Purple Heart Warriors: 5. The lost battalion
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Now, all her tech is connected. Exactly. Step it up with Cox Multi-Gig Speeds. Available everywhere. Two gig download speeds, individual speeds vary. See cox.com for details. Dramas. Immersive storytelling. From the BBC World Service. Before we start, a warning that this episode contains dramatized battle scenes and outdated racial language.

This is Purple Heart Warriors, an original six-part drama series inspired by real events from the BBC World Service. Episode 5, The Lost Battalion. The Japanese-American 100th 442nd Regimental Combat Team arrived in France, still dressed in their summer-issue uniforms. They were met with thick fog and chilling temperatures in the dense and foreboding forests of the Vosges Mountains.

Attached to the 36th Infantry Division, also known as the Texas Division, they were placed under the command of Major General John Dahlquist, who had had no previous combat experience. Dahlquist's penchant for micromanaging combat units and usurping the chain of command often rankled his officers. Still, they managed to liberate the town of Bruyere and overtook the surrounding hills, though not without suffering great losses.

Now they were ordered to head back down into the town of Bifontaine, a strategy which commanding officers and later historians criticized as having little tactical value. Our story continues in Bifontaine, France, October 1944.

Captain Kim, we have orders to take Biffontaine. You're to set out at 0500. Colonel Pence, sir, with all due respect, that's a bad idea. We're already beyond radio range. I'm using a hand-cranked radio from 522's truck to patch us in. But once we're beyond that ridge, we'll have no more communications. We'll be beyond artillery support. We're already low on food and ammo. We'd been in battle for so long that it was hard to remember who I really was. Only every now and then, it would hit me.

I'm Ken Morioka from Los Angeles, and I had just turned Grandpa Allen's Japanese Mochi Bakery into Go Nuts Donuts. Not sure how it happened or why, but I suddenly found myself in the 1940s, trapped in my grandpa's 18-year-old body, fighting in the war. We had come through Italy, pardoned, and having lost some of our buddies from Camp Shelby training, but France was a whole nother hell on earth.

I understand, Captain, but I've got direct orders from General Dahlquist. But, sir! And orders and order. My original battalion had already shrunk by half. The only boys left of my bunkmates from Camp Shelby were Louie Newey, the skyscraper from Hawaii, Shorty, his polar opposite from Los Angeles, myself, and Sonny, a charismatic islander from Maui. Only now, he had stopped dancing the hula and had all but lost the spring in his step.

So what's going to happen at Biffontaine? I can't say for sure, Sonny. You're going to kick their coals, that's what. Boxer was a transfer from M Company. Boxer wasn't his real name. His name was Barney Hajiro, but he had a tendency to insert himself into scuffles. No, I stay asking Locomoco about what he's going to see in his crystal ball in the future. Sonny was the one person who had started to believe that I was from the future. I had inside knowledge, so to speak.

But I had to try to remember and interpret the fantasy stories my grandpa Alan used to tell me as a kid. The Usans were weary from their fighting, and the bone-chilling cold. They chopped branches from trees to use as blankets. The red devil Oni, led by the evil master they called the Fury, kept multiplying.

throwing deadly walks at the Usans and raising havoc, sending their screeching birds to save a tiny village. The Usans went backwards down a valley, but it was a costly mistake. Why was it a mistake? They ended up trapped there and lost their best and most experienced warriors when they could have moved forward and defeated the Fury instead.

Many Usans went to the land of the giants there. I see this maneuver's the wrong move. I'm going to talk to Captain Kim. Good luck, brada. What is it, soldier? Captain Kim, sir. I really think trying to take Bifonten would be a mistake. You think I don't know that? You tell me how to convince Colonel Pence. Offer an alternative. Why don't we move forward instead of backwards and attack the Germans from the back? We can wait for more troops and then we can all go down the hill tomorrow.

Otherwise, why'd we fight to take this hill if we're just gonna abandon it? It's not going to change the General's mind. We could lose a lot of men, sir. Colonel Pence, you gotta listen to me. This plan of moving forward instead of back would make a lot more sense. For the last time, Captain Kim, your orders are to take Bifontaine. Damn, General Darquist! I'm right here, soldier. Do you want to be court-martialed?

General, sir. It should be an easy enough thing for your men to do, Captain Kim. Now get on with it. You've got to promise me that the rest of the 442, or some other regiment, I don't care who it is, will be on this hill tonight. My men didn't fight for this advantage for nothing. If you can promise me somebody's going to be up here, then my men can afford to go down there and take Bifontaine. You have my solemn promise. You know that the moment we take off this ridge...

