Shunji Hamano spent eight years in Japan and then returned to Los Angeles to finish high school. In June 1941, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and reported for basic training at Camp Roberts, California. When the Pacific War began, he and other Nisei in the Army were forced to relinquish their weapons. Later he was given orders to join a labor battalion along with 80 other Japanese-American soldiers. During this time, he and other Nisei were shuttled from one unit to another.
<br><br>In 1942, Hamano became part of the first Military Intelligence Service (MIS) class at Camp Savage, Minnesota. Upon graduation in December 1942, Hamano led a technical intelligence team assigned to the Air Corps in the Central Pacific and later transferred to New Caledonia to work on translation of captured documents from Guadalcanal. He then was assigned to an investigation team (Technical Air Intelligence or TAI), composed of photographers, aeronautical engineers, linguists, and officers. Their main responsibility lay in disassembling and investigating enemy aircraft to determine engine type and other related information. This piece of intelligence greatly influenced the design of U.S. aircraft used in the latter part of the war. Hamano was able to assist the team with the engineering terms in Japanese despite not having a technical background or access to any technical dictionaries.
<br><br>After serving in various islands in the South Pacific, Hamano landed in Hawaii to wait for his discharge papers. However, he was chosen by an officer to accompany him to Okinawa, and Hamano stayed in the Army until June 1945. He received his formal discharge in November 1945.
<br><br><br><br>