The MIS Veterans Club held its annual New Year’s gathering and installation at Natsunoya Tea House on Jan. 27. The organization is made up of World War II veterans who served in the Military Intelligence Service in combat and intelligence roles in the Asia-Pacific theater and their descendants. The MIS soldiers contributed much to the war effort and also helped lay the foundation for today’s positive relationship with Japan through their postwar humanity. Their contributions are not widely known, however, because the MIS soldiers were sworn to secrecy during and after the war.
Lawrence Enomoto was re-elected president of the club and installed by U.S. Air Force veteran Wallace Hirai, whose late father, Toshiyuki Hirai, was an MIS veteran. Also installed were: secretary Karen Aoyama Kikukawa; treasurer Sherman Takao; and directors Shinye Gima, Gregg Hirata, Robert Honke, Annie Inouye, Herbert Matsumoto, Keith Matsumoto, Mark Matsunaga and Yoshinobu Oshiro. Shinye Gima was subsequently elected vice president at the club’s Jan. 30 board meeting.
The program included a PowerPoint presentation by Nisei Veterans Legacy member Byrnes Yamashita of the organization’s photo exhibits on Japanese Americans, which were shown in various prefectures of Japan in 2017 and 2018.
