert "Sandy" Holck, who died in 1999.