When it comes to World War 2, there were a lot of funny things going on with Japanese Americans. Land and property were stolen from Japanese Americans, they were put into internment camps (though, not the 157,000 Japanese Americans in Hawaii, including my great great grandmother, who was sending aluminum to Japan to make bombs before the America-Japan conflict started), and now, apparently, there were dogs being trained to sniff out Japanese people. Ironically, they were being trained on Cat Island, a crappy little island just south of Mississippi (and a part of Mississippi too).

Dogs And World War Two

When the US entered the War, it started taking dog donations from civilians. Dogs were used to be sentries, to detect and sniff out mines, and so much more. There was, however, a much more secret dog training mission taking place on Cat Island, where William Prestre (Swiss Refuguee) said he could train dogs to target people of Japanese ancestry based off their smell. According to Prestre, he could train 30,000 dogs that would be released on the beaches of Japanese islands and Zerg rush their inhabitants. Greyhounds would streak across beaches to take out machine gunners (since they’re so speedy), then slower but more terrifying dogs (like Great Danes and Wolfhounds) would wipe the floor with everyone else. Obviously, none of this happened. Thank goodness for the dogs, anyways.

Getting To Cat Island

Cat Island is a little island off of Mississippi that had similar weather and temperature to the Pacific Islands. Apparently, it was also really sulfury, barren, full of alligators and mosquitoes, and a big pain all around. Around 25 people of Japanese ancestry (who were in the U.S. Army) were notified that they would be going on a super secret mission, so secret they couldn’t even tell their friends they were going on it. One of these people, Ray Nosaka, says:

So that morning, they said, “Don’t say anything to your own buddies and don’t goodbye, don’t say anything.” Seven o’clock, we rode the big truck and took us to Wheeler Field [Fort Williams]. And all of us went on a plane.They didn’t tell us where we’re going to go, what we’re going to do.

They got on their plane, stopped off in Tennessee (where they couldn’t get off the plane, because the higher ups didn’t want anyone to see them), then flew to Mississippi where they boarded some coast guard ships which took them to another island near Cat Island called “Ship Island” (seriously, someone should have been commissioned to come up with better island names). At Ship Island, they waited for a while, fished, and didn’t do much. Then, after two weeks, their Major came and told them they would be “training dogs” on  Cat Island. I suppose that’s where the fun starts.

Every day, they’d go by boat from Ship Island to Cat Island, help train the dogs for four hours, then go back home to Ship Island. Besides being attacked by dogs all the time, that’s a pretty sweet gig. Hang out on a tropical island, work 4 hours a day, and drink tons of beer because the water tasted terrible.

We only worked half a day. Half a day, you go back to Ship Island. You go fishing, play guitar and sing a song, things like that, drinking beer. Half a day you work, half a day you’re off. So the hours are very good. That’s why all of us was catching fish. So many fish over there. And now ducks come, shoot the ducks like that. So the life after the four hours we worked is very good.

In fact, at one time we ran out of beer because we cannot drink the water. That thing is so – like rotten eggs. The thing is sulfur, so we cannot drink the water, so we drink up the beer. And, you know, the beer. The thing gone in one week. All gone because we cannot drink the water, we just drink that beer.

So, that begs the question. What were all the secret things they did while they were on the clock, over in Cat Island?

How They (Tried) To Train Dogs To Hunt The Japanese

There were a couple of steps involved in order to try and train dogs to take down Japanese people. The first step was training them to go up to the right people, the second was to learn how to attack, and the third was to play hide and seek.

In the first step, the Japanese Americans would stand there, and the dogs would go up to them. When the dogs went up to them, they’d give the dog some meat and fire a pistol into the air. They did this over and over for four months. I’m guessing the dogs just got good at finding people who had meat on them… yum.

The second step wasn’t as pleasant, unfortunately for the dogs (and the humans involved, too).

And they told us they put a guard over here and we stay like this. And then when the sergeant tell him, “Kill ‘em,” the dog come right up and bite us here, see.  And then finally, the dog got a little more friendly with us. They tied the dog on the fence and they gave me like a whip to hit the dog. I go like this.

Oh, I feel so bad. That’s why I hit like this. I get scolding, tell, “Hit it hard, some more hit” until the thing bleed. That’s why the dog gets mad with you. And they tell ‘em, “Kill him.” I’m like this and, whoa, he bite me all over the place. So I hit the dog until he bled, see. Then he tell me, “Okay, walk ten yards back, turn around and go this way.” The dog was so mad at me because I hit him. Ho, he bite me, bite me like this. And then the sergeant comes, takes him away. And that’s the attack dog.

Lastly, they played hide and seek. They’d go someplace, wait for the dog to come find them, then wait for the dog to go away, then go hide somewhere else. They did all this while batting mosquitoes and avoiding alligators. At least it was only a four hour work day, I guess.

What Happened?

