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The 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army, was a unit composed of mostly Japanese Americans who fought in Europe during the Second World War. The families of many of its soldiers were subject to internment. The 442nd was a self-sufficient fighting force, and fought with distinction in North Africa, Italy, southern France, and Germany, becoming the most highly decorated unit of its size and length of service in the history of the U.S. Army, including 22 Medal of Honor recipients.

Background

Most Japanese Americans who fought in WWII were Nisei: second-generation Japanese Americans born in the U.S. Nevertheless, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japanese American men were categorized as 4C (enemy alien) and therefore non-draftable. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing military authorities "to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion." Although the order did not refer to people of Japanese ancestry, it set the stage for the internment of people of Japanese descent. In March 1942, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt, head of the Western Defense Command, issued the first of 108 military proclamations which resulted in the forced removal of more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast from their homes and to internment or relocation camps.

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442nd Regimental Combat Team Distinctive Unit Insignia

In Hawaii, martial law, complete with curfews and blackouts, was imposed. A large portion of the population was of Japanese descent (150,000 out of 400,000 people by 1937) and internment was deemed not practicable, mostly for economic reasons. When the War Department called for the removal of all soldiers of Japanese ancestry from active service in early 1942, General Delos C. Emmons (commanding general of the U.S. Army in Hawaii) decided to discharge those in the Hawaii Territorial Guard, which was composed mainly of ROTC students from the University of Hawaii. However, he kept the more than 1,300 Japanese American soldiers of the 298th and 299th Infantry regiments of the Hawaii National Guard. The discharged members of the Hawaii Territorial Guard petitioned General Emmons to allow them to assist in the war effort. The petition was granted and they formed a group called the Varsity Victory Volunteers (VVV), which performed various construction jobs for the military. General Emmons, worried about the loyalty of Japanese American soldiers in the event of a Japanese invasion, recommended to the War Department that those in the 298th and 299th regiments be organized into a "Hawaiian Provisional Battalion" and sent to the Mainland. The move was authorized, and on June 5 1942, the Hawaiian Provisional Battalion sailed for training on the Mainland. They landed at Oakland, California on June 10, 1942 and became the 100th Infantry Battalion — the "One Puka Puka"; two days later they were sent to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.

The 100th performed so well in training that, on February 1, 1943, the U.S. Government reversed its decision on Japanese Americans serving in the armed forces, and approved the formation of a Japanese American combat unit. A few days later, the government required that all internees answer loyalty questionnaires, which was used to register the Nisei for the draft. Question 27 of the loyalty questionnaire asked males eligible to register for the draft, "Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?" While question 28 asked all internees, "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?"

Nearly a quarter of the Nisei males answered with a "no" or a qualified answer to both questions, sometimes even left them blank. However, more than 75% of the Nisei males indicated that they were willing to enlist in the U.S. armed forces (although not all of them readily did) and swear allegiance to the U.S. The U.S. Army called for 1,500 volunteers from Hawaii and 3,000 from the Mainland. An overwhelming 10,000 men from Hawaii came forth. However the announcement was met with less enthusiasm on the Mainland, where the vast majority of draft age men of Japanese ancestry were held in internment camps. The Army revised the quota, calling for 2,900 men from Hawaii, and 1,500 from the Mainland. Only 1,256 volunteered from the Mainland. In the end, around 3,000 men from Hawaii and 800 men from the Mainland were inducted. 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." Nevertheless, families of the regiment's members remained interned.

Training and organization

The nucleus of the new unit was the 100th Infantry Battalion, which relocated to Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Eventually, the 100th was joined by 3,000 volunteers from Hawaii and 800 from the camps on the mainland. As a regimental combat team, the 442nd RCT was a self-sufficient fighting formation of four infantry battalions (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, 442d Infantry, and 100th Infantry Battalion), 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.

Initially, there was tension between volunteers from the Hawaiian Islands (known as "buddhaheads", from the Japanese/English term buta-head, meaning "pig-headed") and those from the mainland ("kotonks" or "katonks", alleged to be the sound of a coconut hitting an empty head). The rivalry between the Hawaiian Islanders and the mainlanders dissipated after visits were organised to the internment camps where the mainlanders' families were being held.

