| Title |
Varsity Victory Volunteers |
| Photo Number |
P0884n1_01_03 |
| Description |
Photo of the members of the Varsity Victory Volunteers, assembled for a meal, probably in 1942 or 1943. |
| Creator |
Unknown |
| Date |
1942; 1943 |
| Textual Date |
1940s |
| Keywords |
World War II; Ethnic minorities; Japanese; 442nd Battalion; Men |
| Subject |
Japanese Americans--Hawaii--Photographs World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Japanese American--Photographs; Japanese American soldiers--Photographs |
| Spatial Coverage |
Hawaii |
| Additional Information |
"Men of the Varsity Victory Volunteers. By orders of the Commanding General and head of the Military Government, members of the Hawaii Territorial Guard who were of Japanese ancestry were "inactivated." There were 169 Americans of Japanese ancestry; these, and others, were later to be known as the "A.J.A.'s" - who were students at the University of Hawaii. They joined the Guard voluntarily with the hope that this was one way to serve our country in time of need. The inactivated volunteers were deeply disappointed when told that their services were no longer needed. They made a second appeal to the U.S. government and their offer of service was accepted. [The volunteers] were organized as a labor corps, (U.S. Corps of Engineer Auxiliary, 34th Combat Engineer Regiment at Schofield Barracks). It was then the group became known as the Varsity Victory Volunteers, a pledge that the boys of the VVV carried out with pride and energy. In 1943 the VVV was inactivated. About this time, the War Department in Washington announced that Americans of Japanese ancestry in all parts of the country would be eligible for combat duty. From this call emerged the 100th Infantry Battalion and later the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Many of the 169 who organized the original VVV were among the casualties of WWII. Their comrades will not forget their "Devotion unto death," nor will the people of Hawaii." |
| Collection Number and Name |
P0884 Wallace and Mary Doi Photograph Collection |
| Collection Name |
Wallace and Mary Doi |
| Relation is Part of |
Mitsugi M. Kasai Memorial Japanese American Archive |
| Owning Institution |
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Original Source |
N/A |
| Donated By/Purchased From |
Loaned to the University of Utah for scanning by Mary Doi. (Via Lorraine Crouse) |
| Rights |
 |
| ARK |
ark:/87278/s6tt5bf3 |
| Setname |
uum_map |
| ID |
949871 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6tt5bf3 |
