Name: Moffett Field Museum • The MIS: Japanese American Soldiers in the Pacific
Start: 2026-03-21T12:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-03-21T13:30:00-07:00
Location: Moffett Field Museum

$Moffett Field Museum \u2022 The MIS: Japanese American Soldiers in the Pacific$

Japanese American soldiers of the Military Intelligence Service—America’s secret weapon in the Pacific during World War II.
About this Event

Join us at the Moffett Field Museum for a talk about the Japanese American soldiers who secretly trained in Japanese military language just one month before America’s entry into World War II with speakers Rosalyn Tonai, Executive Director of the National Japanese American Historical Society, and Naomi Shibata, historian, storyteller, docent with the National Japanese American Historical Society, and the Friends and Family of Nisei Veterans.

At the start of the war, the U.S. Army recruited Americans of Japanese ancestry—known as Nisei—to provide vital intelligence against Japanese forces in the Pacific. Through the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), these soldiers were trained as translators, interpreters, and intelligence specialists. Their work supported nearly every major battle and campaign against Imperial Japanese forces.

Although their top-secret work kept them from full public recognition for many years, these soldiers applied their intellect, language skills, and cultural insight to help achieve victory. They saved countless lives, shortened the war, and proved their loyalty to the United States. Even after the war, their contributions remained largely unknown to the public.

Their service, carried out in the face of racial prejudice, wartime hostility, and global conflict, continues to inspire us to better understand what it means to be an American.