SUSUMU "SUS" ITO

1919 - 2015

Ito, Susumu "Sus" (July 27, 1919 - Sept. 29, 2015). Longtime resident of Wellesley, MA, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Medical School, and World War II Veteran of the famed Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He was born in Stockton, CA, the oldest and only son of Japanese immigrant parents, Hisayo and Sohei Ito, who worked in agriculture. He was trained as an auto mechanic when he was drafted into the military in 1940. After Pearl Harbor, he went in uniform to help his parents and two sisters, Masako and Sachi, who were confined to the internment camp in Rowher, AK during the war. He was eventually assigned to the 442nd RCT, which became the mostdecorated unit for its size in U.S. history. He was a forward artillery observer and rose to the rank of lieutenant. Sus was part of the storied rescue of the "Lost Battalion," a unit of the 36th Texas Division. Though the 442nd suffered extreme casualties in the engagement, Sus emerged unscathed. His unit, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, later liberated a sub-camp of the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. After the war, he attended university on the G.I. Bill and earned a PhD in Biology from Case Western University. He joined the faculty at Harvard Medical School in 1960. Although Sus formally retired in 1990, he continued to be active in the lab and enjoyed working with colleagues. In 2011, the U.S. government awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Nisei Veterans for their service in World War II. Sus was elected by his peers to represent their unit to receive a medal from President Obama. This year, the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles hosted an exhibit with a selection of the photos he took during the war. The exhibition "Before they were Heroes" also displayed many of the artifacts and memorabilia he donated to the museum, including his Bible given to him by his sister and his Senninbari, a symbolically protective sash made by his mother. During the event, the French government awarded eleven Nisei WW II vets its National Order of the Legion of Honor in the rank of Chevalier (Knight). Now his friends joked they could call him Sir Sus. Sus is survived by Linda and James Ito-Adler of Belmont, MA; Celia and Barry Doe of Belmont, MA; Bruce Ito of San Francisco, CA, Ellen Ito of Falmouth, MA and five grandchildren; Justin, Jayson, Lisa, Jesse, and Amanda. His wife, Minnie, and son, Daniel, predeceased him. Sus will forever be deeply missed, loved, and remembered by his family and many friends. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in his name to the charity of your choice. A private service will be held.