The history and heroism of Japanese-American soldiers in World War II is the subject of a special talk Monday, Oct. 12 at the Port Ludlow Beach Club.

Ludlow resident Barbara Berthiaume has arranged for a local presentation by Herve Claudon, a tour guide in the city of Bruyères, France. He and his wife, Sylie, live in Bruyères, and met Berthiaume last year when she went there for battlefield tours.

Berthiaume has an uncle, Yohei Sagami, who she said was the first Japanese-American (often known as Nisei) solider to die fighting in France.

"We are really excited about this," Berthiaume said. "I hope that more people are aware that when they visit Europe to see something about World War II that they really consider visiting Bruyères and Epinal Cemetery where 5,200 U.S. soldiers are buried in addition to many that go to Normandy."

The history session is from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12 at the Port Ludlow Beach Club. Admission is by donation. The Claudons visit to the U.S. is being partially sponsored by a Nisei veteran's association, with other public talks in the Seattle area.

Herve has become a well-known tourist guide of the area, initially for his research of the French Resistance in World War II and then for his knowledge of the U.S. Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) and the 100th Infantry Battalion. These fighting units were filled with American soldiers of Japanese ancestry, the majority being volunteers from Hawaii. The officers were Caucasians.

The 442nd was initiated as an independent asset with three infantry battalions, artillery, engineers and other support units. The 100th Infantry Battalion was first overseas, joined in Italy by two of the 442nd battalions. The unit went in with the invasion of southern France, and became the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare. The 4,000 men who started in April 1943 were replaced nearly 2.5 times, according to unit records. In total, about 14,000 men served, and there were 9,486 Purple Hearts, eight presidential unit citations, and 21 Medals of Honor.

While these Nisei soldiers were fighting and dying, many had families and relatives forced to live in internment camps due to the nation's suspicion after Imperial Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

In the famous battle to rescue "The Lost Battalion" in October of 1944, the Nisei sustained 800 casualties in five days to rescue 211 soldiers from another American infantry regiment.

Here in Jefferson County, there are Japanese-American families who had sons serve in the 442nd, including Pfc. Smith Nakano, who returned home from combat service in September 1945.

The Nisei’s motto was “Go for Broke."