Jack Shirai was born in 1900 in Hakodate, Hokkaido. It is said that he was abandoned by his parents shortly after birth, and around the age of five, he was sent to live in an orphanage. He left the orphanage at the age of 11 and was hired as a sailor on a cargo ship on the Kamchatka route, but at 17, he went to sea with a fishing boat to the Americas. At 29, he stayed in the United States and worked as a baker and chef in New York City. With his culinary skills, he changed jobs several times and later worked as a chef in a Japanese restaurant. Although he had no strong political views, he was angered by the harsh working conditions faced by Japanese immigrants and refugees escaping Japanese fascism, who earned very meager wages. He participated in the anti-hunger march in Washington and the march at the San Francisco port, opposing the shipment of scrap iron to Japan to manufacture weapons for aggression against China and East Asia. At the same time, he joined the Japanese workers' group "Japanese Immigrant Labor Union" and became involved in the labor movement. At that time, there were three Japanese groups in New York: the "Japanese Association," which gathered elites such as merchants and diplomats; the nationalist group "Kokugun," which supported Japan's policy towards China; and the Japanese Immigrant Labor Union, which gathered the working class.
On July 17, 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out. Although the Japanese fascist government provided informal military support to Franco's forces, he still went to France on December 26 with 96 American volunteers to join the International Brigades. They did not tell anyone where they were going, so they had no family or friends to see them off. On the night of January 6, 1937, they crossed the Pyrenees and arrived in Spain, traveling through Barcelona to reach the town of Albacete for military training. He was assigned to the 17th Battalion of the 15th International Brigade, the "Abraham Lincoln Battalion." Appointed as a cook, Shirai was very dissatisfied with this assignment and protested, "I won't do kitchen work. I have a fine Soviet rifle; I came here to fight fascists, and I want to stay on the front lines! Who can fight fascists in the kitchen? Screw the kitchen!" Later, after being persuaded by his political commissar, he was allowed to cook in the kitchen but could go to the front lines if there was fighting. He reluctantly accepted this arrangement and became an armed cook in a machine gun company.
Battle of the Jarama Valley
In the following months, the Lincoln Battalion participated in the winter Battle of the Jarama Valley, during which Shirai developed deep friendships with his comrades in the Lincoln Battalion, especially with Mel Offsink and Max Krauthamer.
Jack Shirai shaking hands with the candidate for Vice President of the American Communist Party
Harry Fisher recalled some conversations among the three: "After the war, they would open a restaurant, and anyone who participated in the Spanish Civil War would not have to pay. Shirai excitedly described the dishes they would soon introduce."
The last photo of Jack Shirai before his sacrifice
On July 11, 1937, during the Brunete offensive in the defense of Madrid, Shirai was allowed to leave the kitchen to go to the front lines to fight, according to an agreement he had with his political commissar. At that time, the Francoist rebels, who had been ambushed, regained control and dominated the air. Near dusk, food was sent to them. However, it was impossible to deliver it to the trenches across an 18-meter open space. Shirai confidently laughed, "I'll take it!" Everyone urged him to wait until nightfall, but he jumped out of the trench. A burst of gunfire rang out, and the enemy's machine gun hit his neck, killing Shirai instantly. That night, his comrades buried him under an olive tree in Cañada. Shirai's tombstone reads: "Jack Shirai, Japanese anti-fascist warrior, this monument is erected in memory of his courage, July 11, 1937." On October 4, 1937, the magazine of the 15th International Brigade, "Volunteers for Freedom," published a poem commemorating him titled "The Fall of Jack Shirai." In 1966, Shirai's comrade in the United States, Toyosaburo Kanai, erected a monument for Shirai at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Tokyo, with his name clearly engraved on the bronze plaque.