Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company E, 442nd Infantry Regiment
  • Location of Service: European Theater; United States
  • Highest Rank: Technician Four

View full service history

"I think each time I went out in no man’s land was an event." (Memoir, page 9)

For over a year after Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were not allowed to enlist in the military. But Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama had been drafted long before December 7, 1941, so he was in a kind of limbo: part of the armed forces but not allowed to fight. Once President Roosevelt lifted the ban, the 442nd Regiment, composed of Japanese Americans from both the mainland and Hawaii, was formed, and Kuwayama became a battlefield medic with them. He witnessed brutal battles in Italy and France, including the famed rescue of the so-called Lost Battalion and the fight in which future Senator Daniel Inouye was severely wounded.

More Resources

View 19 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Enlisted record and report of separation ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Honorable Discharge certificate ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Citation for award of the Silver Star ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Award of Foreign Decoration [March 15, 1946] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Certificate from the Italian Ministry of War for participation in the Italian campaign [October 5, 1945] ]

Show more resources (2)

View 12 images in sequence.
[ Memoir, untitled ]
View 5 images in sequence.
[ Resume for Yeiichi Kuwayama ]

About this Item

Title

  • Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama Collection

Names

  • Kuwayama, Yeiichi Kelly
  • Shima, Terry
  • Ninomiya, Calvin
  • Japanese-American Veterans Association (JAVA)

State of Birth

  • NY

Home State

  • DC

Headings

  • -  Kuwayama, Yeiichi Kelly
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Notes

  • -  Yeiichi Kuwayama was also interviewed by the Go For Broke Education Foundation, Torrance, California.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Asian

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company E, 442nd Infantry Regiment
    • Location of Service: European Theater; United States
    • Highest Rank: Technician Four
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Mixed (Multiple types of manuscripts) [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Video: MiniDV [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 07/15/2003)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [10 items] -- Photograph (collected 1944 - 2003)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 07/15/2003)
  • Video: Digital Betacam [1 item] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/7423

Cite as

  • Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama Collection (AFC/2001/001/7423), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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:

Kuwayama, Yeiichi Kelly, Terry Shima, Calvin Ninomiya, and Japanese-American Veterans Association. Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07423/.

APA citation style:

Kuwayama, Y. K., Shima, T., Ninomiya, C. & Japanese-American Veterans Association. (1941) Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07423/.

MLA citation style:

Kuwayama, Yeiichi Kelly, et al. Yeiichi Kelly Kuwayama Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.07423/>.