Purple Heart Warriors: 3. True Americans
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Before we start, a warning that this episode contains dramatized battle scenes and outdated racial language.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 3, True Americans. Members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, including the newly trained 2nd and 3rd Infantry Battalions, assembled on May 1st, 1944 to board ships headed to an unknown destination.

Unbeknownst to them, a smaller group of Japanese Americans, some of them relatives of the men in the 442nd, were already fighting overseas and waiting to join with them. These were former members of the Hawaii National Guard, designated as the 100th Battalion. Having already proven their mettle, they paved the way for more Japanese Americans to enlist. Our story continues in Hampton Roads Port, Virginia, May 1944. Set the world, set the world in sight.

Company, tear up! So prepare, say a prayer. Send the word, send the word to me. Resume back till it's over, over.

Listen up, boys! You will not ask me where we are headed. You will not ask me how long we will be on the ship. You are doing your patriotic duty and fighting for America, and that's all that matters. File up in alphabetical order. The checker will call your last name, and you will step forward and answer with your first name. Then you will board the ship with your packs. You know those nightmares where you know you're in a dream, but you can't wake up? That's where I found myself.

I was running a donut shop in downtown LA when I found myself trapped in 1943 in the 18-year-old body of my grandpa. I didn't know if it was some kind of curse. But there I was in the 442nd All-Nisei Regimental Combat Team. Mizutani! Katsumi! Moriguchi! William! Morikawa! Isao! Morimoto! Fred! Morioka!

Hey, Loco Moco. Loco Moco was the nickname I had been given. Morioka! Loco meaning crazy and pigeon, and Moco being the shortened version of my last name, Morioka. Morioka? You're up! Morioka! Yes, that's me. Pay attention, soldier. First name? Kent. Kent...

You're not here. Sir, I don't think I'm supposed to be on this ship. My name's Ken Morioka. I'm sure I'm not on the roster. You ought to be court-martialed. I thought you Japs had been stepping up, and I can see now that you're all just... Sir, you'll have to excuse Morioka. He's not all right in the head. Bar fight, you understand. I had told everyone my story about being in Jichan's body, but no one believed me. What's his name, Sarge? My name's... His name's Alan. Come on, Locomoco. Get back in line before you get us all in trouble.

There was no way out. I was headed for the front lines. Our company was a mix of islanders from Hawaii and mainlanders. My grandmother had told me that Grandpa Allen's best buddy was an islander named Soneo, whose nickname was Sonny. Oh, look at that! One, two, three, four, five! Five punks high! Woo-hoo! Ooh, like Pianta!

If you fall off, you're gonna get one pretty big lump on the head, eh? Don't worry. We're crammed so damn tight that there isn't room to fall off. Barry was a mainlander like myself, nicknamed for his baritone voice. Yeah, I mean, two bucks! The Jason Momoa-like giant named Ryuichi went by Louie Newie. Hey, where do you think we're going? To the Pacific? No, dummy. If we were going to the Pacific, we'd have boarded off California. Besides, if we had to fight against Japan, nobody would know who's on whose side.

Imagine the mayhem when someone says, "Shoot that short Asian fella!" Shorty's nickname was self-explanatory. You the only one who stay short here, brah. I'm pretty sure we're going to Europe, Ji-Chen. I mean, like Shorty said, it makes more sense than to go fight in the Pacific. As the lieutenant said, all that matters is that we're doing our patriotic duty.

Ota was a mainlander who just went by Ota, but since he was made sergeant, we've been calling him Sarge. Get settled in, boys. And last but not least was Krooner. He was the silent type who let his ukulele do the talking. Once upon a time, there was a band of mythic warriors from a land called Usa. They were ordered by their king to fight the Oni.

Heading out on the ship reminded me of my Jee-Chun's stories. What's an oni? Oni means ogre, red horned devils. He never talked about the war, never talked about anything much, but he told the best bedtime stories. The ogres were already invading a nearby kingdom.

So the wise king sent his best warriors to help the nearby kingdom to try to defeat the Oni before they came to his own land. The brave warriors set sail for thirty days and thirty nights. Before they arrived on the land, the Oni had ravaged. Little did they know that they were arriving on the steps of Hell. I started to have an uneasy feeling.

