The 442nd Infantry Regiment was an infantry unit in WWII that was made mostly of Japanese Americans. This combat team consisted of roughly 18,000 people, and was the most decorated military unit in United States history. This team served in southern France, Italy, and Germany. After the attacks on Pearl Harbor, draft boards listed all Japanese Americans as “undesirable aliens.” Only later in the war did the boards take volunteers to help fight the war in Europe and work in military intelligence services in Japan and its neighboring countries. The US government did not want Japanese Americans to fight on the Pacific front unless they were spying for the US.
The 442nd Infantry Regiment was created in 1943 and was at that time composed of all American citizens with Japanese descent. It was first composed of Japanese American soldiers already in the army, then new volunteers that were also Japanese American were also added to the team. Later, it was combined with three other infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, an engineering battalion, and a medical detachment. One of those infantry battalions was the 100th infantry battalion. They were an battalion already with a history in battle. Some missions they served in was the missions that gave the Allies control of Italy.
The 422nd/100th were also highly decorated. The members of these teams were awarded a total of 9,486 Purple Hearts, 5,200 bronze stars, 52 distinguished service cross, 21 Medals of Honor (the highest medal of valor), and much more. Even though most of the members of this regiment were awarded medals of some kind, most of them had relatives in the internment camps.
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This post describes the accomplishments of the 442nd infantry very well, and delves into the hypocrisy behind their enlistment. After the war, many of the generals of the U.S. Army called their service wonderful, and said that their loyalty was forever secured because of their valor in the war. Once again, the American higher ups failed to realize that the Japanese-Americans are more than just one person, and that they each are different individuals.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.the442.org/