This event has been postponed until May 2025 due to an emergency. We apologize for the inconvenience and invite you to join us on Thursday, September 19 at 5:30 p.m. for Rosie and the General: A 40-Year Friendship.
OSS Asian Americans and Asymmetrical Warfare during World War II
Discover how Asian Americans like Archie Chun Ming, Dick Hamada, and Ralph Yempuku played key roles as spies, double agents, and guerrilla fighters during World War II. These brave men and women gathered intelligence deep behind enemy lines, collaborated with pirates and smugglers, and faced numerous dangers to support the Allied forces.
Dr. Brian Hayashi’s groundbreaking research reveals the untold contributions of Chinese, Japanese and Korean Americans to the United States’ first centralized intelligence agency. They produced propaganda to weaken Japan’s resolve, conducted POW rescue missions, and worked with guerrilla forces to disrupt enemy supply lines. Despite their efforts, they faced threats from double agents within OSS and co-ethnic collaborators in wartime Shanghai.
Based on recently declassified documents, Dr. Hayashi’s work challenges the stereotyped images of Asian Americans as “model minorities” and provides a fresh perspective on the Allied victory in the Pacific Theater. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the stories of these unsung heroes.
How can I attend?
The event is free to the public, but reservations are required. To reserve a seat, or for more information about the event, contact [email protected] or call 540.463.7103, ext. 138.
How can I watch from home?
The presentation will also be livestreamed on the Marshall Foundation YouTube channel (https://bit.ly/2Or0E8D) simultaneously. Viewers of the stream are encouraged to write questions using the live video chat (to the lower right of the video) or via email at [email protected]. Chat will be monitored for abusive comments.
Who is Dr. Brian Hayashi?
Brian Masaru Hayashi is a professor in the History Department, Kent State University. His most recent book is Asian American Spies, a recounting of the Office of Strategic Services (forerunner to the CIA) is published by Oxford University Press. He was a Visiting Researcher at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University (2019-2022) and a winner of the National Endowment for the Humanities award (2022). He was formerly a Professor in the Human & Environmental Studies Graduate School at Kyoto University in Kyoto, Japan where he wrote Democratizing the Enemy (Princeton University Press, 2004), winner of the Robert Athearn Award. Prior to that, he was an Assistant Professor at Yale University where his research work on Japanese Americans resulted in For the Sake of Our Japanese Brethren (Stanford University Press, 1995), winner of the Kenneth Scott Latourette Award. He is also featured in National Geographic’s video, “Hell from Below.”
The George C. Marshall Foundation Legacy Series is sponsored by:
The Anne C. Robins & Walter R. Robins, Jr. Foundation