Maybe those fantasy stories Ji-Chan told me were real. Look, this is the Sennin body my family made for me. One thousand stitches for good luck. That old country underwear, Hui?

Laugh all you want, shorty. Heard there's a guy in the 100th battalion? His family made him ascending body, and he got shot twice. Once in the leg, and once in the shoulder. But he survived. But he got shot twice. Not so lucky. I didn't know there was a Japanese-American unit already fighting. One puka puka. My cousin stay in the one puka puka. My big brother Taka in the 100th too. You mean to tell me there's someone even bigger than you? Bigger in age. I'm still the tallest.

This my lucky charm. What's that, Louie Louie? A dead flea in a napkin? Shut your mouth. This my lucky brown rice. My mom went find them in one bag of white rice. Says it was lucky to find this one tiny brown rice in one whole bag full of white. So she went give it to me. I sure miss rice.

Even though the men were putting on a sense of bravado, I could feel reality was setting in once we were on the boat. So, what made you guys join up? What made you volunteer? Like you, Barry. You're fighting for a country that locked your family up. Gotta show we're patriotic. Good Americans like everybody else. Then they'll let us all out. They're never gonna think we're good Americans. I'm fighting for their pay. Can't make much money stuck in a prison camp.

Maybe they stop calling us Japs then, eh? Show us a little more respect. We no stay on the side of Tojo. We fight for Uncle Sam. Yeah. What about your girlfriends back home? Girlfriends? I get plenty. All crying for me. I get one Wahine back home. Name's Fujiko. Don't worry, I got a picture. If I make enough money in the war, I can move off at the plantation to Kahului. Get one real job. Then we can get married, have one family.

How about you, Loco Moco? I have a girl. Name's Emily. I sure do miss her. But all your letters are coming from Hanako. That's my grandma. Emily doesn't even know I'm here. She must have figured it out by now. Lombai, she's real sad you never say goodbye. Maybe. Hey, all this talk about girls gonna make me sad, huh? What's your good luck charm, Loco Moco? Good luck charm? Um...

Don't think I have one. You gotta have something to protect you. Let me give you one of my lucky coins. I get two silver dollars, so you can have one. Thanks, Sonny. I wish there was something I could offer you in exchange. Hey, no worries. Just a thank you is enough. I couldn't stop the thought. Did he do the same for Ji-chan? Did he give him a silver dollar too? Was Ji-chan less of a bullhead back then? Come on, Ken!

It's time for judo class! Can I skip this week? I'm still sore from last week! You skip one class, then you want to skip another class, and then you quit! But I have homework! No more excuses! You will go to judo class, and then you will do your homework. I'll be waiting in the car. Keechin hates me. Of course he doesn't hate you. It's just, life has been tough.

Ever since he lost his friend, Soneo, in the war, Ji-chan's always had a cloud hanging over him. How'd he die? I don't know, Ken. Ji-chan doesn't talk much about the war. But I think it was in France somewhere. Ji-chan always blamed himself for not having protected Soneo. That's when it suddenly hit me. Maybe, just maybe, the whole reason I was there was to change something.

And those stories my grandpa told me weren't stories at all, but about his experiences in the war and I just had to decipher them. First I had to try to remember them and interpret them. Then maybe I could save Sonny. Holy crap. We're just on a landing craft for a giant martini shaker. Land at last. How long has it been? A month. Where it is? Can't you tell by the signs? We're in Italy. Look at that guy. Looks practically green. Who is he?

Poki, you want last minute recruit to I Company. From Hilo. Oh, you're gonna throw up now. Don't laugh. I feel worse than on my 21st birthday drinking bitch. You still 18, Okomoko. We're heading out, men. Five miles to camp. At least you don't stay pack up like sardines anymore and out in the fresh air. El unui. What's the matter? This place hit real bad. Yeah, it's called war.

I never know they was bombing regular houses and people too. Is that? Tell me that's a dead cow over there and not a human. Don't know if it's the gear or the sea legs but it looks like we've been walking for at least 10 miles and it hasn't even been 5. It's the elevation. Air is thinner. Is that one B or... German planes! Get down! Take cover! Hit the ground everybody!

