Chapter 44 - DÉJÀ VU
Chapter 45 - FIREBOMBING TOKYO
Chapter 46 - WOUNDED ENEMY
Chapter 47 - A WAR WITHOUT MERCY
Chapter 48 - OUT OF LUCK
Chapter 49 - UNSCRIPTED ENDING
Chapter 50 - A GREATER CAUSE
Chapter 51 - FIFTY-NINTH MISSION
Chapter 52 - A PATH IN PEACE
Chapter 53 - PUBLISHER, REPORTER, EDITOR
Chapter 54 - HIDDEN HEROES
Chapter 55 - RECKONING, REMEMBRANCE, AND REWARD
EPILOGUE
AFTERWORD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NOTE ON SOURCES
ENDNOTES
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
FOREWORD
By Naomi Ostwald Kawamura
Fully representing or encapsulating a people’s collective experience poses inherent challenges. At Densho, a public history organization and digital archives dedicated to preserving, collecting, and educating about the history of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, we actively strive to steward thousands of stories spanning generations, locations, and the diversity of wartime experiences of Americans of Japanese ancestry. These include survivors’ firsthand experiences of forcible removal and incarceration, stories of families torn apart, businesses and homes lost, educational opportunities derailed, and individuals who either volunteered for military service or actively resisted the draft. Each narrative contributes to our understanding of this period in American history. Among these narratives, certain individual stories emerge that particularly illuminate the complexities of our shared past. Ben Kuroki is one such figure.
As a highly decorated soldier and patriot, Kuroki defied prejudice and stereotypes to carve out his place in a nation gripped by wartime hysteria. Kuroki’s journey was marked by extraordinary challenges and achievements, which Gregg Jones details in this rich biography. Notably, as an aerial gunner, Kuroki was the only Japanese American to serve in air combat over Japan during the war. Despite facing discrimination and suspicion from fellow Americans and fellow soldiers, Kuroki became a decorated soldier, and his patriotism led him to become one of the most celebrated Japanese Americans of his time. However, his legacy remains complex.
As a Japanese American serving in the US military, Kuroki faced the challenge of reconciling his heritage with his unreserved allegiance to his country. Despite public recognition of Kuroki as a war hero, he became a divisive figure among Japanese Americans. Upon his return home, he was tasked to support the nation’s military efforts with a tour to engage the 125,000-plus Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated in America’s concentration camps. While many Japanese Americans—especially young Nisei—viewed Kuroki as a hero, there were members of the Issei generation who particularly objected to Kuroki’s dismissive attitude toward Japan and his failure to acknowledge the mixed emotions many Japanese Americans held about wartime Japan, where many had close relatives. Incarcerated Japanese Americans, in general, were also angered by Kuroki’s failure to understand how their incarceration altered or shaped their views toward America (as Kuroki and his family, living in the Midwest, were outside of the exclusion area and thus not forcibly removed or incarcerated), something Kuroki himself later acknowledged. Without guidance, Kuroki’s inability at that time to fully grasp the trauma from this experience likely exacerbated tensions between himself and the Japanese American community he intended to engage. This point also highlights the profound impact that forcible incarceration, rampant xenophobia, and discrimination had on the sense of identity and belonging held by Japanese Americans.
Jones admirably fulfills the essential task of illuminating Kuroki’s life and role as one of the most prominent Japanese Americans in mainstream American consciousness during the war years while engaging in critical dialogue, particularly regarding Kuroki’s stance on draft resistance. In addition, this biography challenges conventional narratives of the American patriot. Much like Daniel James Brown’s Facing the Mountain (2021), Pamela Rotner Sakamoto’s Midnight in Broad Daylight (2016), and Bradford Pearson’s The Eagles of Heart Mountain (2021), Gregg Jones makes an important contribution to historical works aimed at a popular audience. Through Most Honorable Son, Jones not only shares Kuroki’s unique story but adds to the complex landscape of the Japanese American experience during World War II.
