American actor George Takei at a movie premiere in Los Angeles, California, in 2011.
Credit: Paul Smith / Featureflash

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

George Takei is an American actor and activist. He became famous for playing Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu on the science fiction television series “Star Trek” (1966-1969). Named after King George VI, Takei became a political activist after enduring many hardships as a Japanese American in the United States. His activism focuses on immigrants and protecting gay rights.

Hosato Takei was born April 20, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, to Japanese American parents. When he was young, his family was forcibly moved to a Japanese American internment camp in Arkansas. Japanese American internment is the term commonly used to describe the forced relocation and confinement of people of Japanese ancestry in the United States during World War II (1939-1945). Takei’s mother felt betrayed by internment and renounced her American citizenship. As a result, the Takei family was moved to a prison camp in California for the rest of the war.

After the war, Takei’s family remained in California. Takei acted in high school, but he instead chose to study architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. There, he was hired to provide English dubbing for Japanese films as a summer job. After two years at the university, Takei transferred to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to study acting. He worked with an agent to land his first television roles, including parts on the television shows “77 Sunset Strip,” “Perry Mason,” and “Playhouse 90.”  After graduating in 1960, Takei spent a few years acting on the stage, first in New York and then in Stratford-Upon-Avon in England. In 1964 he finished his master’s degree in theater arts at UCLA.

TV series, Star Trek, USA 1960s, scene with: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichol. Credit: © Interfoto/Alamy Images

In 1965, Takei auditioned for the television producer Gene Rodenberry. Rodenberry cast Takei as Sulu, the pilot for the starship U.S.S. Enterprise on “Star Trek.” The show was set hundreds of years in the future and followed the crew of an outer space exploration mission.

Takei reprised the role of Sulu in numerous films, beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). He provided the voice of Sulu in many Star Trek electronic games. Takei has also played a number of other roles and made several cameo appearances as himself.

In addition to acting, Takei is known for his political activism. In 1972, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and in 1973, he unsuccessfully ran for Los Angeles city council. He also ran for California State Assembly in 1980. Despite these losses, Takei remained an outspoken activist. In addition to sharing his story of growing up in an internment camp, Takei has spoken out about gay rights issues. Takei came out as gay in 2005 and married his partner, Brad Altman, in 2008, when same-sex marriage was legalized in California.

May 4, 2017

As part of May’s celebration of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), World Book today features the Purple Heart Battalion, the nickname given to a Japanese American unit in the United States Army during World War II (1939-1945). The unit was officially the 100th Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It earned its nickname because of the many casualties (people killed and wounded) it suffered in combat. American soldiers wounded or killed in combat are recognized with a medal called the Purple Heart.

Japanese Americans served in the 100th Battalion of the U.S. Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team, seen here advancing towards Bruyères, France, in October 1944. The unit is remembered as the Purple Heart Battalion. Credit: U.S. Army Photo/US National Archives

On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, brought the United States into World War II. The attack also stirred hostility against Japanese Americans. After the attack, the U.S. government moved many Japanese Americans to camps in the western United States. Early in 1943, however, the government approved the formation of a Japanese American combat unit—the 442nd Regiment.

Japanese Americans arrive at an internment camp in Manzanar, California, in March 1942. Despite this denial of their civil rights, many Japanese Americans volunteered for military service during World War II. Credit: AP/Wide World Photos

In September 1943, the 442nd’s 100th Battalion entered combat against the German Army in Italy. In early 1944, the unit fought in the bloody battles at Monte Cassino and Anzio in Italy. Later that year, the 442nd suffered terrible casualties freeing the French towns of Biffontaine and Bruyères from German occupation. The unit then took many casualties rescuing the 1st Battalion of the 141st U.S. Infantry Regiment, a “lost battalion” trapped behind enemy lines. The 442nd saw continued action until Germany surrendered in May 1945.

The Purple Heart medal, seen here, is given to U.S. soldiers wounded or killed in combat. Credit: © Gary Blakeley, Shutterstock

Of the roughly 14,000 soldiers who served in the 442nd, the U.S. military awarded 9,486 of them Purple Hearts. Twenty-one of them received Medals of Honor. The Medal of Honor is the highest individual military decoration awarded by the U.S. government. The 442nd also received seven Presidential Unit Citations, the highest award for valor given to a military unit as a whole.

The 442nd continues today as an infantry unit in the U.S. Army Reserve. Monuments honoring the 442nd stand in Biffontaine and Bruyères, France, and in the Los Angeles, California, neighborhood of Little Tokyo. In 2010, the unit received the Congressional Gold Medal. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian decoration awarded by the U.S. Congress.