Although they were now permitted to volunteer to fight, Americans of Japanese ancestry were generally forbidden to fight in a combat role in the Pacific Theater. No such limitations were placed on Americans of German or Italian ancestry who fought against the Axis Powers in the European Theater. However, many men deemed proficient enough in the Japanese language were approached, or sometimes ordered to join the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) to serve as translators/interpreters and spies in the Pacific, as well as in the China Burma India Theater. These men were sent to the MIS Language School at Camp Savage, Minnesota to improve their Japanese language skills and receive training in military intelligence. While the 442nd trained in Mississippi, the 100th departed for Oran in North Africa to join the forces destined to invade Italy.

Combat

The 100th landed at Oran in Algeria on September 2 1943, and was originally scheduled to guard supply trains in North Africa. However, Colonel Farrant L. Turner insisted that the 100th be given a combat mission, and it was attached to the "Red Bull" U.S. 34th Division.

The 100th sailed from North Africa with 1,300 men on September 22, 1943 and landed at Salerno on September 26, 1943. After obtaining its initial objective of Monte Milleto, the 100th joined the assault on Monte Cassino.

The 100th fought valiantly, suffering many casualties; by February 1944, it could muster only 521 men. The depleted battalion joined the defense of the beachhead at Anzio until May 1944, and then added momentum to the push for Rome, but was halted only 10 miles from the city. Some believe that the 100th was deliberately halted to allow non-Nisei soldiers to liberate Rome.

The 442nd (other than the 1st battalion, much of which had already been sent as replacements for the 100th, and the remainder of which remained in the U.S. to train further replacements) landed at Anzio and joined the 100th Battalion in Civitavecchia north of Rome on June 10 1944. The 100th Battalion was now officially part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, but was allowed to keep its unit designation in recognition of its distinguished fighting record. The combined unit continued in the push up Italy, before joining the invasion of southern France, where the 442nd participated in the fight to liberate Bruyeres in south France, and famously rescued the "Lost Battalion" at Biffontaine. Pursuant to army tradition of never leaving soldiers behind, over a five-day period, from 26 October to 30 October 1944, the 442nd suffered over 800 casualties—nearly half of its roster—while rescuing 211 members of the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry (U.S. 36th Infantry Division, originally Texas National Guard), which had been surrounded by German forces in the Vosges mountains since 24 October.

The 522nd Field Artillery Battalion remained in France, and joined the push into Germany in late 1944 and 1945. Scouts from the 522nd were among the first Allied troops to release prisoners from the Dachau concentration camp. The remainder of the 442nd returned to Italy to continue the fight against the Gothic Line established by German Field Marshal Kesselring in the Apennines.

The 442nd is commonly reported to have suffered a casualty rate of 314 percent (i.e. on average, each man was injured more than three times), informally derived from 9,486 purple hearts divided by some 3,000 original in-theater personnel. U.S. Army battle reports show the official casualty rate, combining KIA (killed) with MIA (missing) and WIA (wounded and removed from action) totals, is 93%, still uncommonly high. The purple heart figure, though representing a broader range of wounds including those which may not have removed a soldier from action, is disputed by some researchers. A good amount of these Purple Hearts have been awarded during the campaign in the Vosges Mountains. Some wounded were soldiers who were victims of trenchfoot. But many victims of trenchfoot were forced by superiors, or willingly chose, to return to the front even though they were classified as WIA.Wounded soldiers would often escape from hospitals to return to the font line battles.

