Izumi Still Not There
(in '44)
I will make this a little easier to
understand. All the important/key
parts of these 3 above are highlighted.
The first document on the left? That
shows Izumi was in Fort Benning, Georgia
March 24, 1945. He signed this
document on that day at Benning. It
says Witnessed at Ft. Benning below his
signature. The person who was there and
Witnessed was 1st Lt May Niles. There
is no question, none.
The second document is called Soldier's
Qualification Card. This is a card a
soldier carried with him where he went.
It was given to the Company Clerk when he
arrived at the new station.
The highlighted sections in this document
show his signature on the bottom right the
day he went on active duty. The next
highlighted section is the one on the bottom
left hand side. This shows when he
left the USA and when he came back.
Guess what? It shows him leaving 5
April 1945. The next highlighted part
of the second document shows what? Where he was for the entire war.
Izumi was in basic training until December
16, 1944.
Izumi then arrives at Fort Benning December 20,
1944. This one can be
hard to read so here is a breakdown and
the top and bottom
part of the Morning Report.
It
also
shows him at Fort Meade in Maryland arriving
28 March 1945. If someone thinks Izumi
was at the Bulge, they have issues with
reading comprehension.
The third document is a brand new one.
An Izumi family member was nice enough to
post this online the other day. This
document is, let's say, interesting.
This just came from the Army Review Board
Agency (ARBA).
It shows that the record was changed, and
poorly. It seems the Army Review Board
Agency (ARBA) didn't understand what they
were looking at when they came to this
decision. That being said, the most
important part is that the date he arrived
in Europe is still April 18, 1945.
That means he wasn't in the Bulge of course.
The other part that was changed now says
Izumi was in Normandy and Rhineland
(Holland) and the Ardennes. Of course
in the first two docs above shows during
that time period, the USA. So the Army
Review Board Agency (ARBA) is going to have
to go back in and take a look as it's a mess
now. His 53-55 was perfect for 76
years until this cluster occurred.
As a bonus Izumi was never in the 442nd.
He did go through basic training at Camp
Blanding between August 6, 1944 and December 17, 1944
then on to Benning but he was never a member of the 442nd
during WWII. Basic Training doesn't
mean you were in a unit. He might have
trained but until you go overseas it means
nothing.
Izumi was in Korea, that's true
he was in Korea between 1964-65.
During the 1950s he was in
Greenland and
Turkey.
Brian N. Siddall
October 16, 2022 |
