Hometown: Waianae, HI
Branch: U.S. Army 
Unit: B Company, 100th Battalion (Separate), 34th Infantry Division
Military Honors: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Date of Sacrifice: June 2, 1944 - KIA near La Torreto, Italy
Age: 24
Conflict: World War II, 1939-1945

Shinyei Nakamine was born and raised in the rural sugar plantation community of Waianae, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. He and his three younger siblings—Charles, Larry, and Anita—were “Nisei,” which is Japanese for “second-generation” Americans. Their parents, Kame and Ushi (Higa) Nakamine, immigrated from Okinawa, Japan.

Born on February 26, 1920, Shinyei was educated at Waianae Elementary, Junior, and High School. In a hand-written letter to the “Echoes of Silence” project, Shinyei’s sister Anita recounted memories of her oldest brother:

He left the simple sugar plantation life after graduation to become an apprentice cook in the city of Honolulu. This was a huge adventure and a major step for a country boy. Later he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps to plant trees on the island of Molokai. He returned to Waianae and worked at the Gaspro Company before being drafted into the Army.

In a small tight-knit rural community, he bought the first Indian Motorcycle and caused quite a stir; he talked the town tailor [into] sewing his trousers with the wrong side of the fabric (introducing a new fad); entered a Japanese Language School Song Contest singing all 6 verses of an Okinawan song (it was not the thing to do in the ‘30s)—but he captured the hearts of the Okinawan immigrants with his dashing audacity and seriousness of purpose (proud to be an Okinawan!).

In late 1941, he came [on] his motorcycle to bid me farewell at the elementary school. Did I ever shine! That is the last time I saw my brother.

Drafted into the United States Army, in November 1941 Private Shinyei Nakamine joined the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate), which was composed of 1,400 American-born Japanese Nisei.

In 1941, the world was at war. In the Atlantic theater, Axis powers Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy were taking over Europe and northern Africa. In the Pacific theater, the Empire of Japan was dominating eastern China, Southeast Asia, the islands of Oceania, and the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska.

After World War I (1914-1918) the American people were not eager to get involved in another war an ocean away. All of this changed on December 7, 1941, when Japan executed a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The next day, at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Congress declared war on the Empire of Japan. Germany and Italy, who were allied with Japan, responded by declaring war on the United States.

Fear of a Japanese invasion of America’s west coast resulted in suspicion of Japanese Americans. According to the National Archive:

In February 1942, just two months later, President Roosevelt, as commander-in-chief, issued Executive Order 9066 [which] resulted in the internment of Japanese Americans. The order authorized the Secretary of War and military commanders to evacuate all persons deemed a threat from the West Coast to internment camps, that the government called “relocation centers,” further inland.

Pvt. Nakamine’s Nisei battalion would be sent to the Atlantic theater, moving from Schofield Barracks in Oahu for training at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin and Camp Shelby in Mississippi.

After successful operations in Algeria, in early 1944 Pvt. Nakamine’s Company B, 100th Infantry Battalion joined the 442nd Regiment in an amphibious landing at Anzio, Italy. The Battle of Anzio was a lengthy and costly Allied effort to push the German Army north and take the city of Rome.

Near La Torreta, Italy, Pvt. Shinyei Nakamine displayed “extraordinary heroism” that would earn him America’s highest military honor. His Medal of Honor citation describes his actions:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Private Shinyei Nakamine distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 2 June 1944, near La Torreto, Italy. During an attack, Private Nakamine’s platoon became pinned down by intense machine gun crossfire from a small knoll 200 yards to the front. On his own initiative, Private Nakamine crawled toward one of the hostile weapons. Reaching a point 25 yards from the enemy, he charged the machine gun nest, firing his submachine gun, and killing three enemy soldiers and capturing two. Later that afternoon, Private Nakamine discovered an enemy soldier on the right flank of his platoon’s position. Crawling 25 yards fron his position, Private Nakamine opened fire and killed the soldier. Then, seeing a machine gun nest to his front approximately 75 yards away, he returned to his platoon and led an automatic rifle team toward the enemy. Under covering fire from his team, Private Nakamine crawled to a point 25 yards from the nest and threw hand grenades at the enemy soldiers, wounding one and capturing four. Spotting another machine gun nest 100 yards to his right flank, he led the automatic rifle team toward the hostile position but was killed by a burst of machine gun fire. Private Nakamine’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.

Pvt. Shinyei Nakamine was 24 years old when he sacrificed his life for the cause of freedom. He was laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Section D, Site 402) in his home state of Hawaii.

Sources
100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Center: Shinyei Nakamine
U.S. Army Center of Military History: Asian-Pacific Americans in the U.S. Army,100th Infantry Battalion in World War II (Separate)
Congressional Medal of Honor Society: Shinyei Nakamine
American War Memorials Overseas: Shinyei Nakamine
Discover Nikkei: Shinyei Nakamine (KIA 6/2/1944)
HonorStates.org: Shinyei Nakamine
Burial Site: Find a Grave