# German-American soldiers in WWII - preferentially sent to the Pacific front? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715 "2011-09-26T23:08:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/1 "2011-09-26T23:08:46Z")
The outstanding bravery of the soldiers of the all Japanese-American [442nd Infantry Regiment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/442nd_Infantry_Regiment_%28United_States%29) while fighting in Italy is fairly well known (as is, hopefully the fact that 21 of the Regiment’s soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor). Were there any similar regiments made up exclusively of German-American soldiers? Less specifically, and my main question, I am curious to know whether German-American servicemen were preferentially sent to the Pacific front. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/2 "2011-09-27T01:00:32Z")
No. German-Americans caught hell during WWI, but by the time WWII rolled around they were pretty much considered to be real Americans. Besides, there were so many Americans of German & Italian descent during WWII that any thoughts along those lines would have probably resulted in protests. strikes, riots, & a big black eye for the party in power. The Japanese were more recent arrivals & fewer in numbers. They got to catch hell for Hirohito, Hitler, & Mussolini. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/3 "2011-09-27T01:54:59Z")
German Americans are now 17% of the US population (#1 ancestry), a number which still seems surprisingly small. I can’t imagine that it was smaller in WWII, possibly even larger. It would be hard to avoid finding a German American soldier, and possibly drain troop levels from certain areas. By the way, some German and Italian ancestry Americans were interned. I believe they were typically only “fresh off the boat” when compared to nisei, etc. The extent of interment was not as large as Japanese internment, for reasons both discriminatory and practical. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/4 "2011-09-27T02:15:26Z")
Well, Dwight Eisenhower was himself of German dissent and was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/5 "2011-09-27T03:34:19Z")
And Chester Nimitz’s grandfather was in the German Merchant Marine. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/6 "2011-09-27T04:02:23Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Well, Dwight Eisenhower was himself of German dissent and was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe. And “Eisen” and “Stalin” both mean “steel” (I think 🙂 ). ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/7 "2011-09-27T06:04:24Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Well, Dwight Eisenhower was himself of German dissent and was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe. Adolf Hitler’s own German dissent is apparent in [this clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MLry6Cn_D4). ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/8 "2011-09-27T06:30:57Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > And “Eisen” and “Stalin” both mean “steel” (I think 🙂 ). Almost. Not sure about Stalin (although “Stahl” is steel in German), but “Eisenhauer”, which would be the proper German spelling, means iron smith (“Eisen” - iron, “hauen” - to pound). ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/9 "2011-09-27T09:32:23Z")
Wow, I see now just how silly my question is. Given the way I worded it and, as pointed out by **thelurkinghorror** , in light of the huge German American population, it’s obvious the answer can’t be in the affirmative. What I should have said is more along the lines of ‘were relatively recent German immigrants preferentially sent to the Pacific theatre’? Or, ‘was any attempt made to direct recent German immigrants into the Pacific’. I’ll also use this post to mention that the motivation for starting this thread came from me reading [A Fiery Peace in a Cold War](http://www.amazon.com/Fiery-Peace-Cold-War-Schriever/dp/0679745491/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317115573&sr=1-1) (about the German American pilot Bernard Schriever who, despite being fluent in German, was stationed in the Pacific). It didn’t seem sensible to me to send him to fight the Japanese when his language skills were tailor made for a soldier/airman fighting the Germans. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/10 "2011-09-27T11:09:13Z")
Werner Göring served in the USAAF in Europe, flying B-17s I think. If they were willing to let Göring’s nephew fly over Germany, I think that says something. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/11 "2011-09-27T11:24:30Z")
I remember a documentary showing how Jewish-American POW’s were separated from their groups by the SS and made to carry rocks up and down hill until many of them died. Hitler ordered that any German nationals captured while serving in the French Foreign Legion be shot (which Rommel ignored). So although ethnic Germans in the ETO were not targeted, it was not guaranteed. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/12 "2011-09-27T13:36:48Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > > [@joebuck20](#): > > > > Well, Dwight Eisenhower was himself of German dissent and was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe. > > Adolf Hitler’s own German dissent is apparent in [this clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MLry6Cn_D4). D’oh!!! :smack: What can I say? I had a looong day. ---
