National Park Service names Savage a WWII Heritage City

The National Park Service (NPS) has recognized Savage, MN, as a World War II Heritage City. One of 10 cities named as Heritage Cities this year, Savage was recognized for Camp Savage s training of Japanese American military specialists who used language skills to support operations in the Pacific Theatre. According to the NPS, the Army recruited second-generation Japanese Americans into the Military Intelligence Service and sent them to Camp Savage for training in the Japanese language. After graduating, some 5,000-6,000 students used their new skills to translate captured documents, maps, battle plans, diaries, letters, and printed materials and interrogate Japanese prisoners. Nearby shipbuilding and precision manufacturing at the U.S. Navy’s Cargill Shipyard also drew thousands of Americans, including women, to support the war effort. NPS said the shipyard began producing Patapsco-class auxiliary oil and gas carriers and towboats and completed 22 over the course of the w