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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: The veteran served as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Government.; The veteran was a prisoner of war (POW) during World War II in Germany.; The veteran served as an interrogator.
  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 3rd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT)
  • Location of Service: Pacific; European Theater; United States; Korea; Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Colonel

View full service history

“We had to prove ourselves…worthy of recognition when we came back to the States and that our parents and the rest of the Japanese-American community would be proud of us.” (Video Interview, Part 2, 27:16)

As a youth, Jimmie Kanaya became fascinated with the military, and at 20 he jumped at the chance to enlist in 1941—months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. After helping his parents relocate from their Oregon home to an Idaho internment camp, Kanaya took his skills as a medic to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He aggressively looked out for his men, even negotiating a halt to fighting to bring in casualties from the battlefield. Captured by German troops, he escaped three times and at war’s end was the only non-Caucasian in his POW camp. Kanaya continued to serve his country during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

More Resources

Jimmie Kanaya Collection
Interview / Recording

Jimmie Kanaya Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Jimmie Kanaya Collection

Names

  • Kanaya, Jimmie
  • Collins, Denver
  • Rhay, Gary
  • Timeless Media Group

State of Birth

  • OR

Home State

  • WA

Headings

  • -  Kanaya, Jimmie
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- 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

    • Service History Note: The veteran was a prisoner of war (POW) during World War II in Germany.
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 3rd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT)
    • Location of Service: Pacific; European Theater; United States
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1974
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Service History Note: The veteran served as an interrogator.
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: Korea
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Service History Note: The veteran served as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Government.
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: Vietnam
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 06/30/2004)
  • Audio: CD [2 items] -- Reference copy (collected 06/30/2004)
  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected 06/30/2004)
  • Audio: MiniDisc [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 06/30/2004)
  • Audio: DAT [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 06/30/2004)
  • Audio: DAT [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 06/30/2004)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/21666

Cite as

  • Jimmie Kanaya Collection (AFC/2001/001/21666), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Kanaya, Jimmie, Denver Collins, Gary Rhay, and Timeless Media Group. Jimmie Kanaya Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.21666/.

APA citation style:

Kanaya, J., Collins, D., Rhay, G. & Timeless Media Group. (1941) Jimmie Kanaya Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.21666/.

MLA citation style:

Kanaya, Jimmie, et al. Jimmie Kanaya Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.21666/>.