Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Company E, 442nd Infantry Regiment
- Location of Service: European Theater; United States
- Highest Rank: Technician Four
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/7423
For over a year after Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were not allowed to enlist in the military. But Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama had been drafted long before December 7, 1941, so he was in a kind of limbo: part of the armed forces but not allowed to fight. Once President Roosevelt lifted the ban, the 442nd Regiment, composed of Japanese Americans from both the mainland and Hawaii, was formed, and Kuwayama became a battlefield medic with them. He witnessed brutal battles in Italy and France, including the famed rescue of the so-called Lost Battalion and the fight in which future Senator Daniel Inouye was severely wounded.
Interview / Recording
Share
-
PlayFirst taste of combat and encounter with death. 00:06:43.0 - 00:09:31.0
-
PlayFighting in the Vosges Mountains in France. 00:14:15.0 - 00:15:29.0
-
PlayCircumstances of his getting wounded; duties; his Silver Star citation. 00:16:35.0 - 00:19:19.0
-
PlayBack to Italy for more fighting; in the Po Valley at war's end. 00:19:39.0 - 00:21:04.0
More Resources
Show more resources (2)
About this Item
Title
- Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama Collection
Names
- Kuwayama, Yeiichi Kelly
- Japanese-American Veterans Association (JAVA)
- Ninomiya, Calvin
- Shima, Terry T.
Home State
- Washington (D.C.)
Headings
- - Kuwayama, Yeiichi Kelly
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- Asian
Status
- veteran
Service History
-
World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Company E, 442nd Infantry Regiment
- Location of Service: European Theater; United States
- Highest Rank: Technician Four
- Dates of Service: 1941-1945
- Entrance into Service: Drafted
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran notes that he served as a medic.
Materials
- Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
- Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2003-07-15; 2003)
- Manuscript: Mixed (Multiple types of manuscripts) [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
- Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [10 items] -- Photograph (collected 1944-2003)
- Video: MiniDV [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-07-15)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/7423
Cite as
- Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama Collection (AFC/2001/001/7423), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- video