Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center
Building 640, Presidio of San Francisco
OPEN on Weekends: Saturday & Sunday, 12 Noon to 5PM.
Group & School Tours Available Monday through Friday by Appointment
Admission: $10. Free to veterans, children 12 & under, NJAHS members.
Click here to Register
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“A catalyst for change through cross cultural awareness–by learning from the past and influencing the future.”
Building 640, located along Crissy Field in the foreground of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, within the Presidio of San Francisco, was the original site of the clandestine language school for the Military Intelligence Service during World War II and home of the Fourth Army Intelligence School.* Japanese American soldiers secretly trained in Japanese military language one month before America’s entry into World War II. Although their top-secret work kept them from full public recognition, these soldiers applied their intellect, language skills, and cultural acumen to achieve victory. They saved countless lives, shortened the war and proved their loyalty to the United States. Their service in the face of racial prejudice, wartime hostility and global conflict can inspire us to understand what it means to be an American.
(*forerunner of the Defense Language Institute and Foreign Language Center in the Presidio of Monterey.)
Our mission at this interactive learning center is to preserve a vital part of American history as a tribute to the Japanese American experience and as a promise to the MIS legacy of peace and reconciliation.