Second generation Japanese Americans, known as Nisei, demanded the right to join the armed forces during World War II. They wanted to serve their country despite facing intense discrimination. On February 9, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the relocation of Japanese Americans living on the west coast. 122,000 men, women, and children were sent to incarceration camps throughout the United States. Further, the government classified males of Japanese ancestry as enemy aliens. This classification disqualified them from military service. The Army later loosened this restriction in June 1942. In spite of the odds against them, thousands of Nisei Soldiers bravely served in World War II.

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