In recounting Kuroki’s story, we are compelled to confront timeless questions about patriotism and the response to injustice—questions that resonate with renewed urgency in our contemporary landscape. His journey prompts us to reflect on the complexities of loyalty, heritage, and resilience, offering profound insights into the human condition. Jones presents a sympathetic portrayal of a Japanese American patriot who navigated the complexities of national identity and belonging during a time of upheaval. As the events of World War II become increasingly a distant past, stories like this serve as a bridge to connect past struggles with current challenges and engage with issues that remain relevant today, while honoring the stories and individuals from the past that we give voice to, ensuring their legacies endure for future generations.
Naomi Ostwald Kawamura, PhD, is the executive director of Densho.
INTRODUCTION
By William Fujioka
Throughout the years, I’ve heard about Ben Kuroki, the Japanese American airman who fought in both the Europe and the Pacific campaigns during World War II. Reading Most Honorable Son: A Forgotten Hero’s Fight Against Fascism and Hate During World War II by Gregg Jones gave me an intriguing insight into Kuroki’s life and accomplishments. Ben Kuroki’s bravery, heroism, and military record were truly exceptional. This book is also important for ensuring that others learn about the contributions of the many Japanese American soldiers who bravely fought during World War II while their families were forcefully removed from their homes and incarcerated behind barbed wire in concentration camps.
The Japanese American National Museum (JANM), located in the Little Tokyo community of Los Angeles, California, was established to preserve and share the history, journey, struggles, and contributions of individuals of Japanese heritage in America. The founders of JANM were Japanese American veterans of World War II and business leaders from Little Tokyo. JANM’s current mission is to preserve the artifacts and stories of our community and retell these stories to ensure that what happened to Japanese Americans in 1942 would never happen to any other group. We pursue this goal each and every day.
The story of Japanese Americans in America is a classic immigrant story. Like all immigrants, the Issei (first generation in America) came to this country in the early 1900s with the hope for a better life for their families. Most came through the ports of entry on the West Coast and pursued their dreams by first working as laborers on farms, in factories and mines, and on railroads and fishing boats. Working on the railroad took many Japanese immigrants, like Ben Kuroki’s father, to the Midwest states where they found opportunities in many industries, especially agriculture.
The Issei made significant contributions in such industries as agriculture, but it wasn’t without great struggle due to the hardships they faced. Western states like California, Oregon, and Washington enacted alien land laws in the 1910s that prevented the Issei from owning land. They had to either lease the land they farmed or have their American-born children hold title to the land. In spite of this, from the West Coast to the Midwest Japanese American farmers flourished. By 1942, farms worked by Japanese immigrants were producing 40 percent of all produce consumed in America. For the Issei, the promise of a bright future in their adopted country was becoming a reality. As a group, they told their children to always honor their family and take great pride in being a citizen of the United States of America. The Issei believed that America gave their families great opportunities for success. Sadly, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the signing of Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, their lives were forever changed. EO 9066 resulted in the forced removal of over 125,000 individuals of Japanese heritage from their homes, who were then placed in concentration camps in desolate areas of America. EO 9066 was issued under the false claim of military necessity. However, many historians have established that it was driven by economics, racial animus, and xenophobia.
A significant fact is that two-thirds of the individuals incarcerated in the concentration camps were children and young adults who were born in this country. They were US citizens entitled to the rights, privileges, and protections afforded in the Constitution for all Americans. Sadly, the government failed these individuals. Another tragic fact is that while they were incarcerated behind barbed wire in the concentration camps, children and young adults were required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school. The pledge ends with the phase, “with liberty and justice for all.” Many survivors of the concentration camps told me that the memory of saying the pledge haunted them their entire lives. As the survivors grew older, each and every time they said or heard the pledge, they were reminded of life behind barbed wire.
Despite the gross injustice of their forced removal and incarceration, many Issei still felt the need to prove their loyalty to the United States. When the opportunity arose, they encouraged their children to enlist in the armed services to demonstrate this loyalty. In time, over 33,000 Nisei (second-generation) men enlisted in the armed forces and fought in the Europe and Pacific campaigns.
