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New Georgia
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"During the first few weeks of combat on Guadalcanal, the few linguists available to the marines were Caucasians, highly competent but usually unable to understand the Japanese psyche and therefore unable to entice Japanese soldiers to surrender.”



Solomon Islands
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South Pacific Command Bougainville New Georgia Guadalcanal


South Pacific Command

MIS Nisei linguists arrived in New Caledonia, headquarters for the region, in May and June of 1942. They fought in prolonged battles for strategic locations such as New Guinea, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and other locations in the Solomon Islands. Near Brisbane, Australia, the Allies fought to keep these islands free of Japanese.

Guadalcanal:

The Japanese began landing materials on Guadalcanal to build an airstrip close to Australia. To counter this, the US offensive began on August 7, 1942. During this fight Nisei linguists interrogated the first captured Japanese pilot.

This battle was the first step in taking the remainder of the Solomon Islands.

New Georgia:

General Douglas MacArthur wanted to use New Georgia, an island north west of Guadalcanal, to approach the Philippines. Led by Admiral Nimitz, on July 1943, U.S. forces took the island with linguists on the front lines as infantrymen and interrogators.

Two MIS Nisei linguists were awarded the Bronze Star medal for their work on the front lines during the takeover of the island.

Bougainville:

On October 27, 1943, U.S. Marine Corps landed on Bougainville, beginning five months of intense fighting. Using information gathered by Nisei linguists, U.S. forces learned that a strong Japanese counterattack would begin on March 23, 1944.

This information allowed U.S. forces to prepare for the attack, known as the Second Battle of Bougainville. The U.S. suffered only one-twentieth the casualties as the Japanese who lost 8,000 soldiers. This victory effectively ended combat in the South Pacific. Two Nisei interrogators received the Bronze Star for providing the warning.

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