Photo -- See Caption Below

442nd Infantry Combat Team Pennant

1943-1945

Camp Shelby, Miss. 442nd Infantry Combat Team Camp Shelby, Mississippi, has a long history as a basic training facility for soldiers from World War I to the present day. The segregated all-Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team was among many units that trained here during World War II.

The 442nd was comprised of Nisei volunteers from Hawai'i and volunteers and draftees from the ten mainland War Relocation Centers. There was initially considerable friction between the two groups. However, when visiting nearby War Relocation Centers in Arkansas, the Hawaiian boys were shocked to see mainlanders' families held behind barbed wire. This experience helped make the 442nd a cohesive and effective fighting force for the rest of the war.

Wool, felt. L 42, W 17 cm

Manzanar National Historic Site, MANZ 5161