Well over 30, that’s the number of history books I have consumed on World War II. Starting with books like “Citizen Soldiers,” “D-Day” and “Undaunted Courage” by Stephen E. Ambrose, my interest never seems complete.
I have enjoyed books on naval battles from the Second World War, works on General George Patton’s life and death, and accounts of ground battles from Africa to Iwo Jima.
There are many stories of survival and resilience from WWII, such as Laua Hillenbrand’s “Unbroken.”
Several books on the shelves in my living room relate the harrowing accounts of those who flew bombers in World War II, including “Lucky 666, The Impossible Mission” and “Half A Wing, Three Engines and A Prayer.”
There always seems to be another good narrative about WWII that piques my interest.
Last spring, I was offered a new book on WWII at no charge. It was a hard-back book about a gunner who flew 58 missions over all three theaters — Europe, North Africa, and Japan — and lived to tell about it.
This was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
In March, I discovered the book sitting on my floor with other books, looking for my attention, and decided to give it a chance.
In the book, I was introduced to a new word: Nisei, which is the term for a second-generation son or daughter born in the United States to Japanese immigrants.
This is the case of Ben Kuroki, the hero of this story. He is a farm boy who grew up in remote Nebraska. The Lincoln County town of Hershey had a population of around 500. He was vice president of his senior class.
As a young boy, his ancestry was not a problem. After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor things changed dramatically for Ben.
Kuroki considered himself an American and rushed to enlist in the military. Anti-Japanese sentiment was high, so this was a struggle. With the desire to prove his loyalty to the U.S. and reclaim his family’s honor, Kuroki succeeded. He became a gunner in the Army Air Force flying 30 missions in a B-24 Liberator over Africa and Europe and an additional 28 in the iconic B-29 Superfortress from the Northern Mariana Islands against the Japanese mainland.
The B-24 was not pressurized, so crew members in a Liberator flew in temperatures around 60 degrees below zero with electrically heated seats.
Each mission would often last 8-10 hours.
After completing 25 missions, crewmen on a WWII bomber were allowed to transfer back to the U.S. During the first year of the war only 36 percent of bombers achieved this feat. Kuroki volunteered for five more to prove his loyalty.
Back in the States, the Army had Kuroki visiting Japanese American internment camps to encourage other Nisei to enlist in the military and fight for their country.
This is an interesting sub-story in the book as Kuroki felt that military service was the duty of every able-bodied American. At the same time, many Nisei looked at the draft as an insult from Uncle Sam after imprisoning their families during the war.
A total of 17,600 Nisei eventually served in the U.S. armed forces during the war, and many of their units were later cited for bravery.
Kuroki was the only Japanese American known to have flown combat missions against Japan. After much pressure, the Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, intervened to make this happen.
Based on Tinian Island, the B-29 crew named its plane the “Sad Saki” in honor of Kuroki.
Interestingly, the B-29 was on the drawing board before WWII. Research and development of the plane that would eventually end the war by dropping the atomic bomb wound up costing $1 billion more than the Manhattan Project.
Kuroki was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Distinguished Service Medal, and the Air Medal with Five Oak Leaf Clusters.
Kuroki’s story did not end with the war. In what he called the 59th Mission Tour, he traveled the country delivering speeches on racial intolerance and prejudice, dreaming of bringing Americans of all races closer together.
He then used the GI bill to attend the University of Nebraska and earn a bachelor’s degree in journalism. In the late 1950s Ben and his wife Shige owned two weekly newspapers in Michigan.
Kuroki is another story from the Greatest Generation. He was 24 when he enlisted in the military.
The book by Gregg Jones is entitled “Most Honorable Son.”
