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The Forgotten 506th Japanese-American Paratrooper, Takeshi Miyoko

No one has ever mentioned that there were two Japanese-Americans in Company G 506th Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division.  When Company G men would talk of Izumi they were really remembering Private First Class Takeshi Miyoko who joined Company G February 11, 1945.  The reason they don’t remember Mr. Miyoko is because he died in 1970 of a Heart Attack and time has forgotten him. 

On August 8, 2007 Tim Moore tried to get Izumi a Combat Infantry Badge when he sent a letter to a Congressman.  This letter has been discredited by Tim Moore himself in an email he sent me in January of 2019.  What’s interesting in this letter is that two of the men who claimed to have been at Bastogne with Company G weren’t actually there and a third man who signed it is still not sure to this day if Izumi was there. 

The three men were Ira Morehart, Thomas Kennedy and James “Pee Wee” Martin.  Ira Morehart came into Company G the same day as Private First Class Takeshi Miyoko, February 11, 1945.  The second man Thomas Kennedy was lost to hospital in September 1944 and never came back to Company G so he wasn’t their either.  

Someone could see where Ira Morehart thought he was in the Battle of the Bulge after watching all of the movies and TV shows over the years.  He was in the Alsace-Lorraine region starting February 11, 1945 and was there the rest of the way.  There is no doubt that the Japanese-American was Private First Class Miyoko that Mr. Morehart was mentioning.

2nd Lt Kennedy attested to 2 different letters that Izumi was at Bastogne.  Well guess what, both were a lie as Kennedy was back home in the United States August 28, 1944 and did not leave the USA again in WWII.

Mr. James "Pee Wee" Martin spoke in 2018 saying a Sergeant came into Co G as a Replacement after Normandy and that the new Sergeant was disliked by all.    

Pee Wee at the start of the segment (59:00) first named the (First) Sergeant Smith as the Rapist and Murderer.  The First Sergeant became a POW in Normandy June 10, 1944 so it wasn't him.  Pee Wee then named James Williams a good friend as the Rapist and Murderer a minute later.  Williams wasn't a Sergeant and he had actually come into Co G the same day Pee Wee did in 1942.  It shows his cognitive function declining naming two Company G men as Rapists and Murderers that weren't.  

If Pee Wee couldn't get the names straight in 2018 it would explain why in the Affidavit in 2019 he said he wasn't completely sure that Izumi was in the Bulge because he was thinking of Miyoko. 

Martin was out of action two different times.  First between September 24, 1944 to November 1, 1944 then between January 15, 1945 to March 14, 1945. It was Frozen Feet for Bastogne for his second injury.  Pfc Miyoko joined Company G while Martin was out non-battle for the second injury. 

Two Company G Commanders also said that Izumi was there.  The names of the two Captains were Joseph Doughty and William Cann.  The only problem is that the two Captains were also remembering Private First Class Miyoko and not Izumi.  Izumi didn’t come in until after the war had ended.   

Captain Joseph Doughty was with Company G from Bastogne until March 8, 1945 when Captain William Cann took over.  Both Doughty and Cann knew a Japanese-American soldier when in command of the Company.  That man was Private First Class Takeshi Miyoko. 

Captain Cann couldn't ID Izumi as being in Bastogne because Cann wasn't with Company G in Bastogne.  Cann came into Company G March 8, 1945, 6 weeks after Bastogne was done.  In the letter from Cann he was very detailed about what was going on at the end of the war.  That was 2 weeks before Izumi arrived into Company G (May 16, 1945).  That means it was Private First Class Takeshi Miyoko who Cann remembers.

Captain Cann even remembers that the Japanese-American Paratrooper was as Private First Class.  Takeshi Miyoko was a Private First Class while Izumi was just a Private when he came into the Company three months after Miyoko.

The Bottom line is Private First Class Takeshi Miyoko was in the Alsace-Lorraine region as he joined Company G February 11, 1945 and was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge while Izumi wasn't in Bastogne and didn’t come in until after the war was over

The man to remember is Private First Class Takeshi Miyoko who died so young in 1970. 

 

Brian N. Siddall
February 29, 2020
(Updated February 9, 2023)

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