Ben@HI Posted May 6, 2018 Share #1 Posted May 6, 2018 I had never seen a WW2 tag with a Buddhist religious preference before. But then again I don't collect dog tags so that's not saying a lot. I tried to look up the guy but other than some stuff about his post war service I couldn't find anything. Still I think it's kind of interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauthieb3sxz Posted May 6, 2018 Share #2 Posted May 6, 2018 B stands for Baptist on dog tags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 6, 2018 Share #3 Posted May 6, 2018 Buddhists have been around for hundreds of years...but this is the first time I've ever seen that on a WW2 dogtag! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodes Posted May 6, 2018 Share #4 Posted May 6, 2018 Where's the tetanas shot information?.....Bodes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben@HI Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share #5 Posted May 7, 2018 Please look at the first picture, it actually says Buddhist on the bottom that tag. Not just a B like his NOK tag. The shot date is odd. It's only on the single NOK tag and is marked T42 43 so I guess he got it in 43? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben@HI Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share #6 Posted May 7, 2018 Took some better pictures. As near as I can tell the 2 matching tags are made of nickel because they are corroding green. The single NOK tag looks to be stainless steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wharfmaster Posted May 7, 2018 Share #7 Posted May 7, 2018 Nice tags. Note that his next of kin is in the Tule Lake Internment Camp. Wharf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikie Posted May 7, 2018 Share #8 Posted May 7, 2018 That is a remarkable tag! Keep us posted if you find any info on him. Mikie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben@HI Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share #9 Posted May 7, 2018 I found a newspaper article from 1943 that mentioned he was a tech sergeant and was helping recruite Japanese Americans for Camp Savage. The national archives was almost a dead end, it had him as being reactivated in 1945 as a MSGT for 1 year but nothing about him before that. He passed away in 1985, I tried to find his obituary but couldn't. His son passed away locally a couple of years ago. I had no idea Tule Lake was a Internment Camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauthieb3sxz Posted May 7, 2018 Share #10 Posted May 7, 2018 WOW - Sorry I didn't see that at first. That's nuts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David D Posted May 8, 2018 Share #11 Posted May 8, 2018 Wow incredible set! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinO Posted May 8, 2018 Share #12 Posted May 8, 2018 Aloha Ben, He actually trained as a Japanese Language Instructor here in Minnesota during the war. In early 1946 he was a MSgt with the school's Headquarters element. I have the MISLS yearbook around here somewhere and will see if he is pictured for you when I have a free moment. Per the below he TDYd to Wright Field in 1946. Also might be worth reaching out to the archivist here. They have a lot of nice primary source material and may be able to provide some additional details: http://www.nvmc.org/about_us/facts_glance.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinO Posted May 8, 2018 Share #13 Posted May 8, 2018 Just checked the yearbook and he's not pictured, drat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben@HI Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share #14 Posted May 8, 2018 Thanks AustinO, camp Savage was the temporary school for Japanese language and was also in Minnesota. It moved in 44 to Ft Snelling Minnesota. Originally they were in San Francisco just before the war and during the war it was a secret school for teaching Japanese to American service members. Apparently it was mostly staffed by Nisei instructors which might explain why he had a temporary warrant officer prefix in front of his service number and why it's hard to find a lot about him. I haven't read the books but there are 2 books on Nisei linguists during WW2 and his name must be in both as I keep getting stuff about these books while searching for his name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skypilot6670 Posted May 8, 2018 Share #15 Posted May 8, 2018 Really nice tags thanks for posting. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capa Posted May 8, 2018 Share #16 Posted May 8, 2018 National WWII Museum worthy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted May 9, 2018 Share #17 Posted May 9, 2018 Incredible find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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