Template:POTD/2024-01-26
Kenje Ogata (1919–2012) was a Japanese American who served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. Born in Gary, Indiana, he grew up in Sterling, Illinois, and went on to earn his pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Ogata applied to join the armed forces. Due to his Japanese heritage he was discouraged from joining, but he insisted, telling the recruitment office "I am here to serve". In 1943, Ogata was assigned to the Fifteenth Air Force in Italy, training as a ball turret gunner. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant, completed thirty-five missions, and survived two crashes. For his service and injuries sustained in combat, he received the Air Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters and the Purple Heart. This portrait of Ogata in uniform was taken in 1943.Photograph credit: unknown photographer; restored by Adam Cuerden