Son of a motherless goat! Everybody okay? Look Sarge, I think they weren't aiming for us. But something over there... But they went hit! Supply dumps. Talk about trial by fire. Don't wet your pants, men! Get up and keep walking! This is the easy part. Oh, and by the way, you've got a surprise waiting when we reach camp. What do you think the surprise is? Maybe we're heading out to the front, or we're heading to Rome for a little R&R. Hope it's Rome.

Heard they had plenty of wine. Beautiful women with big knuckles. This doesn't look like Rome. Here we are men, Civita Vecchia. And the surprise is that the 100th Infantry Battalion is joining us up here. You may recognize some of your friends and relatives. I personally would have preferred wine and women as the surprise.

Hey, welcome, little brothers. You guys show one side for so I. Sonny, oh, hey, you made it. Genji, whoo! Hasn't been that long since I saw you, cuz, but whoo, you look like one old man now. You just went and get out of bed or you've been drinking. It's the war, boys. Speaking of drinking, I get some wine, cuz, whoo. Hey, you see my brother, Taka. Taka? Takashi Nakayama from Maui. You get one more right here, glasses too. Oh, yeah, Taka, yeah.

He's gone, Brian. Guess he never get the news yet, huh? What do you mean, gone? You mean he get leave? Or he wounded? No, no, no. He, uh... He step on a landmine. He passed, brother. I'm so sorry. No. I just get one letter from him. Must have been another Takashi. You need to go see Chaplain Yamada. Sorry, huh? That sucks. About Louie and Louie's brother. Chaplain Yamada gonna have one service. Lay him to rest. Louie's taking it hard.

At least you get some leave time for the service. Was plenty brutal, huh? Lost half our battalion already. Those 25-mile marches at Camp Shelby. Wish you were back doing that instead of the crazy hills over here. Germans all sitting at the top. Soon as we start going up the slope, they start mowing us down. Or you step on a landmine. The Porter's already calling us the Purple Heart Battalion. Even our Howley majors and colonels are getting taken out. Hey, brah.

Not totally that. Gonna scare everybody. Don't talk like this. Hey, they gotta know what's coming. The worst thing is, they give those Howley troops all the credit for what we did. We cleared those Jerrys from Hill 435 on our way to Rome. Even though two other battalions don't can do it. Then guess who get to be the heroes? Not us. We were told we gotta stop and wait while all the Fifth Army went pass us by. So they can look like they the ones beat the Jerrys.

Come to think of it, I don't think the Nisei regiment was ever mentioned in my history class. Of course, nothing going to be mentioned yet. That's Locomoco. He's a little mixed in the head. Says he's from the future or something like that. We've seen a lot of men go popule, but usually after the action, not before. Hey, Sonny, I want to show you some judo techniques. Judo?

You never know. It could be useful if a German comes rushing towards you with a bayonet. Don't think that's gonna work, huh? Come at me. I'll show you. Just rush me. Okay then. Give it all you got. You ready? Mm-hmm. Why you ain't learn that stuff? Something my grandpa made me learn. Show me how you ain't do that. Okay, here.

It's all about breaking your opponent's balance. So if I'm coming towards you like this, you put your foot down here, you grab my arm here, and then you already have gravity on your side and you... You okay? Yeah. You're a fast learner. Try to flip me again. You sure? Mm-hmm. I hope Ji-Chun was watching and seeing that I was doing my best to get out of this curse. I started to wonder if this was an alternate reality where maybe I could change the outcomes and I could keep Sunny from dying...

But then another thought occurred to me. If I could keep Sunny alive, did that also mean that I, or Ji-chan, or whoever the heck I was, could die? Man, you have made the brave and manly choice to fight for the American way of life. A good American is one who is loyal to this country and to our creed of liberty and democracy. As commanding colonel of the 442nd,

I ask that all of you never let your fear of death overpower your sense of honor and the sense of duty to your country. The way ahead may be full of trials. It may be hard. It may be cruel. It may be downright horrific.

