National Veterans Network, Washington D.C., DC (2026)

08/27/2026

“A moving exhibit of the Nisei soldier, I’m humbled to be pictured in the Legacy section in honor of my Grandpa.”
- Kristi Yamaguchi

Kristi Yamaguchi, 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist in Figure Skating, recently visited “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” traveling exhibit in San Francisco. She was joined by her mother, Carole, sister, Lori and brother, Brett, along with her daughter and nieces.

Kristi, the first Asian American to win gold in the sport of figure skating, is featured in “Legacy,” the last of six thematic areas in the exhibit. Her perseverance and strength of character are a part of her family legacy. Her grandfather, George A. Doi, the son of Japanese immigrants, was born in San Diego, CA. In 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was promoted twice as an officer in his unit.

During World War II, George served in the 100th Infantry Division, becoming the only Japanese American soldier in this non-segregated unit. He assumed a leadership role while in France and was awarded a promotion to 2nd Lieutenant. All the while, his wife, Kathleen was living behind barbed wire in the Heart Mountain, WY, and Amache, CO, War Relocation Authority incarceration camps.

We are grateful to Kristi and the Yamaguchi family for sharing their story with the next generation and helping ensure that the Japanese American World War II experience continues to be told.

To learn more about George A. Doi, please visit https://apa.si.edu/cgm/stories/george-doi.html.

“I Am An American” is at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco through September 13, 2026. For more information, visit njahs.org/iaaa.

To learn more about the traveling exhibit and its 11-city national tour, please visit https://nvnvets.org/nisei-soldier-traveling-exhibit/.

Photos courtesy of the Yamaguchi Family
Photographer: Brad Shirakawa

National Japanese American Historical Society

08/26/2026

“A moving exhibit of the Nisei soldier, I’m humbled to be pictured in the Legacy section in honor of my Grandpa.”
- Kristi Yamaguchi

Kristi Yamaguchi, 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist in Figure Skating, recently visited “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” traveling exhibit in San Francisco. She was joined by her mother, Carole, sister, Lori and brother, Brett, along with her daughter and nieces.

Kristi, the first Asian American to win gold in the sport of figure skating, is featured in “Legacy,” the last of six thematic areas in the exhibit. Her perseverance and strength of character are a part of her family legacy. Her grandfather, George A. Doi, the son of Japanese immigrants, was born in San Diego, CA. In 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was promoted twice as an officer in his unit.

During World War II, George served in the 100th Infantry Division, becoming the only Japanese American soldier in this non-segregated unit. He assumed a leadership role while in France and was awarded a promotion to 2nd Lieutenant. All the while, his wife, Kathleen was living behind barbed wire in the Heart Mountain, WY, and Amache, CO, War Relocation Authority incarceration camps.

We are grateful to Kristi and the Yamaguchi family for sharing their story with the next generation and helping ensure that the Japanese American World War II experience continues to be told.

To learn more about George A. Doi, please visit https://apa.si.edu/cgm/stories/george-doi.html.

“I Am An American” is at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco through September 13, 2026. For more information, visit njahs.org/iaaa.

To learn more about the traveling exhibit and its 11-city national tour, please visit https://nvnvets.org/nisei-soldier-traveling-exhibit/.

Photos courtesy of the Yamaguchi Family
Photographer: Brad Shirakawa

National Japanese American Historical Society

08/21/2026

“Soldiers From the Camps” is an interactive kiosk in “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” traveling exhibit.

Located in “Behind Barbed Wire,” the third of six thematic areas of the exhibit, the kiosk highlights the stories of ten Nisei Japanese American veterans who came out of the World War II incarceration camps or had family in the camps.

Joseph Ichiuji, 442nd RCT, 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, represents the Poston incarceration camp in Arizona. Ichiuji volunteered for the U.S. Army despite the fact he and his family were living behind barbed wire. He stated, “I felt that I must not give up this opportunity to show my loyalty as an American citizen by serving my country.”

“I Am An American” is at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco through September 13, 2026. For more information, visit njahs.org/iaaa.

To learn more about the traveling exhibit and its 11-city national tour, please visit https://nvnvets.org/nisei-soldier-traveling-exhibit/.