We won't have communications? I know that, Captain. Good luck, sir. Any luck? No, but you just follow my lead, alright? I didn't know how I got here, in this world, in this timeline. There was a part of me that felt fearless. That perhaps I'd been hit by a truck and was in a coma and at some point I would finally wake up. But then there was another part of me that felt if I died in my dream... Well, you know how they say that if you die in a dream, you die in real life?

Whatever the case, it had become my mission to keep Sonny alive. The war buddy that my grandpa Alan had been the most devastated about losing. All looks quiet. It doesn't look like they're expecting us. Alright men, here's the plan. We want to keep them in the dark for as long as possible. A company and C company will go down that ridge into the village. I'll lead C company. Captain Minori's company will go down the other ridge, cut it off, and safeguard it so we can get out of there. Mm-hmm.

We gotta run like hell through the fields, man. Try to get to the houses as quick as possible. You four, take the house on the left. You four, the one on the right. I'll take the rest of the team up and we'll split off as we go. Hold fire for as long as possible. First of all, we don't have much ammo. And second, we want to sneak in before they know what hit them. Watch for my signal before you start shooting. So far so good. I'll watch the front. Boxer and Shorty, see if you can spot how many are inside. Okay.

Sonny, over on that side. I see a tree inside. Boxers signaling the same. Jerry's taking a leak out here. Crap! Eight years of judo classes that my grandpa had forced me to take finally had a purpose. Maybe this is what I'd been preparing for all along. Sonny, grab his gun! Oh, got him. I think he's out. Go, Will! Got one! Two inside, get shot!

Inside! Inside! Now! Come on, Sunny! There was no walk in the park, but with the element of surprise and the cover of darkness, we were able to take Bivonten. We captured 50 Germans, including a high-ranking Major. Despite all the warnings and misgivings, it was starting to feel like it was mission accomplished, until Captain Kim brought us new intel that the fight wasn't over yet. Men, we've cleared the town.

But stay covered because the Jerries are still roaming the hills. Stay away from the windows. We've captured an SS captain who was on a reconnaissance to bring tanks up here, so be on your toes. Sir, I want you to see something, Captain Kidd. Come on back here, Captain Minori. A ways back from the door. You see that? There's a tank down there, and they're getting ready to bring another tank in. They're planning to launch an attack. That's what it looks like, sir. Damn it!

Captain Kim! Somebody get a medic! Yes, sir. Where'd that Jerry come from? One of our units cleared that stable hours ago. He must have been hiding somewhere. Son of a... Hold still, sir. I'm going to try to stop the bleeding. Captain Kim, along with a number of other wounded, was evacuated out the next day, with German prisoners of war carrying the litters, vetting back the way we came from.

I see Louie Nui in the house on the right. Signal him.

But they stay low on ammo too. If you Americans want to live, surrender now! No surrender! I can still punch 'em! I ready this time. I gonna use those judo moves you went taught me, eh, Locomoco? Sounds like the Jerry's got more reinforcement. We need to be ready to make a run for it. Those windows in the back. Maybe we can break 'em open. I go and check how many stay out there. Hey! Careful, Boxer. Don't stand in front of the window. Holy crap. We gotta make every bullet count.

Wait until they're in view. Hey boys! Anybody in here? Hello? Anyone in there? Wait, wait! That's all boys! For the love of Pete, it's about time! That operation cost us another 21 killed, 122 wounded, and 18 captured. Some of our best officers were out of commission, but our team had made it. Intact.

We learned that the party evacuating the wounded had been ambushed by an enemy combat patrol. Captain Kim, despite his wounds, as well as a medic, managed to escape into the woods, but the rest were taken prisoner. We were sent back to Belmont, a small town we had liberated on the way to Bifontaine.

If it had been future me on a holiday tour, I would have been awed by the centuries-old red brick church with a towering spire at the top of the hill. I'd be taking selfies for social media on narrow cobbled streets or in front of close-knit houses stacked in tiers on the hillside. But instead, my only thought when we arrived was how few of us there were left in my company. Sure feels good to take a hot shower. You mean lukewarm. It's far from hot.

Yeah, we all pilau. Stink like pigs. How come the shower head's always so short? Two minutes is over. Man, never even get to clean my alcohol. Hey, nothing gonna make your butt smell good, boxer. Head to Area C for your new clothes. Thanks.

