…e these weapons blindfolded. Hikes into the hills with full field pack and combat packs were common. During the training period, the draftees lived in a tent city which we called Boom Town. After basic training, we were assigned to various companies of the 298th Regiment which was made up of former National Guardsmen, the earlier draftees. Our Regimental Commanding Officer was Colonel Andersen. His Executive Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Farrant…
A Co. 100 Bn. Tour to Europe
…emains of the foxholes. In Bruyeres the Vice Mayor and the Bruyeres-Hawaii committee welcomed us and took us to the monument honoring the 100th and 442. Two of our men, Hirayama and Hosaka, and two of theirs laid wreaths and taps was played. Later, at the City Hall, the Vice Mayor made a speech in which he said that they have vowed to teach every generation about the bravery and valor of the men of the 100th. He also looked under his table and sai…
The Rescue Mission Of The Lost Battalion
…is a rare experience, to be sure, but the irony of it all is that such an experience results from intense and uncommon situations and in our case it was prompted by the tense and sharp battlefield conditions where discriminatory attitude and actions no longer intervened. It is difficult, if not impossible, to describe this experience in solely rational or logical terms. These unexplainable moments are the makings of the deep silence harbored by c…
Goro ‘Leighton’ Sumida
…h of the 34th Division and the 133rd were trying to take Hill 600 from the Germans. For eleven days the Germans had shelled the Allied troops day and night as they fought to defend their position. The 100th took three hills in three days, but the toll of deaths and casualties was enormous. Co. A lost 21 men. This is where SHIZUYA HAYASHI killed several Germans which resulted in his winning the Congressional Medal of Honor. Colli was also where the…
Memories: Return To Italy; On To Genoa; Homeward Bound
…ber of ex-POWs returning with us. They described what POW life was like in Germany. Most of the comments came from Nagamine, who was an amateur boxer in Hawaii. I knew one of the ex-POWs, Yoichi Tamura, who came from my hometown on Kauai. Stanley Akita could have been in the same group. Doc Hosaka and Cherry Kunieda, who had left Italy a month before us, were still at Camp Beal, waiting for transportation to Hawaii. Since we knew our stay would be…
Young Oak Kim
…an in the U.S. military. In Korea, he was the first Asian American ever to command a regular combat battalion in war. And until his death, he maintained strong ties to his former comrades in the 100th Battalion and to Japanese Americans in general. Though he was a Korean American, Kim was one of the founders of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles and of the Go For Broke National Education Center in Torrance, California. In 2000-20…
Awakuni, the Tank-Buster
…s to approximate location, behind Castle Hill, of Awakuni’s encounter with German tank; C Company deployed in that area. The 133d (incl 100th) had task of clearing environs along foot of mountain while the other two regiments of the 34th Div., together with French Corps., were in mountains to right in attempt at pincer movement on Monastery. The 36th Div. was deployed to left of 34th. Photo – US Army. That picture was reproduced by George Kurisu (…
Rikio Tsuda
…), and back to Italy to fight in the Gothic Line (Rocky Ridge). Of all the combat situations I was in, two battles come to mind: On June 26, 1944, my squad of four was assigned the mission of securing an enemy house outside of Belvedere, Italy. We maneuvered around the building and captured it after hard fighting; and we captured 17 and wounded 7 of the enemy, and took 13 enemy amphibious jeeps, four machine guns, five machine pistols and numerous…
Anecdote/The Accordion
…why, but there it was. After almost a month of processing the surrendering German army, the combat team folded up their tents, packed up, and my 3rd Platoon of Company D traveled south to Leghorn where our 3rd Platoon was assigned to guard a group of POWs who worked at the facility moving military supplies at the dock of Leghorn. Our platoon took over a farmhouse near the POW compound. I believe the farming family maintained their residence in the…
Japanese-American Combat Force Led Attack Of Famed U.S. Division Into Battle
…us, taking their regular turn.” The outfit’s first action was fought by a company commanded by Captain Taro Suzuki, of Honolulu, veteran of 16 years in the army, 13 of which were served in the Reserve. “It was our own fight,” Captain Suzuki said. “The company had to sink or swim by itself. We had walked by blown out bridges that stopped heavy artillery from being brought up behind us and then worked our way down a winding road. The bends cut us o…