I recently heard from a reader named Scott Kagawa, who found this photograph while he was cleaning out his late aunt and uncle's house. The photo was taken in December 1944 while his uncle, Wakamatsu "Fred" Nakagiri, was training at the Military Intelligence Service Language School in Minnesota.
Most of these Japanese American soldiers came out of the internment camps during World War II and went on to serve in the Pacific theater, all receiving the Congressional Gold Medal a few years ago.
Scott is hoping to put names to these faces, and is trying to get the word out to all the relatives out there in internetland who might have fathers, uncles and grandpas in this photo.
My Uncle Wakamatsu "Fred" Nakagiri was part of the Dec. 1944 class for the Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS) - one of thousands of Japanese American soldiers who were attached to units in the Pacific to provide translation, interpretation and interrogation services.
The picture above is a panorama we found of him (#111) and his fellow classmates. It may have been taken at the end of their education before being shipped out to the Pacific Theater, but that is only an assumption based on the incoming class date and training time period. The only information I have is the label, CO I SCH BN Fort Snelling MN May 1945.
The most logical list I could find to match this picture was the Dec. 1944 term. It may help identify if a relative is in this picture. A simple Command + F will search the partial list below. If there is interest I can upload more of the names from this term.
There are lots of Uncles and Grandpas in this picture, so I thought I would share it out for others to enjoy and honor their service.
The above image is just a piece of the photo. To see the complete photograph (and zoom in and out in full detail), go here. If you have more information or can identify any of the men in the photo, email scott@scottkagawa.com and he'll update the list.