Initially deemed “unfit” for military service, second-generation Japanese Americans known as Nisei would ultimately become the most highly decorated unit in US military history. Although most of them enlisted from Hawaii and WRA (War Relocation Authority) internment camps, a handful came from Michigan. This presentation highlights these men and tells the story of the Nisei soldiers of World War II and their connections to West Michigan.  

Subject: war, history 

Jennifer Tompkins is a researcher and lecturer focusing on the history of Asians and Asian Americans in the Midwest. She is the director of community history at the Grand Rapids Asian Pacific Foundation and serves as a trustee of the Grand Rapids Historical Society. In 2024, her original research on the Nisei Soldiers of WWII earned a regional Emmy for its adaptation into an episode of WGVU’s “Mutually Inclusive” series.