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MacDill recognizes Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

By 1st Lt. Jacob Redito, 50th Air Refueling Squadron / Published May 07, 2020

The Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month poster consists of three versions, each of which is identical except for the individual depicted as the subject of the poster and the background support image. Each poster has an aged, buff-colored border. Version 1, depicts the image of a male, American soldier of Filipino descent with black hair standing on the left side of the poster. He is smiling and facing the camera at a slight left oblique with his hands on his hips. He is wearing an olive green uniform shirt, a white t-shirt, an olive green belt with black buckle, and green trousers. The soldier is Domingo Espinas Los Baños, Jr., one of the 50 “Hawaii boys,” assigned to the U.S. Army’s 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. Behind Los Baños, and forming 4/5th of the poster background, is a dark gray, whitewashed picture. Brush strokes from a paint brush are visible upon the picture. The picture is of the “Hawaii boys” from World War II, and depicts eight members of the Hawaiian boys facing the camera. Five of them are standing, with another three sitting in the foreground. (DoD graphic by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute)
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The Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month poster consists of three versions, each of which is identical except for the individual depicted as the subject of the poster and the background support image. Each poster has an aged, buff-colored border. Version 1, depicts the image of a male, American soldier of Filipino descent with black hair standing on the left side of the poster. He is smiling and facing the camera at a slight left oblique with his hands on his hips. He is wearing an olive green uniform shirt, a white t-shirt, an olive green belt with black buckle, and green trousers. The soldier is Domingo Espinas Los Baños, Jr., one of the 50 “Hawaii boys,” assigned to the U.S. Army’s 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. Behind Los Baños, and forming 4/5th of the poster background, is a dark gray, whitewashed picture. Brush strokes from a paint brush are visible upon the picture. The picture is of the “Hawaii boys” from World War II, and depicts eight members of the Hawaiian boys facing the camera. Five of them are standing, with another three sitting in the foreground. (DoD graphic by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute)

The Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month poster consists of three versions, each of which is identical except for the individual depicted as the subject of the poster and the background support image. Each poster has an aged, buff-colored border. Version 2, depicts the image of a female, American soldier of Japanese descent standing on the left side of the poster. Her long black hair is pinned up, behind her head. She is smiling and facing the camera at a slight right oblique with her hands in the pockets of her jacket. She is wearing a dark olive green jacket, white collared blouse, and an olive green skirt. The soldier is Corporal Terry Toyome Nakanishi, of the U.S. Women’s Army Corps, Military Intelligence Department of Defense 2020 Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Poster Service. Behind Corporal Nakanishi, and forming 4/5th of the poster background, is a dark gray, whitewashed picture. Brush strokes from a paintbrush are visible upon the picture. The picture is of five of the women from Corporal Nakanishi’s unit standing in two rows in front of a one-story wooden barracks. The women are in uniform and wearing their service caps. Corporal Nakanishi is standing in the front row just to the left of her main image’s crooked left elbow. (DoD graphic by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute)
PHOTO DETAILS  /   DOWNLOAD HI-RES 2 of 3

The Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month poster consists of three versions, each of which is identical except for the individual depicted as the subject of the poster and the background support image. Each poster has an aged, buff-colored border. Version 2, depicts the image of a female, American soldier of Japanese descent standing on the left side of the poster. Her long black hair is pinned up, behind her head. She is smiling and facing the camera at a slight right oblique with her hands in the pockets of her jacket. She is wearing a dark olive green jacket, white collared blouse, and an olive green skirt. The soldier is Corporal Terry Toyome Nakanishi, of the U.S. Women’s Army Corps, Military Intelligence Department of Defense 2020 Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Poster Service. Behind Corporal Nakanishi, and forming 4/5th of the poster background, is a dark gray, whitewashed picture. Brush strokes from a paintbrush are visible upon the picture. The picture is of five of the women from Corporal Nakanishi’s unit standing in two rows in front of a one-story wooden barracks. The women are in uniform and wearing their service caps. Corporal Nakanishi is standing in the front row just to the left of her main image’s crooked left elbow. (DoD graphic by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute)

The Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month poster consists of three versions, each of which is identical except for the individual depicted as the subject of the poster and the background support image. Each poster has an aged, buff-colored border. Version 3, depicts the image of a male, American sailor of Samoan descent standing on the left side of the poster. He is standing at attention and facing the camera at a slight right oblique. The sailor is Officers Cook Third Class Forsia, the first Samoan to be decorated in World War II after being wounded when a Japanese submarine shelled Samoa on 11 January 1942. Forsia is wearing the dress blue uniform of the Samoan Naval Fita-Fita Guard. The picture is of the Fita-Fita Guard standing in a three-row formation in front of a two-story masonry building at Naval Station, Samoa in March 1943. (DoD graphic by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute)
PHOTO DETAILS  /   DOWNLOAD HI-RES 3 of 3

The Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month poster consists of three versions, each of which is identical except for the individual depicted as the subject of the poster and the background support image. Each poster has an aged, buff-colored border. Version 3, depicts the image of a male, American sailor of Samoan descent standing on the left side of the poster. He is standing at attention and facing the camera at a slight right oblique. The sailor is Officers Cook Third Class Forsia, the first Samoan to be decorated in World War II after being wounded when a Japanese submarine shelled Samoa on 11 January 1942. Forsia is wearing the dress blue uniform of the Samoan Naval Fita-Fita Guard. The picture is of the Fita-Fita Guard standing in a three-row formation in front of a two-story masonry building at Naval Station, Samoa in March 1943. (DoD graphic by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute)

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MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --

Every year in May, MacDill Air Force Base joins the nation in observance of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month as an opportunity to recognize the diversity that exists on our base.

May was selected as the observance month to memorialize the first Japanese immigrants’ arrival to the United States on May 07, 1843 and to commemorate the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The newly built transcontinental railway help unite the country from coast to coast; a majority of its workers were Chinese immigrants.

The passage of Public Law 95-419 in 1978 marked the first official recognition of contributions from Americans with heritage to the Asia and Pacific region. From the far reaches of India to the Hawaiian Islands, Americans from these regions have contributed to the defense of this nation in every major war and conflict.

A notable example is the Chinese-American Composite Wing (CACW), better known as the “Flying Tigers”. The famed World War II flying unit claimed the destruction of 190 Japanese aircraft in air-to-air combat and 301 on the ground. Additionally, no CACW bomber was lost due to enemy aircraft fire, a telling tribute to ferocity of the unit’s Airmen. The celebrated unit was jointly commanded by American and Chinese air force officers with many of the American personnel in the unit having ancestral ties to the region.

The service of Asians, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians before and during World War II, paved the way for future generations of men and women to join what would become in 1948, a desegregated U.S. military.

The United States remains forever indebted to the World War II veterans, who demonstrated selfless service and sacrifice in defense of global peace and security. We remember the legacy of the “Greatest Generation” by Honoring the Past, Securing the Future.

This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II. The Department of Defense Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month posters produced by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute are part of a series. Each set highlights the significant contributions of special observance groups towards achieving total victory in this watershed event. Each poster is reminiscent of the colors and styles found in the 1940’s Recruitment and Victory posters from the World War II era.

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