Greg F. 🇺🇸

🇺🇸 He survived 30 combat missions against Nazi Germany. Then he needed special permission to fight Japan - because his parents were Japanese. Ben Kuroki was born and raised in Nebraska. After Pearl Harbor, he volunteered to serve his country. But prejudice and military restrictions stood in his way. Initially assigned to kitchen duties, he kept pushing until he became a B-24 aerial gunner. Among his crewmates, he found acceptance. They trusted him with their lives. On August 1, 1943, Kuroki took part in the low-level attack on the oil refineries at Ploiești, Romania, one of the war’s most dangerous bombing missions. He completed his required 25 missions, and volunteered for five more. On his 30th, over Münster, German flak struck his turret. He survived. A photograph shows his face framed by the shattered section. He could have stopped there. Instead, he requested a combat tour against Japan. But military policy barred Japanese Americans from serving aboard B-29s. Even his combat record was not enough. Permission finally came from Secretary of War Henry Stimson. Based on Tinian with the 505th Bomb Group, Kuroki flew aboard the B-29 Honorable Sad Saki, completing another 28 combat missions. He is the only known Japanese American to have flown combat missions with the USAAF in the Pacific during WWII. Fifty-eight missions. Three Distinguished Flying Crosses. For more overlooked WWII stories, follow @Vanguard_WW2