Gender

Male

Birth date

1925-3-22

Place of birth

Los Angeles CA, U.S.A.

Inducted

1944-6-20, Camp Robinson AK

Enlistment type

Draftee

Service branch

Army

Service type

War

Unit type

Combat

Units served

Co. A, 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team

Military specialty

(604) Light Machine Gunner

Stationed

Camp Blanding, FL; France and Italy

Separated

Camp Beale CA

Unit responsibility

To attack and be a part of platoon, company, battalion and regiment as ordered.

Personal responsibility

We supplied firepower in company attacks and perimeter guard on defense. We checked placement of guns for effectiveness

Major battles (if served in a war zone)

Patrolling of the France/Italian border
Frontal attack on Gothic Line
Breakthrough into Po Valley.

Awards, medals, citations (individual or unit)

Unit:
Presidential Unit Citation, Gothic Line breakthrough.

Personal:
Combat Infantryman's Badge
European African Middle Eastern Medal with 3 battle stars
Bronze Star Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal
Good Conduct Medal
Expert Rifleman's Medal

Living conditions

In battle:
Took turns sleeping in foxholes.
Whenever water was nearby, we took off our clothes and drenched ourselves.
We ate dry C and K Rations.
We had no time for entertainment.

Rest Area about every two weeks:
We slept in tents or in hotel rooms.
We took mass shower and received change of clothes.
We ate in chow lines.
We had USO shows and visited nearby towns.

Most vivid memory of military experience

As the 100th/442nd RCT was ready to depart Southern France in mid-March of 1945, all unit insignias were taken off of uniforms and vehicles. The RCT boarded ships in secret and headed for Italy. The reason for the secrecy was that the unit had the reputation of being an offensive force and that its presence in an area would indicate that is where an attack would take place.

The western portion of the German Gothic Line had withstood attacks for 4 or 5 months and had to be penetrated in order for Allied forces to continue its drive up the Italian peninsula. This section was protected by mine fields, concrete bunkers and cannons from deep inland. The steep and narrow mountainous terrain allowed the defenders the advantage to inflict heavy casualties.

Company A, 100th Battalion was assigned the task of making a frontal attack with the 2nd platoon in the mine field over the bunkers and the 3rd platoon attacking from the left flank. The right flank was a sheer vertical drop to the valley below.

After a ten minutes barrage, Co. A attacked and as expected, met heavy resistance. Eight men stepped on mines. Hand grenades, mortar shells, machine gun and rifle fire took a heavy toll. My job as a part of the machine gun squad was to supply fire power to the 2nd platoon and to prevent the escape or replacements from coming to the aid of the defenders. The fighting was fierce as each hand grenade thrown was answered by five or six from the bunkers. With the attack from above and from the left, many of the Jerries were killed or severely wounded. A short pause allowed the medics from both sides to evacuate the wounded before the shooting started again. Before the day was over, the 100th Battalion had gained the crest of the first series of hills that had resisted other units for months.

The 100th/442nd RCT received a Presidential Unit Citation for this day's action and Company A, 2nd platoon squad leader Sadao Munemori received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism. (Was killed-in-action, protecting his friends from an exploding German grenade that had landed near-by.)

Missed most whilst in the military

I missed the freedom to do as you please. We were under constant orders, but it was necessary in combat.

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

I have learned that everyone is and reacts differently under stressful conditions. Many can act instantly while others must be told. I have learned to accept this in life and, therefore; I feel comfortable in any group of people. In war or peace, people must learn to accept others as they are and learn to depend on each other. The JA soldiers of WWII fought to prove that we were loyal and patriotic.

Additional information

My constant reminder was that I cannot let my buddies down and that my family back home in camp will be treated better because of what we're doing here in combat. I was fortunate that I was surrounded by men from all over, but by men that constatnly talked of the future, such as: going to college, statehood of Hawaii, how to overcome the discrimination back home, getting married and settling down with a family and most important, how to survive this war. All agreed that we must go home with stories, KIA's and Purple Hearts, 'That's why we're here.'