100th Infantry battalion
442nd Regimental Combat Team
In 1943, Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) volunteers flocked from Hawaii and the mainland concentration camps to form the l00th/442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) which became the most decorated unit of its size and length of service in the history of the U.S. military.
The unit saw action in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany. It participated in all the major campaigns up the Italian boot. Known for its battle cry, “Go For Broke,” the 100th/442nd RCT never failed to take an objective and was feared by the Germans. Every time the Germans heard the unit had hit the line, they doubled their defenses, because they knew the Nisei GIs would break through. The men of the 442nd became known as the best combat troops in the European Theater of Operations (ETO), but paid the price, as indicated by the number of Purple Hearts awarded to them. The 100th Battalion, made up of Hawaiian Niseis, had earlier earned the sobriquet, "The Purple Heart Battalion" in Italy.
In one of the epic baffles of the ETO — the Rescue of the Lost Battalion of Texans — the Nisei suffered 800 casualties to rescue 211 Texans, when their own regiment could not extricate them from the heavily defended Vosges Mountains in northeastern France in late 1944. After a short respite from a previous ten days of continuous fighting, the Nisei were called upon to accomplish the rescue that many considered a suicide mission, because of the heavily defended land mass — the last one — that separated the Allies from Germany itself, and because of Hitler’s edict to his troops to hold at all costs. But after five days of incessant fighting, the l00th/442nd RCT broke through the German lines and made the rescue. Even after the rescue mission was completed, the unit continued to rout the enemy on the run.
After a well-earned rest in southeastern France, the Go For Broke unit was called back to Italy in secrecy. They were ordered to break the Gothic Line in the Apennine Mountains, which had withstood five months of constant Allied pounding. Their mission was to climb the steep slopes of Mt. Folgarito, slopes so precipitous that the Germans did not expect an attack from that direction, Under the cover of darkness, with strict orders not to make a sound, the men scaled the mountain and launched an attack that took the Germans by surprise. In 30 minutes they broke the German line. The western anchor of the Gothic Line then crumbled. Taking town after town north of the broken line, the Nisei broke through to the strategic naval base, La Spezia, to silence the big railroad guns that had protected the Germans.
In June 2000, the men of the 100th/442nd RCT were awarded 20 Medals of Honor in a special White House ceremony, which they had earned 55 years earlier. Senator Daniel K. Inouye was among the recipients. The 20 Medals of Honor were in addition to one that was awarded to Sadao Munemori in 1945.
After a thorough re-examination of the combat records of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team commissioned by the U.S. Army on orders of Congress, President Bill Clinton on June 21, 2000 bestowed an additional twenty Congressional Medals of Honor to those Nisei who exhibited the ultimate in valor while serving their country. Most of the medals were awarded posthumously and presented to the families of recipients.
The unit saw action in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany. It participated in all the major campaigns up the Italian boot. Known for its battle cry, “Go For Broke,” the 100th/442nd RCT never failed to take an objective and was feared by the Germans. Every time the Germans heard the unit had hit the line, they doubled their defenses, because they knew the Nisei GIs would break through. The men of the 442nd became known as the best combat troops in the European Theater of Operations (ETO), but paid the price, as indicated by the number of Purple Hearts awarded to them. The 100th Battalion, made up of Hawaiian Niseis, had earlier earned the sobriquet, "The Purple Heart Battalion" in Italy.
In one of the epic baffles of the ETO — the Rescue of the Lost Battalion of Texans — the Nisei suffered 800 casualties to rescue 211 Texans, when their own regiment could not extricate them from the heavily defended Vosges Mountains in northeastern France in late 1944. After a short respite from a previous ten days of continuous fighting, the Nisei were called upon to accomplish the rescue that many considered a suicide mission, because of the heavily defended land mass — the last one — that separated the Allies from Germany itself, and because of Hitler’s edict to his troops to hold at all costs. But after five days of incessant fighting, the l00th/442nd RCT broke through the German lines and made the rescue. Even after the rescue mission was completed, the unit continued to rout the enemy on the run.
After a well-earned rest in southeastern France, the Go For Broke unit was called back to Italy in secrecy. They were ordered to break the Gothic Line in the Apennine Mountains, which had withstood five months of constant Allied pounding. Their mission was to climb the steep slopes of Mt. Folgarito, slopes so precipitous that the Germans did not expect an attack from that direction, Under the cover of darkness, with strict orders not to make a sound, the men scaled the mountain and launched an attack that took the Germans by surprise. In 30 minutes they broke the German line. The western anchor of the Gothic Line then crumbled. Taking town after town north of the broken line, the Nisei broke through to the strategic naval base, La Spezia, to silence the big railroad guns that had protected the Germans.
In June 2000, the men of the 100th/442nd RCT were awarded 20 Medals of Honor in a special White House ceremony, which they had earned 55 years earlier. Senator Daniel K. Inouye was among the recipients. The 20 Medals of Honor were in addition to one that was awarded to Sadao Munemori in 1945.
After a thorough re-examination of the combat records of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team commissioned by the U.S. Army on orders of Congress, President Bill Clinton on June 21, 2000 bestowed an additional twenty Congressional Medals of Honor to those Nisei who exhibited the ultimate in valor while serving their country. Most of the medals were awarded posthumously and presented to the families of recipients.