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George Nakamura Collection
2018.22  
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Description
The collection contains photographs, three letters, a souvenir newspaper, and a combat rifleman pin related to George Nakamura's military service in the 100th Infantry Battalion during World War II. There are references to friendships made with the Fitting family in Wisconsin during military training, and recovery in military hospitals in 1944.
Background
George Nakamura (1918-1949) was born and raised in Hawaii, one of nine children. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in December 1940 (and may have been with the United States National Guard in 1941), and was later sent to La Crosse, Wisconsin for training. While there, he met the Fitting family, who took care of him and included him in family gatherings. He went overseas as a member of the 100th Battalion. While fighting in Europe, he suffered from shell shock and was returned to South Carolina to convalesce. A nurse sent a few pictures and letters covertly to another Nakamura sibling, Gladys. George eventually returned to Hawaii, but was sent to the Territorial Hospital in Kaneohe, Hawaii (a mental institution) where he stayed until his death after a bout of pneumonia in 1949.
Extent
6 folders, 1 panorama photograph, 1 pin
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Collections Management and Access Unit at the Japanese American National Museum (collections@janm.org).
Availability
By appointment only. Please contact the Collections Management and Access Unit (collections@janm.org). Advanced notice is required.