Ben Kuroki: All-American War Hero
Ben Kuroki in almost every way possible represented the classic All-American young man. Growing up on his parents’ potato farm as one of 10 children outside of Hershey, Nebraska, population 500, he had been a high school basketball star and vice president of his graduating class. At the age of 24, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan, he and one of his brothers tried to sign up at the nearby recruiting office in North Platte, Nebraska. As the sons of immigrants from Japan, their American credentials were suspect. After they heard nothing from the recruiter for two weeks, they acted on a radio call they heard for volunteers for the army's air corps. With Ben having high hopes of becoming a pilot and younger brother Fred of becoming a navigator, they drove 150 miles to Grand Island and signed up.
The brothers were “in,” but not accepted. Kuroki remembered that they experienced hatred from fellow recruits, NCOs, and officers and described themselves as the loneliest men in the Army. They were frequently on Kitchen Patrol (KP) duty or tasked with menial chores like cleaning the latrines and digging ditches. Kuroki completed basic training in Texas and was sent to Fort Logan, Colorado for clerical training, not the fighting action the young man dreamed of. Fred was transferred to the Corps of Engineers.
Upon completion of the Army's administrative course, Kuroki was sent to Barksdale Field in Shreveport, Louisiana where a new air group was being formed to fly Consolidated B-24 heavy Liberator bombers. Kuroki was assigned as a clerk-typist to the 409th Bomber Squadron of the 93rd Bombardment Group. In an oral history interview he recalled, “When we went to Barksdale Field, Louisiana, I saw those big B-24s flying in and laughing, I said, ‘Oh, my god.’ I was so damn excited. But you know, I wouldn’t go near that plane. The first thing they’d say, if something happened, they’d say I was the one that was doing sabotage or something, and I didn’t want to risk it.”
In fact, Kuroki was so frightened of something happening to get him kicked out of the Air Corps that he spent his earned leave time on base. Recalling the prejudice he encountered, he said, “I didn't even go into town because I couldn't enjoy a minute of it when I did.” In a speech to business leaders following his early wartime experience, Kuroki remembered about his time in Barksdale, “Of the 40 clerks sent to Barksdale, I was the last one assigned. I spent about a month at Barksdale, most of it on K.P. You've all heard the Air Force’s motto, ‘Keep 'Em Flying.’ Well, my motto was ‘Keep 'Em Peeling’; they called me ‘Keep 'Em Peeling’ Kuroki in those days. The most discouraging thing about that was the fact that I had no assurance that I ever would be assigned.”
A few days before they were to leave Barksdale, the commanding officer of his squadron told Kuroki he was to be transferred and wasn't going with them to Fort Myers to prepare for overseas deployment. Kuroki considered that about the worst news he’d ever heard and he asked the officer why. He only answered that he had nothing to do with it. But the officer started asking him questions, like how he liked the Army, and so forth. Kuroki was frank about his experiences and his hopes. His words must have had some effect, because the day before the group left, the officer again called for him and told him to pack his bags because he was going with them.
At Fort Myers, Kuroki did clerical work for about three months and gradually began to win over some of the soldiers. When the group finished training and was ready to go overseas, Kuroki was again given orders transferring him out of his squadron. This time it felt even worse, because for three months at Fort Myers, he had been counting on going overseas. He went see the squadron adjutant and begged him with tears streaming
down his face to take him along. When the adjutant got the approval, Kuroki recalled, “I was about the happiest guy in the world just then.”
In England, Kuroki was an orderly typing up flight orders and keeping track of squadron records. As the Eighth's first B-24 squadron, its planes flew cross-channel bombing missions. Kuroki spent as much time as possible on the flight line to help out in any way he could and learned to skillfully operate the .50-caliber machine guns of the B-24. (Supposedly he could strip the weapon down and reassemble it while blindfolded.) He passed a two-week gunnery course and never gave up requesting flight status.
Kuroki finally got his chance when a young turret gunner was grounded for medical reasons and, handpicked Kuroki for the spot. Kuroki gained the silver wings of flying status and a promotion to NCO. Due to his clear-headed thinking, Kuroki helped to save the life of a crew member who was wounded from shrapnel. His actions during that traumatic event cemented the bond between him and the crew. Kuroki performed admirably as a gunner, moving up from tail to turret gunner. His fellow squadron members affectionately gave him the nickname “Most Honorable Son” and his reputation grew.
Following 30 combat missions on the B-24, Kuroki came home for a time and then returned to fight in the war by serving another full tour of duty as a B-29 gunner in the Pacific. He was the only Japanese American to serve in air combat in the Pacific, and one of very few soldiers to have fought in both the European and Pacific theaters. He completed a total of 58 combat missions and was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters. In 2009, when the 93rd Bomb Group planned a reunion at Barksdale, the Shreveport Times newspaper tracked down Kuroki, then a journalist and publisher. A reporter recalled that Kuroki was “cordial and polite” but said he wouldn’t take part, due to health reasons and memories of local prejudice. “My traveling days are pretty much over,” he told The Times. He died Sept. 1, 2015 at his home in California at the age of 98.
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Article by: Pam Carlisle
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