Gender

Male

Birth date

1921-11-3

Place of birth

Koloa, Kauai HI, U.S.A.

Inducted

1943-3-4, Kauai HI

Enlistment type

Volunteer

Service branch

Army

Service type

War

Unit type

Combat

Units served

442nd Regimental Combat Team, 2nd Battalion, Company F

Military specialty

Infantryman

Stationed

Camp Shelby, MS; Italy

Unit responsibility

Infantry

Personal responsibility

Platoon leader

Major battles (if served in a war zone)

Po Valley Campaign

Awards, medals, citations (individual or unit)

One of 22 Asian Pacific Americans awarded the Medal of Honor at White House ceremonies on June 21, 2000. He previously was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's highest medal for extraordinary heroism. His citation for the Medal of Honor reads as follws:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to

TECHNICAL SERGEANT YUKIO OKUTSU, UNITED STATES ARMY

for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Technical Sergeant Yukio Okutsu distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 7 April 1945, on Mount Belvedere, Italy. While his platoon was halted by crossfire of three machine guns, Technical Sergeant Okutsu boldly crawled within 30 yards of the nearest enemy emplacement through heavy fire. He destroyed the position with two accurately placed hand grenades, killing three machine gunners. Crawling and dashing from cover to cover, he threw another grenade, silencing a second machine gun, wounding two enemy soldiers, and forcing two others to surrender. Seeing a third machine gun, which obstructed his platoon's advance, he moved forward through heavy small arms fire and was stunned momentarily by rifle fire, which glanced off his helmet. Recovering, he bravely charged several enemy riflemen with his submachine gun, forcing them to withdraw from their positions. Then, rushing the machine gun nest, he captured the weapon and its entire crew of four. By these single-handed actions he enabled his platoon to resume its assault on a vital objective. The courageous performance of Technical Sergeant Okutsu against formidable odds was an inspiration to all.

Technical Sergeant Okutsu's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.

Additional information

'I guess because we were under suspicion, we had to prove ourselves. I guess most of us got pretty good, and we went all out and got the job done. Most of us were volunteers, so we knew what we were getting into.' (June 21, 2000, The Honolulu Advertiser)
--Tech. Sgt. Yukio Okutsu