Photos courtesy of the Family of Joseph Ichiuji
Photographer, I Am An American exhibit: Mark Shigenaga

08/19/2026

“[My father] told me, ‘This is your country so you should fight for it. Do your best.’”
- Joseph Ichiuji, 442nd RCT, 522nd Field Artillery Battalion

Joseph Ichiuji is one ten Japanese American Nisei veterans featured in the Soldiers From the Camps interactive kiosk. The kiosk is in “Behind Barbed Wire,” the third of six thematic areas of the “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” traveling exhibit.

During World War II, Ichiuji and his family were forcibly removed to the Poston incarceration camp in Arizona. When the formation of a new, all-Japanese American combat team was announced, he immediately volunteered. Ichiuji explained, “I felt that I must not give up this opportunity to show my loyalty as an American citizen by serving my country.”

As a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), Ichiuji was assigned to the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion (FAB). In 1944, he fought in Italy and France as a gunner and field artillery specialist. In March 1945, the 522nd FAB was detached from the 442nd RCT and sent to provide additional firepower to U.S. Army units crossing into Germany.

In April 1945, Ichiuji and his Battery came across a concentration camp – it was one of the sub-camps of Dachau. He witnessed prisoners streaming out of the camp in their black and gray striped uniforms. They were extremely thin, hungry, and suffering from malnutrition. It was a sight he would never forget.

Nisei soldiers of the 522nd FAB also broke up the forced death march of Jewish prisoners near Waakirchen, Germany, and are attributed as one of the liberators of Haustetten, a subcamp of the Dachau concentration camp system.

We encourage you to visit “I Am An American,” at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco through September 13, 2026. For more information, visit njahs.org/iaaa.

To learn more about the traveling exhibit and its 11-city national tour, please visit https://nvnvets.org/nisei-soldier-traveling-exhibit/.

Photos courtesy of the Family of Joseph Ichiuji
Photographer, I Am An American exhibit: Mark Shigenaga

National Japanese American Historical Society

08/14/2026

The theme of the traveling exhibit “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” is based on this historical photo of the Masuda family’s grocery store in Oakland, CA.

On December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Tatsuro Masuda installed an “I AM AN AMERICAN” sign on his family’s storefront, Wanto Co. Tatsuro, a Nisei – second-generation Japanese American - had the sign fabricated to state his family’s American identity at a time when Japanese Americans were facing discrimination based on their ancestry and were looked upon with suspicion.

The photo, taken by Dorothea Lange, is in the first of six thematic areas of the exhibit. Titled “I Am An American,” this first area contains images, stories and artifacts that share the experiences of the Issei or first-generation. In 1888, large waves of Japanese immigrants began to arrive in Hawaii and the mainland U.S. They worked on plantations, farms and railroads, started businesses, built communities and served in the U.S. military during World War I.

We encourage you to visit “I Am An American,” now at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco through September 13, 2026. For more information, visit njahs.org/iaaa.

To learn more about the traveling exhibit and its 11-city national tour, please visit https://nvnvets.org/nisei-soldier-traveling-exhibit/.

08/12/2026

The theme of the traveling exhibit “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” is based on this historical photo of the Masuda family’s grocery store in Oakland, CA.

On December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Tatsuro Masuda installed an “I AM AN AMERICAN" sign on his family’s storefront, Wanto Co. Tatsuro, a Nisei – second-generation Japanese American - had the sign fabricated to state his family’s American identity at a time when Japanese Americans were facing discrimination based on their ancestry and were looked upon with suspicion.

The photo, taken by Dorothea Lange, is in the first of six thematic areas of the exhibit. Titled “I Am An American,” this first area contains images, stories and artifacts that share the experiences of the Issei or first-generation. In 1888, large waves of Japanese immigrants began to arrive in Hawaii and the mainland U.S. They worked on plantations, farms and railroads, started businesses, built communities and served in the U.S. military during World War I.

We encourage you to visit “I Am An American,” now at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco through September 13, 2026. For more information, visit njahs.org/iaaa.

To learn more about the traveling exhibit and its 11-city national tour, please visit https://nvnvets.org/nisei-soldier-traveling-exhibit/.

08/06/2026

Congratulations to Captain William Machida who was named “Veteran of the Game” by the New York Mets on July 24, 2026! He was presented the American flag by Mets pitcher, Nolan McLean.

