AmateisGal
I'll Lock Up
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Ben Kuroki was born and raised in Nebraska, so he is a hero in our state. He was a Japanese-American who fought against prejudice and served in the US Army Airforces.
From the New York Times obit:
"Ben Kuroki was born in Gothenburg, Neb., on May 16, 1917, and grew up in Hershey, Neb., one of 10 brothers and sisters in a farm family. Soon after America entered World War II, he joined the Army Air Forces, with his brother Fred. It was rejecting Japanese-American enlistments, but a draft board official signed the brothers up for that branch.
Ben, only 5 feet 5 inches, wanted to be a pilot, and Fred hoped to be a navigator. But the brothers were ostracized by fellow trainees and confined to menial duties. Fred was transferred to the Army’s engineers. But Ben was so passionate in his quest to fly that he was allowed to go overseas with the 93rd Bombardment Group, which flew B-24 Liberators, after being dropped for a time from its roster. He was a clerk at first but took machine-gun training and began flying on raids.
Sergeant Kuroki took part in the August 1943 raid on the Ploesti oil fields in Romania that fueled the German war machine. After completing the 25 missions required before reassignment, he volunteered to keep flying and was allowed five more missions.
In February 1944, when Sergeant Kuroki was on leave at a reassignment center in Santa Monica, Calif., he spoke to the prestigious Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, whose members included leading businessmen, educators and journalists.
“When you live with men under combat conditions for 15 months, you begin to understand what brotherhood is all about, what equality and tolerance really mean,” he said."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/us/ben-kuroki-dies-at-98-fought-bias-to-fight-for-us.html?_r=0
From the New York Times obit:
"Ben Kuroki was born in Gothenburg, Neb., on May 16, 1917, and grew up in Hershey, Neb., one of 10 brothers and sisters in a farm family. Soon after America entered World War II, he joined the Army Air Forces, with his brother Fred. It was rejecting Japanese-American enlistments, but a draft board official signed the brothers up for that branch.
Ben, only 5 feet 5 inches, wanted to be a pilot, and Fred hoped to be a navigator. But the brothers were ostracized by fellow trainees and confined to menial duties. Fred was transferred to the Army’s engineers. But Ben was so passionate in his quest to fly that he was allowed to go overseas with the 93rd Bombardment Group, which flew B-24 Liberators, after being dropped for a time from its roster. He was a clerk at first but took machine-gun training and began flying on raids.
Sergeant Kuroki took part in the August 1943 raid on the Ploesti oil fields in Romania that fueled the German war machine. After completing the 25 missions required before reassignment, he volunteered to keep flying and was allowed five more missions.
In February 1944, when Sergeant Kuroki was on leave at a reassignment center in Santa Monica, Calif., he spoke to the prestigious Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, whose members included leading businessmen, educators and journalists.
“When you live with men under combat conditions for 15 months, you begin to understand what brotherhood is all about, what equality and tolerance really mean,” he said."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/us/ben-kuroki-dies-at-98-fought-bias-to-fight-for-us.html?_r=0