Decorations

Fighting in the European theatre, the 442nd RCT became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service, earning it the title, the "Purple Heart Battalion." The 442nd RCT received 7 Presidential Unit Citations (5 earned in one month), and its members received around 18,000 awards, including:

22 Medals of Honor (the first awarded posthumously to PFC Sadao Munemori, Company A, 100th Battalion, for action near Seravezza, Italy, on April 5, 1945; the others upgraded from other awards in June 2000)
52 Distinguished Service Crosses (including 19 Distinguished Service Crosses which were upgraded to Medals of Honor in June 2000)
1 Distinguished Service Medal
560 Silver Stars (plus 28 Oak Leaf Clusters for a second award)
22 Legion of Merit Medals
15 Soldier's Medals
4,000 Bronze Stars (plus 1,200 Oak Leaf Clusters for a second award; one Bronze Star was upgraded to a Medal of Honor in June 2000)
9,486 Purple Hearts

After the war

The unit's exemplary service and many decorations did not change attitudes of the general U.S. population to people of Japanese descent after World War II. Veterans were welcomed home by signs that read "No Japs Allowed" and "No Japs Wanted", and many veterans were denied service in shops and restaurants, and had their homes and property vandalized.

Anti-Japanese sentiment remained strong into the 1960s, but faded along with other once-common prejudices, even while remaining strong in certain circles. Conversely, the story of the 442nd provided a leading example of what was to become the controversial model minority stereotype.

The 442nd RCT was demobilized in Honolulu in 1946, but reactivated in 1947 in the U.S. Army Reserve. It was mobilized in 1968 to refill the Strategic Reserve during the Vietnam War. Today, the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, is the only infantry unit of the Army Reserve. The battalion headquarters is at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, with subordinate units based in Hilo, Hawaii, American Samoa, Saipan, and Guam.

In August 2004, the battalion was activated for duty in Iraq, stationed at LSA Anaconda in the city of Balad, which is located about 50 miles northwest of Baghdad. As of January 2006, the 100th had returned home with the exception of some 100 artillery personnel. One soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device attack.

California has given three state highway segments honorary designations for Japanese American soldiers:

California State Route 23 between U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 118 is named the Military Intelligence Memorial Freeway;
California State Route 99 between Fresno and Madera is named the 100th Infantry Battalion Memorial Highway;
California State Route 99 between Salida and Manteca is named the 442nd Regimental Combat Team Memorial Highway.

Prominent Members

Daniel Inouye, U.S. Representative from Hawaii (1959–1962); U.S. Senator from Hawaii (1962–)
Spark Matsunaga, U.S. Representative from Hawaii (1962–1976); U.S. Senator from Hawaii (1977–1990)
Susumu Ito, Emeritus Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Harvard Medical School (1960–1990)
Young-Oak Kim, Colonel; the only Korean during his service in 442nd Infantry. First officer from an ethnic minority in U.S. history to command an Army combat battalion.

Works about the 442nd

Go For Broke! This 1951 film dramatizes the lives and wartime heroics of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The film stars Van Johnson as a young officer, reluctant about his assignment to the 442nd. He comes to respect the Nisei troops, eventually refusing a transfer back to his original Texas unit. The movie also starred a number of veterans of the 442nd.
The 442nd is also mentioned in the movie collection "The Karate Kid", in which Mr. Miyagi served in and received a Medal of Honor.

External links

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Image:442 regimental combat team.jpg|right|thumbnail|250px|The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, hiking up a muddy French road in the [[Chambois]] Sector, France, in late 1944.]]
-The '''442nd Regimental Combat Team''' of the [[United States Army]], was a unit composed of mostly [[Japanese American]]s who fought in Europe during the [[Second World War]].  The families of many of its soldiers were subject to [[Japanese American internment|internment]]. The 442nd was a self-sufficient fighting force, and fought with distinction in [[North Africa]], [[Italy]], southern [[France]], and [[Germany]], becoming the most highly decorated unit of its size and length of service in the history of the U.S. Army, including 21 Medal of Honor recipients.
+The '''442nd Regimental Combat Team''' of the [[United States Army]], was a unit composed of mostly [[Japanese American]]s who fought in Europe during the [[Second World War]].  The families of many of its soldiers were subject to [[Japanese American internment|internment]]. The 442nd was a self-sufficient fighting force, and fought with distinction in [[North Africa]], [[Italy]], southern [[France]], and [[Germany]], becoming the most highly decorated unit of its size and length of service in the history of the U.S. Army, including 22 Medal of Honor recipients.
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