-American military unit comprised of Japanese American men enlisted in the Army and mostly white officers. They fought in Europe during WWII. Many families of the soldiers were interned in the camps. The 442nd was a strong force, they fought with valor in Italy, southern France and Germany.
-They became the highest decorated unit in the United States Armed Forces
-They had 22 Medal of Honor recipients.
Background
-Most of the Japanese men who fought in the war were called 'Nisei', meaning 2nd generation Japanese born in the US to Japanese people.
-After the Pearl Harbor attack on 12/7/1941, most American-Japanese men were labeled 4C or enemy alien. On Feb. 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed off on Executive Order 9066, stating that anyone of Japanese descent was subjected to internment in camps.
-In Hawai'i, martial law and blackouts and curfews were commonplace. A large section of the island's population was Japanese.
-Soon the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was born; most of the officers being of Japanese ancestry
Training/Organization
-The 100th Infantry Battalion, as it was also known as, relocated to Camp Shelby in Mississippi.
-3,000 volunteers from Hawaii and 800 from the mainland camps joined the battalion
-This was a formation of 3 different battalions: the 552nd Field Artillery Battalion, the 232nd Engineer Company, the 100th Infantry Battallion. Also to note was the 206th Army Band
-Americans of Japanese descent were generally forbidden to fight in the Pacific. There were no limitations on Germans or Italians fighting the Axis Powers.
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| The soldiers now |
-Men who were proficient in speaking the Japanese language were approached and asked to be translators/interpreters in the Military Intelligence Service(MIS). These men were sent to the MIS Language School in Camp Savage, Minnesota to develop their language skills and training in military intelligence
-Their first battle as a unit was at the town of Belvedere. One part of the unit blocked the exit of the town and other parts blocked in the Germans, killing them
-Following the tough battle in the Vosges Mountains, the 442nd was taken to the Maritime Alps. Then soon, they experienced a time called the "Champagne Campaign". Where there was wine, women and happy times
-This unit went through losses as well; patrols ran into enemy patrols, soldiers stepped onto enemy and allied land mines, and soldiers in the 442nd captured spies and saboteurs
-One time, a Nisei soldier thought he saw an animal in the water, but on closer looking, it was revealed that it was actually a German one-man submarine
-On April 29 of that year, scouts from the 522nf Field Artillery Battallion located a satellite camp next to the Dachau concentration camp.
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| Daniel Inouye |
Service/Decorations
-The 442nd was the most decorated unit in the entire history of the US Armed Forces
-21 Medals of Honor, one given poshumously to Sadao Munemori. Other recipients include:
- Barney F. Hajiro
- Mikio Hasemoto
- Joe Hayashi
- Shizuya Hayashi
- Daniel K. Inouye
- Yeiki Kobashigawa
- Robert T. Kuroda
- Kaoru Moto
- Sadao Munemori
- Kiyoshi K. Muranaga
- Masato Nakae
- Shinyei Nakamine
- William K. Nakamura
- Joe M. Nishimoto
- Allan M. Ohata
- James K. Okubo
- Yukio Okutsu
- Frank H. Ono
- Kazuo Otani
- George T. Sakuto
- Ted T. Tanouye
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| Ted T. Tanouye |
-52 Distinguished Service Crosses
-1 Distinguihsed Service Medal
-560 Silver Stars
-22 Legion of Merit Medals
-15 Soldier's Medals
-4,000 Bronze Stars
-9486 Purple Hearts
-This status as war veterans still did not change the fact that Americans felt hostile towards the Japanese. People of Japanese descent still felt the heat when they read signs that said "No Japs Allowed" or "No Japs Wanted", they were denied service in shops, restaurants, and their homes and properties were vandalized
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| Their sort of 'Coat of Arms' |
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| Kaoru Moto |
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| Shinyei Nakamine |
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| Mikio Hasemoto |
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| Hiroshi Arisumi |
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| Terry Shima |
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| Sadao Munemori |
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| George Sakato |
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