Heard from somebody in the 100. Forget about the cotton underwear. Try ask for two wool trousers. They dry faster. Good tip. And don't ask for overcoats. Some guys get killed by friendly fire because the Jerrys wear overcoat. Just wear the combat jackets. Those of us who were left had learned the tricks to staying alive. Or at least, that's what we told ourselves in our heads. Because it was mostly due to lady luck that we were still there.

Try to hold out, Lieutenant. We've already sent 2nd and 3rd battalions out there. Colonel Pence.

We need the 442nd back in there. But, sir, they've only had two days' rest. You know that there were heavy casualties at Bifontaine. We can't abandon our Texans. I want a frontal attack, and they need to be out there tomorrow. I hope we get one good long break before we go back in there. We made it this far, sonny. Thanks, brah. Hey, using your judo moves on that Jerry probably went save my life. Yeah, I sure hope so. So when the war over...

1945. I think Germany surrendered in May. Oh, shoot. It's still the October. Still got half a year left. But France is supposed to be the hardest part, no? That's right, sonny. If you survive France, I bet we'll make it to the end. Still get my lucky coin. You still get the one I gave you? Mm-hmm. Right here. So what's the first thing you want to do when you get back home? Eat hamburger and rice for three days straight. Then I go and see my honey.

I'm proposed to her? Sounds good. What about you? What you going to do? I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I'll be stuck in this time period forever or if I'll be able to go back to life in 2024 in Los Angeles. I don't know if my girlfriend, Emily, will remember me or if she's already moved on. Already? People in 2024 tend to have short attention spans. They forget pretty easily. Hey, if she forget you, no worries, huh? We get plenty nice girls in Maui.

Come visit. You bet. We can have one luau, Japanese style, with sushi. And I make you the best mochi. Mochi? And then we're going... Mochi? Oh, yeah. Yeah, because I was thinking maybe someday I'm going to open one mochi store. Mochi store? Holy cow, that was your dream. My Grandpa Alan started up a wagashi shop. I'm not kidding. It was named Sayaka. Hey, that's my nickname. Sayaka means bright. Like me. Sunny. So what happened to the store? I, uh...

I ran it after he died. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I had changed the name of the store and the product, something I was beginning to regret. Oh. Okay, I'm definitely going to visit after the war. Guys, we're being called to assemble. Son of a... But we just got here. It was as if we were on a never-ending cycle of wash, rinse, and repeat. General Dumbquest continued sending troops up a hill without enough support.

Then they would inevitably get cut off, and then more troops had to be sent in to try and rescue them. We were cold. We were exhausted. We were at our physical and mental breaking points. I heard a guy in E Company just started screaming in the middle of the night. Started yelling about all the shells crashing in the trees, even though it was quiet. And then he took off. They had to restrain him and bring him back. But I'm not sure if they're going to court-martial him or send him to the hospital for going loony.

There'll be a better term than loony in the future. It's called post-traumatic stress disorder. Huh. Well, that's a mouthful. Loony's a lot easier to say. No, it's not. It's not fair. Not getting rest is just going to make us all go crazy. Kent. Are you calling me Kent now? Well, you said that's your name in the future, so I'm going to call you that instead of Locomoco. Thanks, Sonny. Yeah, well...

Maybe we're both local anyway. So, we're still in France, and we're going up to the front again. You remember anything from your Ji Chang going help us stay alive? No, Sonny. There's nothing I can remember that'll help us. Well, you know what? I'm going to talk to one of the captains. See if I can convince him that we don't have to go. They can send in another battalion. No, can't. What do we have to lose? I'll go right now. Stop. I don't need for you to talk to anyone. Okay? Okay.

Last time's mission was one mistake like you said, but this time we gotta help the 141st. I know I look like one coward. But isn't that better than being dead? Ow! Hey, maybe you don't know what this fight is about 'cause you from the future. What is it, Sonny? This not about us here. Maybe we gonna die out here, or lose one leg, or go crazy. But we not fighting for us. Just for the people back home. So howlies no keep looking at us like we the enemies.

Like us Nisei stay job spies working for Hirohito or something like that. Or like we no deserve to be a part of America, eh? Didn't think we fighting for all our mothers and our fathers and our sisters and the next generation. So they can get decent kind jobs. So they can get little bit respect, eh? We gotta let them know we American and we stay just as patriotic as they are. Our parents.

Our grandparents, they traveled so far for one better life, so we need to step up too. We're not going to look like cowards. And if I end up dead, so be it. Yeah, I get it. Sonny, my grandfather, all these men were so young. 17 and 18 year olds. Kids who had yet to become adults, willing to exchange their futures for the rest of the worlds. So what happened after that?