**Author:** ![abel29a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@abel29a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abel29a)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/13 "2011-09-27T13:48:39Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > I remember a documentary showing how Jewish-American POW’s were separated from their groups by the SS and made to carry rocks up and down hill until many of them died. Please pardon a minor hijack - but how would they be detected as such by the Germans? I suppose some names would be a giveaway to Jewish decent, but was there any other ways for the Germans to identify Jewish prisoners? I’m guessing Military ID don’t include religion, but maybe it did back then? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/14 "2011-09-27T14:07:36Z")
Ther religion was marked on their dogtags. ---
**Author:** ![abel29a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@abel29a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abel29a)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/15 "2011-09-27T14:21:00Z")
Ah, that sounds like a rather bad idea. Is this still done today, or was it something that has been done away with? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/16 "2011-09-27T14:37:00Z")
> [@abel29a](#): > > Ah, that sounds like a rather bad idea. Is this still done today, or was it something that has been done away with? According to Wikipedia, the pratice continues, although it seems the service allows the individual to obtain a set that does not list the members religious preference. The cites for this appear a little weak. > **[Dog tag | Religious designation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_tags#Religious_designation)** > > During World War II, an American dog tag could indicate only one of three religions through the inclusion of one letter: "P" for Protestant, "C" for Catholic, or "H" for Jewish (from the word "Hebrew"), or (according to at least one source) "NO" to indicate no religious preference. Army regulations (606–5) soon included X and Y in addition to P, C, and H: the X indicating any religion not included in the first three, and the Y indicating either no religion or a choice not to list religion Althoug... I served as enlisted in the USN in the 80’s, they had religious pref’s printed on the dog tags at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/17 "2011-09-27T15:17:53Z")
> [@abel29a](#): > > Ah, that sounds like a rather bad idea. Is this still done today, or was it something that has been done away with? I imagine the idea is to get the appropriate clergymen to console you or administer last rites or whatever if your injured severely enough that you can’t make your preferences known verbally. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/18 "2011-09-27T16:24:09Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I imagine the idea is to get the appropriate clergymen to console you or administer last rites or whatever if your injured severely enough that you can’t make your preferences known verbally. I think that’s the idea: so they know who to have say a prayer if you get killed in battle. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/19 "2011-09-27T16:24:09Z")
> [@abel29a](#): > > Please pardon a minor hijack - but how would they be detected as such by the Germans? I suppose some names would be a giveaway to Jewish decent, but was there any other ways for the Germans to identify Jewish prisoners? I’m guessing Military ID don’t include religion, but maybe it did back then? In Europe, at least, when looking for Jews pretending to be Gentiles to avoid deportation, etc., the Germans made a practice of checking if a man was circumcised. Especially in that area and era, a circumcised man was very likely to be Jewish. [Cite #1](http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hidden.html). [Cite #2](http://www.citinet.net/ak/polska.php?Page=86&Lang=EN) (search for ‘circumcision test’). The same test was used on POWs. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715/20 "2011-09-27T16:55:13Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > In Europe, at least, when looking for Jews pretending to be Gentiles to avoid deportation, etc., the Germans made a practice of checking if a man was circumcised. Especially in that area and era, a circumcised man was very likely to be Jewish. [Cite #1](http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hidden.html). [Cite #2](http://www.citinet.net/ak/polska.php?Page=86&Lang=EN) (search for ‘circumcision test’). The same test was used on POWs. The problem is that such a test only worked well for Europeans. Then, as now, a large percentage of American and Canadian men were circumcised. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-american-soldiers-in-wwii-preferentially-sent-to-the-pacific-front/597715.md?page=2)