A Great Loss...
I am sorry to report that Mr. Tak Senzaki passed away this morning of a heart-attack. He was 85 years old. Though I didn't have enough time with him, I was still lucky enough to spend some wonderful moments over the past few weeks. Here is a picture of Tak and I taken just three days before his death.
This event survives as a solemn reminder of the importance of this story and the responsibility we have as filmmakers to honor these men in a way that keeps their legacy alive forever.
Below is a brief summary of Tak's life and military career (courtesy of the Go For Broke Educational Foundation):
As an American citizen born in Los Angeles, California in 1921, Takashi Senzaki would never have imagined he would be incarcerated just because of his race. Like other Japanese American families, the Senzaki family was forced to evacuate their home and was incarcerated in a War Relocation Authority (WRA) camp shortly after the U.S. entry into World War II.
The Senzaki family was imprisoned in a camp set up at Rohwer, Arkansas. Rohwer housed more than 7,000 Japanese Americans from the Los Angeles and San Joaquin area. Families were housed in one room barracks arranged in blocks. Tak and a few others from his block signed up for military duty immediately when Army recruiters came to Rohwer.
Since his oldest brother was exempt from the draft and his other brother had a hearing problem, it was up to Tak to heed his father's serious advice -"yamato damashi" - give all you have on the battlefield -- don't bring shame on the family. His father blessed him for taking the family's name to war and for honoring their country. The Army assigned Tak to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Japanese American fighting unit. He was 22 years old.
The 442nd landed in Italy and fought in many major battles. Tak became a seasoned soldier. In October 1944, Tak found himself hiking in the forests of France strapped with a heavy pack and rifle, constantly faced with the threat of being shot or stepping on a land mine. The temperature was near freezing. The dense fog, rain and cold made travel even more difficult than usual. His feet began to swell inside of his boots. Above him in the dense forests, artillery was exploding in the trees, turning tree branches into deadly projectiles.
Tak and the other men of the 442nd were ordered to rescue the “Lost Battalion,” men from the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry of the 36th "Texas" Division. The Texans had advanced beyond their lines and found themselves surrounded by German troops. Other American units had tried to rescue them with no success. The situation was getting grim. A desperate communication received from the Texans said, "No rations, no water, no contact with headquarters…four litter cases." For five full days the Texans had no food at all.
Fighting was hand-to-hand, head-to-head, tree-to-tree and an inferno of grenade and small-arms fire. Tak’s unit lost both their platoon and assistant platoon leaders and most of their men. With only eight men, Tak took charge. Five surviving members of the 2nd Platoon joined them. Known for his keen sense of direction, Tak avoided contact with the Germans by staying off the main trail. It was two of his men who made first contact with the beleaguered Lost Battalion. Major Claude D. Roscoe of the Lost Battalion recalled, "The first man I met of the 442nd was Tech Sgt. Tak Senzaki of Los Angeles. We all had tears in our eyes and were glad to see them." At the end of the two week fighting period in October, that included the rescue of the Lost Battalion, the 442nd suffered more than 800 casualties while saving the lives of 211 Texans.
Tak’s skill and leadership role in the rescue of the Lost Battalion was a source of pride for his family back home. In a letter to his brother, Tak wrote, "In charge of the platoon now. Only had one man killed in my squad and he was on a special mission for the company at that time so I've got a damned good record. Hope to keep it up now that I have a platoon."
Tak was one of the fortunate ones. He survived and returned home to his loved ones. After being discharged from the Army, he rejoined his family who left camp. Together they moved eastward, settling in Minneapolis. Hoping to pursue his education, he moved to Chicago to stay with his sister. Unable to obtain his high school transcripts to enter college, Tak found work in a grocery store in Chicago. Later, he returned to Los Angeles where he worked for some large [market] chains until he retired. Few who see this mild manner man today know that Tak Senzaki was instrumental in saving the lives of so many others while in combat.
