World War II veteran Susumu Ito on Saturday reflected on his service as a Japanese-American in a segregated unit during the war and spoke about the Japanese perception of military service.
Ito, a 91-year-old professor emeritus of comparative anatomy at Harvard Medical School, was speaking at a Day of Remembrance ceremony in the Sophia Gordon multi-purpose room. The ceremony marked the 69th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which permitted the relocation of over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry into internment camps in the months following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Ito was drafted into the war before the U.S. government established the internment camps. He served with a unit of Japanese-Americans, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which segregated its members from white servicemen. The unit, which fought throughout Europe during the war, is the most decorated regiment for its size in the history of the U.S. Army.
The event, presented by the New England Japanese American Citizens League and the Tufts Asian American Center along with numerous co-sponsors, also featured a screening of the 2010 documentary, "442: Live with Honor, Die with Dignity," which contains footage and interviews with Ito and other veterans of the regiment.
His position within the regiment put Ito in highly dangerous situations.
"The job as a forward observer … has a very high casualty rate, and the length of service and combat is amongst the shortest," he said. "In any event, I was happy to have this opportunity."
Ito said while his mother feared for his safety, his parents were proud of his service, a sentiment which in part comes from the Japanese view of military duty.
"The Japanese are very reverent and look up to military service soldiers," Ito said. "One thing that my mother used to write to me was, ‘We're proud of you being in the army, but don't put yourself in any dangerous situation. If necessary, go to jail,'" he said. "I wanted nothing of this. I never told her I volunteered for this hazardous duty."
Ito described the long-terms effects of service on himself and his fellow veterans.
"I do get goosebumps all over me when I walk into a dark forest or see pictures of a pine forest, even on a bright day," he said. "It must be a syndrome that many of us have."
When required by law at age 21 to choose between becoming a full U.S. citizen or to retain his Japanese citizenship, Ito said he did not hesitate.
"My country is the U.S.," he said. "I was born here and raised here. I am an American, though I might not look like the average one."
Japanese Culture Club co-President Sho Igawa was satisfied with the event.
"I was so happy to see so many actual veterans from the war," Igawa, a junior, said. "We also had Japanese-Americans from the internment camps come in their old age. They're not as physically strong as they used to be, but they still came just for this, so it was really great to see that."
Ito said he felt lucky to have served in his unit.
"We were a small fraction of the total military force," he said. "I felt very fortunate that a few of us who were in the army before the segregated unit was formed were picked to be the core of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team."
