During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes on the West Coast because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage. As the war progressed, many of the young Nisei, Japanese immigrants' children who were born with American citizenship, volunteered or were drafted to serve in the United States military. Japanese Americans served in all the branches of the United States Armed Forces, including the United States Merchant Marine. An estimated 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the U.S. military during World War II, of which 20,000 joined the Army. Approximately 800 were killed in action.
Sadao Munemori was a United States Army soldier and posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor, after he sacrificed his life to save those of his fellow soldiers at Seravezza, Italy during World War II.
The 442nd Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment including the 100th Infantry Battalion is best known as the most decorated in U.S. military history, and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry (Nisei) who fought in World War II. Beginning in 1944, the regiment fought primarily in the European Theatre, in particular Italy, southern France, and Germany. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) was organized on March 23, 1943, in response to the War Department's call for volunteers to form the segregated Japanese American army combat unit. More than 12,000 Nisei volunteers answered the call. Ultimately 2,686 from Hawaii and 1,500 from mainland U.S. internment camps assembled at Camp Shelby, Mississippi in April 1943 for a year of infantry training. Many of the soldiers from the continental U.S. had families in internment camps while they fought abroad. Meaning to risk everything in order to win, the unit's motto was "Go For Broke". Before they left Mississippi, the 100th was given permission to use the slogan it wanted, "Go For Broke," the crapshooters' cry to "shoot the works."
The 100th Infantry Battalion is the only infantry unit in the United States Army Reserve. In World War II, the then-primarily Nisei battalion was composed largely of former members of the Hawaii Army National Guard. The 100th saw heavy combat during World War II, starting in September 1943 and continuing after being attached as a battalion of the Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) in June 1944. The 100th Infantry Battalion joined the 442nd RCT at Camp Shelby, Mississippi in April 1943 for a year of infantry training. The unit was unofficially nicknamed the Purple Heart Battalion, with the motto "Remember Pearl Harbor". "Before it left Mississippi, the 100th was given permission to use the slogan it wanted, "Go For Broke," which is the crapshooters' cry to "shoot the works," and risk it all.
Mike Masaru Masaoka was a Japanese-American lobbyist, author, and spokesman. He worked with the Japanese American Citizens League for over 30 years. He was a key player in encouraging cooperation of the JACL with Japanese American internment during World War II, but also fought for rights of Japanese-Americans during and after the war.
The Go for Broke Monument in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California, commemorates Japanese Americans who served in the United States Army during World War II. It was created by Los Angeles architect Roger M. Yanagita whose winning design was selected over 138 other submissions from around the world.
Robert Pirosh was an American screenwriter and film director. He is most known for his war and military-themed works, inspired by his experiences as a U.S. Army infantryman during World War II. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Battleground (1949), a semi-autobiographical account the Battle of the Bulge. He was nominated for a second Oscar for Go for Broke! (1951), a film about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
Only the Brave is a 2006 independent film about the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated World War II fighting unit primarily made up of "Nisei" Japanese Americans, which for its size and length of service became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history. The film, produced and directed by Lane Nishikawa, is a fictionalized account of the rescue of the Lost Battalion.
General John Ernest Dahlquist was a senior United States Army officer. In the course of his military career, Dahlquist commanded three different army divisions, commanded at the corps and field army level and rose to the rank of four-star general. He is well-known for commanding the series of poor tactical decisions which led to the 442nd RCT becoming the most highly decorated unit in the history of the United States Armed Forces.
Colonel Virgil Rasmuss Miller was a United States Army officer who served as Regimental Commander of the 442d Regimental Combat Team (RCT), a unit which was composed of "Nisei", during World War II. He led the 442nd in its rescue of the Lost Texas Battalion of the 36th Infantry Division, in the forests of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France.
James Kazuo Okubo was a United States Army soldier. He was a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War II.
Kiyoshi K. Muranaga was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Robert Toshio Kuroda was a United States Army soldier. He was a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
"The Lost Battalion" refers to the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry, 36th Infantry Division, originally a Texas National Guard unit, which was surrounded by German forces in the Vosges Mountains on 24 October 1944.
Japanese American history is the history of Japanese Americans or the history of ethnic Japanese in the United States. People from Japan began immigrating to the U.S. in significant numbers following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Large-scale Japanese immigration started with immigration to Hawaii during the first year of the Meiji period in 1868.
Pierre Moulin was a French historian author, specializing in World War II, Nisei Japanese Americans, the Holocaust as well as Hawaiian history.
The Varsity Victory Volunteers was a civilian sapper unit composed of Japanese-Americans from Hawaii. The VVV was a major stepping stone in the creation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which would end up becoming the most decorated regiment in United States armed forces history.
Susumu Ito was an American cell biologist and soldier born in Stockton, California. He was a Nisei, a second-generation Japanese American.
Lane Nakano was a former American combat soldier turned actor.
