Before They Were Heroes: Sus Ito’s World War II Images

Before They Were Heroes: Sus Ito’s World War II Images is the inaugural exhibition in Sharing Our Stories, a new series of exhibitions drawn from JANM’s extensive permanent collection. As a member of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the all-Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Susumu “Sus” Ito served throughout Europe between 1943 and 1945 and participated in both the rescue of the Lost Battalion and the liberation of a subcamp of Dachau.

Ito kept a small camera with him on his travels, taking photographs whenever possible, and going to great lengths to preserve the negatives, even having some of them developed in villages along the way. The result is a rare and breathtaking collection of images documenting the day-to-day experiences of a group of Japanese American soldiers in the midst of World War II.

Before They Were Heroes: Sus Ito’s World War II Images is the inaugural exhibition in Sharing Our Stories, a new series of exhibitions drawn from JANM’s extensive permanent collection. A celebration of the donation by Susumu “Sus” Ito of his vast archive of photographs and negatives taken while on duty during World War II, Before They Were Heroes gives the public a rare and breathtaking look at the daily lives of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the celebrated all-Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

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