Military Power

On December 7, 1941, the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by Japan. This act thrust the United States into World War II. All men who were eligible for military duty were called upon to fight, except Japanese Americans. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Japanese American men were categorized 4C, non-draftable. Moreover, they and their families were placed into concentration camps by the United States Government. However, on February 1, 1943, the government reversed its decision on Japanese Americans serving in the armed forces and announced the formation of the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team.

The 442nd initially consisted of Japanese American volunteers from the mainland United States and the Hawaiian Islands. There were many different reasons why these young men volunteered. Despite the rampant racism towards Japanese Americans during this period, many volunteers felt that if there was to be any future for Japanese in the United States, they had to demonstrate their loyalty by fighting for their country.

The majority of volunteers from Hawaii and the mainland were sent to Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Initially, tension existed between the Hawaiians and the mainlanders. The mainlanders often degraded the Hawaiians for their poor speech and "barbaric" aggressive manners, thus causing them to feel inferior. Due to the excessive fighting and dissension among the troops, the commanding officers were ready to terminate the training. However, a suggestion was made to have the Hawaiians and mainlanders visit relocation camps. After Hawaiian Japanese Americans visited some of the camps, they realized the hardships mainlanders had gone through and a new sense of respect developed for each other. One Japanese American remembers, "the regiment was not formed when we volunteered, nor when we arrived in Camp Shelpby, but rather, it was formed after this (relocation camp) visit" (Matsuo, Boyhood to War. 73)

When this unified unit arrived in Europe, they still had to prove their competence, as well as their loyalty to white soldiers and commanding officers. However, after liberating the small town of Bruyeres in Southern France and rescuing the "Lost Battalion" (141st), Japanese American soldiers gained the respect of their fellow soldiers, the townspeople of Bruyeres, and particularly the members of the "Lost Battalion." For their performance, the 442nd has been recognized as the most decorated unit in United States history. 18,000 total awards were bestowed upon the 442nd, including 9,500 Purple Hearts, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, Seven Distinguished Unit Citations, but only one Congressional Medal of Honor (Crost, Honor by Fire. 179). Although their impeccable service earned the 442nd the respect of their fellow soldiers, they were not perceived in the same way by American society when they returned to the West Coast.

The 442nd landed at Anzio and joined the 100th Battalion in Civitavecchia north of Rome on June 10, 1944. The unit continued in the push up Italy, before joining the invasion of southern France, where the 442nd participated in the fight to liberate Bruyeres in south France, and famously rescued the “Lost Battalion” at Biffontaine. Pursuant to army tradition of never leaving soldiers behind, over a five-day period, from 26 October to 30 October 1944, the 442nd suffered over 800 casualties—nearly half of its roster—while rescuing 211 members of the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry, which had been surrounded by German forces in the Vosges mountains since 24 October.

Immediately following their return, the 442nd realized that the attitudes of many Americans had not changed. World War II veterans of Japanese ancestry were welcomed home by signs that read, "No Japs Allowed," and "No Japs Wanted." In many cases, veterans were denied service in local shops and restaurants, and their homes and property were often vandalized or set on fire.

As a result of the stellar record of the Japanese Americans serving in the 442nd and in the Military Intelligence Service (US Pacific Theater forces in WWII) greatly helped change the minds of anti-Japanese American critics in the US and resulted in easing of restrictions and the eventual release of the 120,000 strong community well before the end of WWII.

One notable US national effect of the service of the 442nd was to help convince Congress to end their opposition towards Hawaii's statehood petition. Twice before 1959, residents of Hawaii asked to be admitted to the US as the 49th State, but each time Congress was fearful of having a co-equal State that had a majority non-White population. The exemplary record of the Japanese Americans serving in the 442nd and the loyalty showed by the rest of Hawaii's population during WWII overcame Congress' fears and allowed Hawaii to be admitted as the 50th US State (as Alaska was granted Statehood just prior).

Goliath wrote: However, on February 1, 1943, the government reversed its decision on Japanese Americans serving in the armed forces and announced the formation of the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team.
The majority of volunteers from Hawaii and the mainland were sent to Camp Shelby in Mississippi.

The response was staggering-More than 10,000 Nisei applied to fill only 2,500 places.

I am a little confused over the quoted number of medals and awards presented. Do these figures include medals and awards given to both the 100th Battalion AND the 442nd? The 100th had been in action since Salerno and had already notched up a considerable number of awards long before the 442nd arrived in Europe.

The Purple Heart Brigade was actually the 100th Infantry Battalion which was a component of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team is cited as the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service. Also, the roughly 18,000 awards reffered to the 442nd RCT as a whole, not just the 100th IB.