Killed in action in Cerasuolo, Italy, November 29, 1943Įntered service: Schofield Barracks, Hawai'i Killed in action near Seravezza, Italy, April 5, 1945īorn: Los Angeles, California, August 17, 1922įor actions in the Vosges Mountains of France, October 1944īorn: Pu'unene, Maui, Hawai'i, September 16, 1916Ĭompany B, 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) And in so doing, they did more than defend America in the fact of painful prejudice, they helped to define America at its best."Ĭompany A, 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team "They risked their lives, above and beyond the call of duty. "Rarely has a nation been so well served by a people it has so ill-treated," he stated. President Bill Clinton presented the awards on June 21, 2000. All but two of these awards went to members of the 100th or 442nd. Eventually, twenty-one were recommended for upgrade, with a twenty-second subsequently approved based on separate legislation. McNaughton, a historian at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center of the Presidio in Monterey, California, led the research team. The legislation was passed and signed into law in 1996. In 1995, Senator Daniel Akaka introduced legislation to require the army and navy to review Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross or Navy Cross for possible upgrade. This review led members of the Japanese American community to seek a similar review. The Senior Army Decorations Board voted to update seven of these candidates and President Bill Clinton presented the medals on January 13, 1997. Gibran of Shaw University eventually recommended ten candidates for the Medal of Honor. In 1993, Congress ordered a review of potential African American honorees to see if any had been overlooked. While only one Medal of Honor was awarded to an Asian American for action during World War II, none were awarded to African American soldiers. Since Munemori, Kawamura, and Yano were all killed in action, Miyamura was for many years the only living Japanese American Medal of Honor recipient. In subsequent years, three Japanese Americans received the Medal of Honor for action in later wars: Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura for action during the Korean War and Terry T. ![]() The one to forty-seven ratio for the 100th and 442nd seemed artificially low to many. The ratio of Medals of Honor to Distinguished Service Crosses for all troops in World War II was about one to nine, with the ratio being closer to one to three in some highly decorated units. Forty-seven Japanese Americans received Distinguished Service Crosses, the next highest award. That single award would be the only Medal of Honor awarded to a Japanese American-or indeed any Asian American-for action during World War II. In his autobiography, Masaoka suggests that Thomas's subsequent inquiry led to the Medal of Honor being awarded to the only case still pending, that of Towards the end of the war,Īpproached his old mentor, Senator Elbert Thomas of Utah, then the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, to inquire about the seeming disparity. Many Japanese American members of the 442nd or 100th were recommended for the Medal of Honor, but all saw their honors downgraded to Distinguished Service Crosses or even to Silver Stars. However, some felt that the number of honors they received were not commensurate with their achievements. As has been well documented, Japanese American soldiers served heroically during World War II and received many decorations and honors both individually and as groups.
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