Seventy-eight years after John’s death, Mr. Harano’s neighbors in Block 20 in Topaz still remember how they felt each time they passed the Harano barrack and saw the Gold Star flag in the window. “Johnny’s” sacrifice, and the sacrifice of all the other Nisei soldiers who fought in WWII, is remembered–not only by the Japanese American community, but by the descendants of the Texas soldiers who were rescued from the hill that day.
In 2021 the United States Post Office issued a stamp honoring the Nisei soldiers of WWII. At the Los Angeles celebration, Leslie Tramer, daughter of 141st Infantry radio operator Erwin Blonder, told how her father brought his three daughters to 442 reunions to meet the men who had risked all to save his battalion. He wanted to ensure that the heroes would be more than just names to his daughters, as well as succeeding generations.2
As President Truman said, the Nisei soldiers of WWII defeated the enemy and won the battle–but 78 years later, we are still fighting the war.
Note: S/Sgt. Harano was buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery at Epinal, France. In 1948, his remains were returned to his brother Earl in North Platte, NE, and “Johnny” was laid to rest next to his parents. S/Sgt. Harano was awarded many medals, including a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and, in 2010, a Congressional Gold Medal along with other members of the 100th/442nd RCT.
Sources:
John Yukiharu Harano. Sons & Daughters of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 2021.
1: Remarks Upon Presenting a Citation to a Nisei Regiment. Truman Library. Accessed Oct. 12, 2022.
2: Go For Broke Soldier Stamp–LA ceremony. (Remarks by Leslie Tramer, daughter of 141st Infantry survivor Irwin Blonder, begin at 1:14:35)
Related resources/articles:
History of the 442/100th and interview with Erwin Blonder. Stamp Our Story. Accessed 10/13/2022.
Khizr Khan’s words echo for Japanese American WWII Gold Star families
Uncle Tom: Not Knowing How to Miss You
About the contributor: Ruth Sasaki was born and raised in San Francisco after the War. The Takahashis, her mother’s family, were incarcerated in Tanforan and Topaz. A graduate of UC Berkeley (BA) and SF State (MA), she has lived in England and Japan. Her short story “The Loom” won the American Japanese National Literary Award, and her collection, The Loom and Other Stories, was published in 1991 by Graywolf Press. Ruth is the editor of the Topaz Stories project.
Copyright R. A. Sasaki, 2022. All rights reserved.
Thanks for this great story. I was in troop 26 and never heard this story – it absolutely needs to be told to all the younger generations living in Berkeley today.
Thank you, Hiro. Please feel free to share the link with friends and family.
The Sons and Daughters of the 442nd RCT is gathering information about Japanese American veterans who died in WWII, from which much of the source material about John Harano’s time in the 442 was drawn. Check out their website: https://442sd.org/
John’s story is only one of many. I focused on him because I have Nisei friends who were neighbors of Mr. Harano in Topaz and they remembered John. I agree with you that it’s important to share this story and to remember the upstanding young men who were basically used as “cannon fodder” while their families were incarcerated behind barbed wire by the government they served. That so many survived, and prevailed, is only a testament to their grit and dedication, and the sacrifice of those who did not.