Born to missionary parents in Tokyo, Alfred John Burden grew up in Japan while attending the same schools as Japanese students. At the age of 14, his parents sent him to the United States to continue his education, and he eventually earned his medical degree. He began practicing medicine in Maui as a plantation doctor and later as a physician in an agricultural firm. He also signed up to join the Army Reserve.
<br><br>When the war began, he was sent to the 4th Army Intelligence School in the Presidio of San Francisco. He was one of the school's two Caucasian graduates and the only member from Hawaii in the first class. Upon graduating, he became part of the attachment to the Ohio National Guard's 37th Division. He and two Nisei soldiers left for Fiji on June 6, 1941. Wanting to use his linguistic skills to the full extent, he gathered other Japanese-speaking men he knew and formed the first combat intelligence team to work in Guadalcanal and other battles in the South Pacific. In addition to translating war maps, captured documents, and diaries, Burden's interrogation team also provided information about units, living conditions, and details about orders from the Japanese commanders. While serving in Guadalcanal, sensing how U.S. Army officials undervalued the service of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) men, Burden offered advice to the officials:
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It has been proven that only the Nisei are capable of rapid translation of written orders and diaries, and their use is essential in obtaining the information contained in them.
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<br><br>He and his team of linguists have been credited with having shown to U.S. forces the great value and contributions the MIS could provide for the war effort. Burden was also one of the first MIS members to make use of broadcasts and leaflets to urge the Japanese to surrender. In one of his first attempts to coax the Japanese to surrender, one Japanese straggler willingly gave up to the American forces. When Burden asked him to broadcast the surrender message, he complied. That afternoon, almost 20 people eventually came out of hiding and surrendered. Burden's "humane-treatment" approach would later be used widely by other MIS men.
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They [the Nisei] were willing to do most anything to try to get the Japanese to surrender rather than be exterminated....I think it's natural that they should have a feeling for their own countrymen.
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<br><br>After finishing combat intelligence work in the Solomon Islands, Burden returned to the language school to teach students about psychological warfare, including techniques for interrogating captured prisoners. Next, he was sent to China where he oversaw all communication lines coming in from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), and Chinese army sources. He was later awarded The Order of Three White Doves by Generalissmo Chiang Kai-shek.
<br><br>For his work in the South Pacific, Burden was awarded the Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.
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