I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience
Opening Weekend February 20-22, 2026

A National Traveling Exhibit Honoring Courage, Loyalty and the American Spirit

I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience is a new traveling exhibit that tells the story of second-generation Americans of Japanese ancestry, known as “Nisei,” who demonstrated their loyalty during World War II by enlisting to serve in the U.S. Army. In the exhibit, their service is recounted against the backdrop of fear and racial tension that inspired thousands to volunteer from Hawaii and drove the U.S. government to remove Japanese Americans and people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast to ten Wartime Relocation Authority (WRA) Incarceration Camps during the war.

Through 1,500 square feet of immersive storytelling, the exhibition showcases firsthand accounts, rare artifacts, and evocative images that reveal how the Nisei Soldiers’ service became a defining testament to courage, sacrifice, and belonging. Visitors will encounter the remarkable stories of the Nisei Soldiers who served in the European Theater as part of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team—one of the most highly decorated units in military history—and in the Pacific Theater as linguists in the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence Service.

“I Am An American” will begin its five-year tour of 11 venues around the nation in February 2026, premiering at the MIS Historic Learning Center at Presidio in San Francisco, CA. The exhibit will be on display in the former aircraft hangar at Crissy Fields, where the U.S. Army trained the first class of Japanese American linguists during World War II.

To register for the Opening Weekend of the I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit on February 20–22, 2026, in San Francisco, please visit nvnvets.org/openingweekend. This will be a three-day celebration honoring the courage, sacrifice, and service of the Japanese American Nisei soldiers of World War II. To learn more about the traveling exhibit and other locations, visit nvnvets.org/exhibit.

“I Am An American” is presented by the National Veterans Network (NVN) with the National Museum of the United States Army and supported by The Army Historical Foundation. For additional information, please email Joann Shin at joann@nvnvets.org.