This document was a source about the 442nd infantry regiment. The 442nd regiment was active from august 10, 1944-august 15, 1946, and July 31, 1947- December 12, 1969. The 442nd Infantry regiment was apart of the Army Reserve but a separate regiment just for the Japanese decent born in the United States akso called Nisei, japenese-american men who fought in World War II . The 442nd also known as the 4c(enemy alien) who were drafted were removed from their homes and guarded in concentration camps. The governmnet first worried about the loyality of the japanese, so they dedcieded to give them a questionaire, the japanese had to answer question like, "Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?” and “Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, or any other foreign government, power or organization?” many didnt answer or ignored the question. Then it was determined that the 442nd would be formed. President Roosevelt announced the formation of the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team (the Go For Broke regiment), famously saying, “Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race or ancestry.”
Training and organization
The 442nd was relocated to camp shelby in mississippi. The 442nd was divided into the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, the 232nd Engineering Company, an anti-tank company, cannon company, service company, medical detachment, headquarters companies, and the 206th Army Band. The 442nd had three different infantry battalions, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions.
there was tension between volunteers from the islands known as “buddhaheads,” from the Japanese/English term buta-head, meaning “pig-headed", and those from the mainland known as (“kotonks” or “katonks”, alleged to be the sound of a coconut hitting an empty head. The tension eased after visits were organized to the internment camps where the mainlanders’ families were being held.
Combat
Americans of Japanese ancestry were generally forbidden to fight in combat, No such limitations were placed on Americans of German or Italian ancestry who fought against the axis power and the european theater. St firat the japanese-americans were being used as spies in their country since they could speak the language, like joining the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) to serve as translators/interpreters and spies.
But on september 2, 1943, the 442nd went to north africa to only guard the supply trains, when the battalion C.O., Colonel Farrant L. Turner insisted that the 100th be given a combat assignment. The 100th fought valiantly, suffering many casualties; by February 1944, it could muster only 521 men, obtaining its initial objective of Monte Milleto, the 442nd joined the assault on Monte Cassino, and won that too. After wining to liberate rome, the 100th was deliberately halted to allow non-Nisei soldiers to liberate Rome. The 442nd won many battles, liberated many countries and rescued many soldiers.! they were brave men of their time, although they are not recognized as they should be, they are not forgotton, soldiers like them deserve to call themselves true and proud americans, even when the world, including their own country doubted them, they proved other wrong.!
Kiyoshi K. MuranagaMuranaga was interned with his family at the Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado. At age 22, near Suvereto, Italy, he single-handedly manned his squad's mortar weapon in an attempt to destroy an enemy artillery gun. Muranaga was able to fire three shells before being killed by the enemy's return fire. For his actions during the battle, he was posthumously awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross. A 1990s review of service records for Asian Americans who received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II led to Muranaga's award being upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, his surviving family was presented with his Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton. |
James K. OkuboOkubo, whose family was sent to a relocation camp at Hart Mountain in Wyoming from Bellingham, Wash., after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, used his body to protect wounded soldiers. He also saved a wounded soldier by pulling him from a burning tank in France in 1944. Sgt. Okubo, a medic, risked his life while under heavy enemy fire to rescue wounded soldiers on Oct. 28, 29 and Nov. 4, 1944 - near Biffontaine, France. During World War II, Okubo was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but the 442nd medic was rejected. Instead, Okubo, a Detroit dentist who was killed in auto accident in 1967, was awarded the Silver Star. It was later updated to the Medal of Honor. |