Masumoto meets with Japan US ambassador

Published 12:55 pm Thursday, July 5, 2012

World War II hero and San Juan Island resident Roy Hiroshi Matsumoto has been recognized once again for his service, this time by the Ambassador of Japan, Ichiro Fujisake.

Matsumoto, who celebrated his 99th birthday in May, met with the ambassador and veterans, internees and their families July 4 at the Nisei Veterans Hall in Seattle.

Interned in 1942, Matsumoto volunteered in 1943 for army military service, retiring after a 20-year career as Master Sergeant. Among numerous awards, he received the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit and the Congressional Gold Medal. In World War II, he was a member of the famed Merrill’s Marauders unit in Burma.

He also served behind Japanese lines in China, and later with the U.S. occupation forces in Japan.

— Steve Wehrly