A New York native, Capt. Machida served in U.S. Army intelligence during the Vietnam War from 1969-1972. Capt. Machida was an es**rt officer for Japan’s self-defense force martial arts team, coordinating demonstrations at U.S. Army bases including Fort Bragg and Fort Hood. For his service, he received the National Defense Service medal.

We salute Capt. Machida and the continuing legacy of Japanese Americans serving in the U.S. military. To learn more about the legacy of the World War II Japanese American soldiers, please visit our traveling exhibit “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience”.

“I Am An American” is showing at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco, California, through September 13, 2026. To purchase tickets to the MIS Historic Center: https://www.njahs.org/building-640/.

07/30/2026

“At the ceremony, when our battalions marched in, it was revealing to see how thinned out our ranks are now after our first tour of duty. I know that we have an imposing number of purple hearts already and that our list of those killed in action shows many from the mainland as well as Hawaii.”
- Mike Masaoka, 442nd RCT, July 31, 1944

On July 30, 1944, Japanese American Nisei soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, attended a memorial service near Cecina, Italy, after four weeks of continuous combat. During this period, the 442nd RCT had over 500 casualties, including those killed, wounded and missing in action.

The 442nd Medical Detachment log noted, “First Sunday since returning from the front lines, each battalion had a memorial service for our comrades, mourning their deaths and honoring their memory, dedicating ourselves to carry on their work here and forever.”

This photo is featured in “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” traveling exhibit showing at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco, California, through September 13, 2026. To purchase tickets to the MIS Historic Learning Center: https://www.njahs.org/building-640/.

To learn more about American WWII soldiers of Japanese ancestry, please visit us at https://nvnvets.org.

07/23/2026

"I Am An American" exhibit closes at the Presidio of San Francisco on September 13.

Don't miss the “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” exhibit currently showing at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco, California, through September 13, 2026. It is open Monday & Tuesday and Friday – Sunday, 12pm – 5pm. To purchase tickets to the MIS Historic Learning Center: https://www.njahs.org/building-640/.

“I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” is a new traveling exhibit that tells the storied history of second-generation Americans of Japanese ancestry, known as “Nisei,” who demonstrated their loyalty during World War II by enlisting to serve in the U.S. Army. In the exhibit, their service is recounted against the backdrop of fear and racial tension that inspired thousands to volunteer from Hawaii and drove the U.S. government to remove Japanese Americans and people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast to ten Wartime Relocation Authority (WRA) Incarceration Camps during the war.

Visitors will witness dozens of firsthand accounts, historical photos and rarely displayed artifacts that present the extraordinary courage and sacrifices of the Nisei soldiers, including those who comprised the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and duration of service.

For more information about this exhibit’s national launch visit nvnvets.org/exhibit.

To learn more about American WWII soldiers of Japanese ancestry, please visit us at https://nvnvets.org.

07/15/2026

“You fought not only the enemy, but you fought prejudice--and you have won. Keep up that fight, and we will continue to win--to make this great Republic stand for just what the Constitution says it stands for: the welfare of all the people all the time.”
- President Harry S. Truman, July 15, 1946

On July 15, 1946, President Harry S. Truman welcomed the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to Washington D.C. The Japanese American Nisei soldiers marched down Constitution Avenue before being reviewed and saluted by the president on the White House grounds at the Ellipse. During the ceremony, Truman pinned the unit’s 7th Distinguished Unit Citation streamer onto the colors of the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd RCT.

The Distinguished Unit Citation – now the Presidential Unit Citation – is awarded to units for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. During World War II, the 442nd RCT, together with the 100th Infantry Battalion, became one of the most highly decorated units for its size and length of service.

This photo is featured in “I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience” traveling exhibit. The exhibit tells the storied history of second-generation Americans of Japanese ancestry, known as “Nisei,” who demonstrated their loyalty during World War II by enlisting to serve in the U.S. Army.

“I Am An American” is currently showing at the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio of San Francisco, California, through September 13, 2026. To purchase tickets to the MIS Historic Center: https://www.njahs.org/building-640/.

To learn more about American WWII soldiers of Japanese ancestry, please visit us at https://nvnvets.org.

National Veterans Network

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