I think you know – the dogs couldn’t tell the difference between Japanese people and other people, and since they were mostly donated dogs from loving families, they’d often just lose interest and become friendly. Our Swiss dog training friend Prestre was fired in Feburary 1943 after a couple of dog shows for the big boys, and the island was converted over to a more traditional dog training island (i.e. no more sniffing out the blood of Japanese people). This went on for a while, but then was eventually closed down in July, 1944 after training approximately 400 dogs.

If you want to read more about Cat Island’s crazy dog training programs, you can read Ray Nosaka’s (one of the 25 Japanese Americans on Cat Island) interview, with the Cat Island parts here and here.

P.S. If you like dogs, you should follow Tofugu on Twitter, Here.

P.P.S. If you like cats, you should subscribe to the Tofugu Newsletter, Here.

Dog trainers of Cat Island

Ship Island is where they’d stay in between trips to Cat Island

Image of Cat Island

Want to read about a more pleasant “Cat Island?” Here’s an island in Japan, populated by cats.

Q. What is your name and where are you originally from?
My name is Roxanne Modafferi. I was born in Delaware, and grew up in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

Q. How did you become a professional fighter?
I started doing Tae Kwon Do (like karate) in middle school, then the more full contact Judo in high school, and then in college, I got into MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) aka “Ultimate fighting.”

Q. What is a professional fighter?
A professional fighter is someone who is a specialist in combat techniques, whether it be striking like boxing, or wrestling/grappling techniques, or a mix of those two. They fight a single opponent in a ring or cage and receive compensation.

Q. What types of martial arts do you train in?
I’ve done TKD, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and Kickboxing, but now focus on MMA, submission grappling.

Q. When and how did you decide to go to Japan?
I want to learn Japanese to use in a career, and I decided that before entering college. After four years at the University of Massachusetts, my Japanese skills were good, but not good enough to do a job like interpreting, so I decided to take an English teaching job in Japan. That way at least I’d be immersed in the culture and language. I could also train at a famous dojo/gym and continue my fighting career along side other professional fighters.

Q. How are the “dojo cultures” different in Japan, compared to your (American?) Dojo.
It depends on the dojo. I think in American dojos and gyms, there are specific trainers who focus on certain things (such as kickboxing, or conditioning or diet) to build their fighters. In Japan, the pro fighters tend to just train together- it’s kind of old fashioned. I wish I had a trainer to pay special attention to me and focus more on my weak points.

Q. How do you think martial arts fits into the Japanese culture?
Fighting and the competitive spirit is a big part of the culture, I think. The samurai warrior remains a respected figure and symbol of honor and order. Nowadays, strong pro fighters are also put on a pedestal. The average person knows about the most famous MMA fighters, like Kazushi Sakuraba, and a it’s one of the top sports to watch, like going to a baseball game. Also, all high schoolers have to do Judo or Kendo sword fighting in high school, so everyone is introduced to some kind of martial arts in their lives.

Q. What has it been like being a gaikokujin living in Japan?
It’s been okay for me since I speak Japanese, but people who can’t have it rougher. I live in Tokyo where people are used to seeing foreigners. However, out in the country, you get stared and discriminated against as an outsider who doesn’t belong. That sucks. But everyone has always been polite to me in Tokyo, and I don’t feel like I really stand out.

Q. Perhaps even more importantly, what is it like being the only gaikokujin at your dojo?
Yes, I am the only gaikokujin in my dojo. Again, since I speak Japanese, I can communicate and people are friendly. Sometimes I feel like I can never completely become “one” of them. But mostly, if you train hard, sweat and bleed with people, they accept you. I’ve made many friends, and I adore my dojo.

Q. Where’s your favorite place to go relax after a long day of training?
After training, it takes me a hell-ish hour and a half of standing up on the train to get home. So I drag myself to bed. If I do have free time during the day or morning, I like to sit in front of my computer and blog, watch anime online, or go shopping. I love grocery stores because they have such weird-looking stuff like fish that you can’t get in the States. Sometimes I go to the markets just to look around and laugh at the weird stuff.

Q. Does your Sensei regale to you stories about Bob Sapp to scare the students into training harder?
Actually, Bob Sapp isn’t that popular anymore. And at my current dojo, we don’t really have a sensei. We have pro fighters who take turns ‘instructing’ the beginner’s class, and then after that, the pros just train together. They’re scary enough.

Q. What’s it like for women to fight in Japan?
It’s really hard for women to find fights in Japan nowadays. Women MMA fights are becoming more popular in the States (Gina Carano in Elite EX, for example), but the Japanese organizations aren’t hosting enough shows. We need the public to be more aware of female fighters and support us!

Q. Any advice for someone who wants to follow in your footsteps as a gaikokujin professional fighter?
Visas are a major obstacle for fighters. Otherwise, they kick you out. You need a working visa to live in Japan, but that means you have to find a full time job. And if you have a full time job, it’s difficult to train full time, or even part time. So you need to have a lot of energy, and train hard. So my advice? Eat your Wheeties and be willing to work.

Feel free to check out her website and Myspace, found below!

www.63fight.com
www.myspace.com/roxyfighter