But I need you to put it all on the line and prove to everyone that you are true Americans. Prepare your packs. We're heading out at 0100. In our first major battle, we made some blunders, getting lost in the hills, but came upon enemy troops in Belvedere.

The 100th came up from behind and managed to rout the Germans, who took off in just a few hours when they saw themselves surrounded and outgunned. We thought things were going to be a relative cakewalk. Then we headed north, past the Chechnya River.

Lui Nui rejoined our company near Pieve di Santa Luce, a village in Tuscany with rolling hills and wheat fields. Heard I miss all the action. I sure miss you, bro. Let's get some stinking jerrys. I'm going to pay back those Bacatades for Taka. Sure is quiet. These wheat fields remind me of the cane fields back home. Don't even hear a single bird or insect. I don't like this.

We're too out in the open here. Yeah, kinda like city ducks. Those men from the hundred said the Germans always take the high ground on the hills. Makes sense. Then they can see all of us coming from miles away. That hill up there, that's our objective, men. Steady the course. Get down! Get down, Sonny! Sniper! Holy crap! What do we do now? Don't move! If we stand up it's certain death.

There's no place to take cover! We no can retreat! Anyone catch where he's at? Ten o'clock! Cover me! Sarge, it's suicide! No way! You got him, Sarge! We'll shoot the sniper! Get on your feet, man! Over at the cliff! I'll distract them! Where's Sarge going? He's misdirecting them! Drawing the fire away from us! Get up! Run for the cliffs! Go, go, go, go! Come on, Sonny! Stay low and follow me! It was starting to make sense to me now.

Those stories Jeechan told me as a kid. The ones he didn't read from a book, but seemed to make up on the fly. The mythic warriors of Usa reached a village full of wheat fields. The ogres had hid in the mountains, waiting for the trap they had set. Silently waiting, like vultures for their prey. Then, they started pelting the warriors with deadly boulders that killed them on the spot.

But a heroic Usan warrior went ahead of the others and distracted the ogres. He spread to the left, and then to the right, and then to the left again, confusing the ogres and distracting them to aim for him instead of the group. To the cliffs! To the cliffs! Don't stop! We're almost there! Warrior Pota rejoined his men to safety under the cliff. Everybody okay?

But one of the straggling Usan warriors was hit by a rock. Damn, it's Poki Yoshino! Don't worry, I'll get you! Sarge! Everybody else, stay undercover! Warrior Ota bravely crawled back to the man to try to get him to safety. I'm coming, Poki! Just hang on! Stones were crashing down every which way. But Warrior Ota was determined.

He would save the one injured warrior. See? I got you! Thanks, Sarge! Listen, Poki. I'm gonna take you to that ditch over there before we both become mincemeat. Then I can take a better look at you. Hang on! Sarge... As of me, as of me... Sure you will. Help me... Sarge... Sarge...

I cannot see. Jichun, they made it out alright, didn't they? Warrior Ota carried Warrior Yoshino and they both went to the land of the giants. The land of the giants? When warriors accomplished their tasks, they were rewarded and sent to the land of the giants where they feasted with other hero warriors. Zahash, he gets shot! Oh god.

Not Ota. I don't think Poki made it either. I realize now that the land of the giants in my grandfather's stories meant death. Next time, Ken's battalion experiences firsthand the horrors of combat. Damn Jerry's never going to stop. Coming from all over too. We need ammo, quick! This has been episode three of six 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. Thanks for listening to Dramas, the home of original drama from the BBC World Service. If you're enjoying Purple Heart Warriors, you can also listen to our previous series, Fukushima. Make sure you follow or subscribe to Dramas so you never miss an episode.

Hello, Simon Jack here from Good Bad Billionaire, the podcast from the BBC World Service, exploring the minds, the motives and the money of some of the world's richest individuals. Did you know there's an easy way to get new episodes automatically? Whether it's Good Bad Billionaire or any of your other favourite BBC World Service podcasts, find the show on your podcast app and then just click follow or subscribe. And if you switch on notifications, you'll get a reminder too. It's that easy. Follow or subscribe now.

and never miss an episode.