…ion at Belvedere, for which the 100th was officially cited, the divisional commander had to commit the battalion sooner than expected, to outflank a tough German position. With little artillery support, the Nisei cut behind the position of some 500 Germans, knocked it to pieces, killed, wounded and captured 271 Germans. After the capture of Rome, the 100th was joined by its recently trained counterpart, the 442nd Combat Team, also Japanese-America…

…ready participated and are still participating in the struggle against the German invaders. There is in Italy a full infantry battalion exclusively composed of such soldiers. Such is their spirit and courage that it was officially acknowledged by the American General Mark. W. Clark, Commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army for some time. In the report he addressed to Henry L. Stimson, War Minister for the United States, General Clark expressed himself…

…41st Texas Regiment, stranded in enemy territory near the hamlet of La Houssiere, perilously low on food and ammunition. The rescue operation of what has come to be known as the “Lost Battalion” lasted five days, cost the 442nd 54 men and many more wounded and helped it become one of the most-decorated units in military history. A handful of graves of the brave nisei who fought in the Vosges mountains rests at the American cemetery near Epinal, ab…

…iption on the plague reads as follows: “To the men of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, United States Army, who reaffirmed an historic truth here that loyalty to one’s country is not modified by racial origin. These Americans, whose ancestors were Japanese, on October 30, 1944, during the battle of Bruyeres, broke the back-bone of the German defense and rescued the 141st Infantry Battalion which had been surrounded by the enemy for four days. Pres…

…participate fully in the social, economic and political activities of the community and a well-defined zeal for accomplishment. On the reverse side of the coin, the same society that had withheld its trust during the war years, but upon whom the l00th Battalion’s manifestation of loyal, valorous service had not gone unheeded, made it clear that it, too, desired this development. The results are evident to all. Today we find past and present membe…

…d was already at war. Most of the European continent had been conquered by Germany and Italy. The Soviet Union was reeling from the German invasion, with the city of Moscow threatened. Japan was already in an all out war with China. For America, the storm clouds of war were quickly gathering on the horizon, but ouf [sic] country was still at peace. Most of the men who welcomed eventually to form the 100th Battalion were being inducted into the Arm…

…eir way across open fields, where so many of them were picked off by crack German snipers. At Cassino, four 100th officers and 44 enlisted men were killed in action; another 150 were wounded. After four months in combat, the 100th was being referred to as “The Purple Heart Battalion.” Cassino also marked the end of the road for the original 100th Infantry Battalion that had left Honolulu in June 1942. In March 1944, the first contingent of replace…

…When I was in A Company of the Third Engineers at Schofield Barracks, our company commander was 1st Lieutenant Harvey Frazier. On December 7th he refused to take away the rifles and ammunition from the Japanese American soldiers under his command; he said he trusted us. His intelligence was recognized and he was sent to the mainland. He attained the rank of Brigadier General and headed two colleges after the war. Ed Ikuma continued to correspond…

…that appears on The Hawaii Memory Project (University of Hawaii, Kapiolani Community College), 100th veteran Moriso Teraoka recalled arriving in France at the end of 1944 and being assigned to Company D in Menton: “One of my first impressions of war came not in fighting the enemy but after eating a hot meal. When I went to empty my mess kit in the garbage can, an elderly man thrust his container in my face, motioning me to empty my leftovers into…