Gender

Male

Birth date

1922-9-30

Place of birth

Makawele, Kauai HI, U.S.A.

Inducted

1943-3-22, Hanapepe HI

Enlistment type

Volunteer

Service branch

Army

Service type

War

Unit type

Combat

Units served

H Company, 442nd RCT

Stationed

Camp Shelby, MS, USA; Hawaii, USA; Italy; France; Germany.

Separated

Camp Beale CA

Unit responsibility

Combat with the Germans.

Personal responsibility

Keep cool and stay together and combat.

Major battles (if served in a war zone)

1-Rome-Arno Campaign; 2-So. France Campaign; 3-Northern Apennines Campaign; 4-Rhineland Campaign; 5-Po Valley Campaign.

Awards, medals, citations (individual or unit)

Bronze Star Medal; 5 Battle Star Campaign Medal; Combat Infantry Badge; Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation with Four Oak Leaf Cluster.

Living conditions

No change of clothes, no bath while in battle. Slept in holes. Brush teeth and wash face in the morning. Meals-Can rations. No entertainment. Too busy keeping up with the Germans.

Most vivid memory of military experience

First day in battle seeing my friends being killed.

Missed most whilst in the military

Japanese food. Takuan and rice.

Most important thing, personally, to come from military experience?

To be alive and my duty to my country. Life is so precious. Maintain close relationship with family, friends and community. (Close relationship with friends in combat was my most important experience.) My future was based on my experience in combat.

Additional information

1-Community Service. 2-Service to friends and organization. 3-Close contact with my war-time buddies. 4-(Last) Happy relationship with my wife and children.