The Usan warriors had to go on their most dangerous mission yet, rescuing the lost cowboys. We trudged through the dark and the icy cold rain, up the steep terrain of the Vosges Mountains. I didn't think France was such a vertical country, but it sure seemed like we were always climbing uphill. The dense fog made it impossible to see twenty feet ahead of us. Bushes and trees loomed like monsters. What I wouldn't give for that California sunshine.

Should we make a difference in the future? What do you mean? Fighting in the war. Yes, we win the war. No, I mean like things going change for us Niseis. I think so. Not right away. But one of the people fighting here now in the 442 becomes a senator. Nah, keep pulling my leg. Senator Inouye. I think he was one of the longest serving senators. Oh, they let a Nisei be one senator.

We even elected a black president. Well, now I know you ain't gonna lie to me. That's never going to happen. It happens. Ooh, sounds like the future's going to be way better. Nothing like now. Well, better in a lot of ways, but in others, it doesn't feel too different. There's lots of innocent people dying in wars. People attracted to tough-talking nationalists who use scapegoat politics. Sounds like Hitler. Exactly. A lot more division, too.

Americans fighting Americans. People starting to not believe in democracy anymore. Us fighting now not gonna matter in the future. It matters, Sonny. I just hope people in the future remember why. 141st, 2nd Battalion coming down the hill. Hey, why they coming back down? They've been attempting a rescue of 1st Battalion for two days. We couldn't get through. Good luck, guys. It's suicide going up that hill.

Hey, so remember how you said you was going to visit me in Maui afterwards? Yeah, of course I will. Well, if I don't make it out of here, can you still go visit my hometown for me? What are you talking about, Sonny? You're gonna make it. No, just in case I don't come out alive. Can you give my money to my parents? I'm sure that'll all be taken care of. No, make sure for me, huh? And I get some gifts from my fiancée too. I was going to send to her, but then we get this mission.

Tell her I want her to be happy with whoever she end up with. I'll do my best. And I'll stay in my pack. Hey, if I don't make it out and you do, maybe you can start up that mochi store instead. Yeah. I go and call it Sayaka, too, eh? The icy wind from the north blew every man to the bone. They had to scale up the mountain on narrow paths through the forest, higher and higher into the heavens.

The ogres threw rocks and sent their fire-breathing birds, and the land was riddled with exploding stones. Exploding stones? Yes. The warriors had to be very careful, because if they stepped on the wrong stone, it could explode and send them flying in the air.

It's going to get hairy, sonny. Stay behind the minesweepers. I can't see the sweepers. I can't even see two feet in front of me. Just hold on to my belt. We started to form a human chain, each person holding tightly onto the buddy in front of them. But we knew that if we lost our grip, we'd all come tumbling down together and maybe wouldn't be found until morning, if at all. Of course I'd stay stuck behind boxes stinky or cully. That's what you get, huh? Kiss my cully. Ha ha.

"Both of you shut up or we'll all be dead of colas or whatever the hell you call butts in Hawaiian." And into the lion's den they went. And in that moment, I couldn't help but think that people in my time had all but forgotten what had happened, who had died, and why. Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans, Indigenous Americans, Americans.

Next time, the 442nd reach for their regimental motto when they most need it. You damn jerks! Go and get her now! Boxer! This has been Episode 5 of 6 of Purple Heart Warriors with Aki Kotabe and Will Sharp written by Iris Yamashita directed by Jessica Dromgoole produced by Catherine Bailey and is a Catherine Bailey production for the BBC World Service.

Yoga is more than just exercise. It's the spiritual practice that millions swear by.

And in 2017, Miranda, a university tutor from London, joins a yoga school that promises profound transformation. It felt a really safe and welcoming space. After the yoga classes, I felt amazing. But soon, that calm, welcoming atmosphere leads to something far darker, a journey that leads to allegations of grooming, trafficking and exploitation across international borders.

I don't have my passport, I don't have my phone, I don't have my bank cards, I have nothing. The passport being taken, the being in a house and not feeling like they can leave.

You just get sucked in so gradually.

And it's done so skillfully that you don't realize. And it's like this, the secret that's there. I wanted to believe that, you know, that whatever they were doing, even if it seemed gross to me,

was for some spiritual reason that i couldn't understand revealing the hidden secrets of a global yoga network i feel that i have no other choice the only thing i can do is to speak about this and to put my reputation and everything else on the line i want truth and justice

And for other people to not be hurt, for things to be different in the future. To bring it into the light and almost alchemise some of that evil stuff that went on and take back the power. World of Secrets, Season 6, The Bad Guru. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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