…comment in the previous issue of the parade, in discussing the turn of events when Turner was ordered to a hospital for rest: “As a matter of fact, the doctors and the commanding officer at McCoy tried to convince him that he shouldn’t go into combat. But he was adamant. He had come this far and he wanted to go all the way.” That was the kind of spirit that made the 100th fight the odds and make something for itself. Today, that spirit is alive a…
A ‘BASTARD Outfft’-What Else? (PART II)
…d and Jim relieves Major Clough in as much as he is senior to him So Jim becomes battalion commander. (Turner had earlier been relieved as commander during one of the mountain battles leading to Cassino.) The battle for Cassino beginning mid-January 1944 was certainly one of the toughest battles of the war. The city lies about 75 miles southeast of Rome, and with the Benedictine Monastery atop Mount Cassino, it has been guarding the southern appro…
Spark Masayuki Matsunaga
…volunteered for the Army in June 1941. He was executive officer and acting company commander of Company K, 299th Infantry Regiment, Hawaii National Guard, on Molokai at the time of Pearl Harbor. Subsequently he became part of the order that recalled the soldiers of Japanese ancestry from their various posts around the islands to Schofield Barracks where in June 1942 they were banded into the Hawaiian Infantry Provisional Battalion. The name implie…
9/30/1943
…Linden Tree” “Beer Barrel Polka” and a lot more, all of which they sing in German. I forgot to say, the list also includes “Aloha Oe,” which they think is a German song. Last night, they sang up to about 10 o’clock and some would do imitations of an Arabian dance which in some way resembles the hula. There were a few solos here and there but generally, it was group singing. Everything else here is the same. I’ve told you about the town and its [si…
Portrait of a Soldier: Kaoru Moto
…p across the Pacific to Hawaii. He started work as a ditchman for Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company and later became a water luna. Because he was diabetic, he was later shifted to taking care of the plantation’s ballpark. Moto’s mother, Sugayo, also from Hiroshima, came to the Islands 10 years later. Strong and healthy, she did all kind of work on the plantation. After her marriage to Ryozo, she was also shifted to the ballpark to work with hi…
A Maui Vet Remembers
…as hit while the 100th traversed hills and gullies near the town. He saw a German Mach IV tank coming up the ridge they were on. His attempt to destroy it with a rifle grenade failed. He took cover behind a rock as the tank began firing at him. A bazooka man came to the area and fired two or three shots, knocking out the tank. That attracted the attention of German defenders, who began firing at their position below. “The first burst hit someone i…
P-U-K-A S-Q-U-A-R-E-S
…in the 100th should start a project to gather together the stories of the combat experiences of the men of the 100th – to do this before we forget or become too frail or senile, before we all go kaput. Some first-hand stories of what or how we fought, what made us fight the way we did, who we were doing it for and why, our hopes and fears and delights – whatever can be garnered from the guts of the buddaheads. About a year ago, I asked Goro Sumid…
From Kompan-Man to a DSC II
…across the Pacific to Hawaii. He started work as a ditch man for Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company and later became a water luna. Because he was diabetic, he was later shifted to taking care of the plantation’s ballpark. Moto’s mother, Sugayo, also from Hiroshima, came to the Islands 10 years later. Strong and healthy, she did all kind of work on the plantation. After her marriage to Ryozo, she was also shifted to the ballpark to work with hi…
It’s a Small World: Larry Miyasato
…ttling was done at night since most of Italy was still in the hands of the Germans. Besides, there were constant reports of U-boats and German vessels in the area, but we did not see any. Four to five cargo vessels were used in the operation. Our job was to sail with the Italians who manned the vessels and guard the supplies during transit until they reached Bastia.” Relieved from duty after nine months, Miyasato was then placed on limited duty in…
Congressional Medal of Honor: Sadao Munemori
…inois and Minnesota. In January 1944, he was sent subsequently assigned to Company A, 442d Regimental Combat Team, then in training for overseas combat duty. In one of his first letters from Shelby to the family in Manzanar, he recalled that he was only 19 when he had volunteered for the Army and that it “was a big decision I had gone over and over again at nights when you all were sleeping. I think I did right by enlisting because my home is here…