George Joe Sakato, Medal of Honor recipient, speaks Nov. 1, 2011, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. At the ceremony, 40 World War II Soldiers from the all-Japanese-American units -- the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service -- were awarded the Bronze Star. Photo
by C. Todd Lopez |
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WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Nov. 2, 2011) -- More than 66 years
after hostilities ended in World War II, 40 Americans were given the
Bronze Star medals they deserved for combat service in that
conflict.
They were Japanese-American Soldiers who fought as
part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry
Battalion, and the Military Intelligence Service awarded the
decoration during a ceremony Nov. 1 in Washington, D.C.
The
Army decided all Soldiers who wore Combat Infantry Badges from World
War II were owed a Bronze Star -- some, however, never received
theirs.
Getting such an award, in many cases, depended on
"how good your clerk was ... and some of the clerks were not that
great," said Lt. Gen. Joseph F. Peterson, now retired. He said it's
really a matter of paperwork that the Soldiers had to wait so long
to get their Bronze Stars.
The general said he's organizing
the three-day recognition of Japanese-American Soldiers in
Washington. The highlight has some 800 of those veterans being
honored with the Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony Nov. 2
at the U.S. Capitol Building. |
But for the Soldiers gathered at a
posh Washington, D.C. hotel, Nov. 1, the day was about
finally getting the Bronze Star they were owed.
At
the event, 31 of those Soldiers were present to have the
star pinned on their chest by Chief of Staff of the Army
Gen. Raymond T. Odierno. Another nine Bronze Star medals
were given to the family members of Soldiers who could not
attend, or who had died.
"It's amazing to get a star
like this," said Don K. Masuda, one of the recipients of the
award. The former Soldier attended the event with his wife,
his daughter, and two of his grandsons. He said following
the Army he's led "a pretty good life," which he said
included being a co-owner of a shipping business in his
native Hawaii, and also working six years for the postal
service.
He served as an infantryman in World War II,
in both Italy and France, as part of the 442nd RCT. He
earned two Purple Hearts during his service. He said he's
been waiting "a pretty long time" to have a Bronze Star.
Fellow 442nd RCT Soldier, George Joe Sakato, was also at
the award ceremony -- both as a recipient of the Bronze Star
and as a speaker. Sakato is one of 21 Japanese-American
Medal of Honor recipients to come out of the 442nd RCT and
100th Infantry Battalion.
On behalf of the 33,000
Japanese-Americans Soldiers who served in World War II,
Sakato thanked Congress for the Congressional Gold Medal the
Soldiers would be honored with Nov. 2. He also thanked his
country for the opportunity to earn that honor.
"We
also thank the government, which allowed us to serve in the
U.S. Army, to defend our country, and to prove our loyalty
to America," Sakato said.
A total of 40 Bronze Stars
were presented to Soldiers or their family by the Army's
chief of staff.
Odierno reiterated for those at the
event the greatness of their service, like the service of
all those who served in World War II. He called them "the
greatest generation."
But the general also touched on
the tragedy those Soldiers faced that other Soldiers did not
-- many of their families, back home, locked away in camps
and branded as enemies of America, even while their sons
served to defend the country's ideals.
"From the
shock of Pearl Harbor, and out of fear and prejudice,
120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry were sent to internment
camps," Odierno said. "But what's incredible to me as that
many of them did not allow that grave injustice of the
internment to stand in their way. They remained steadfast in
their commitment to their country, and volunteered to serve
a nation in combat -- a selfless act of devotion."
Those Japanese-American Soldiers, he said, served as
infantrymen, linguists, military intelligence, and
artillerymen.
"Over 33,000 Japanese-Americans served
in the war," Odierno said. "And of those, over 13,000 served
in the 442nd, and earned over 9,000 Purple Hearts."
The 442nd became the most highly decorated unit in the
Army's history, Odierno said. The 442nd and the 100th
Infantry Battalion together earned seven Presidential Unit
Citations, two Meritorious Service Plaques, 36 Army
Commendation Medals, and 87 Division Commendations.
Individually, Soldiers earned 21 Medals of Honor, 29
Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service
Medal, more than 354 Silver Stars, and more than 4,000
Purple Hearts.
Of those Soldiers, Odierno said,
"together they define the ethos that we all live by today,
'never leave a fallen comrade."'
Odierno said a
lesson was learned from the experience of World War II -- a
lesson about tolerance.
"The lesson of the
Japanese-American experience is that fear and prejudice make
our country weaker, not stronger," Odierno said.
"Japanese-Americans, like others, have more than earned
their place in our country, in our Army, and in our society
-- a melting pot to include African-Americans,
Hispanic-Americans and today, Arab-Americans."
About
240 veterans attended the Bronze Star event. Another 100
spouses of deceased veterans also attended, as did about 500
family members representing Soldiers.
Peterson,
himself a descendant of Japanese ancestry, said the event
was both to honor those Soldiers that served, and to educate
America.
"It's educational for our nation to know
that a group of Soldiers and a group of Americans, who
because of the mass hysteria when the imperial military of
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor -- were classified enemy
aliens," Peterson said.
About 120,000
Japanese-Americans were rounded up, Peterson said, and put
into any of 10 internment camps across nine states.
"Out of those camps came a demand, by 65 percent of them --
65 percent of 120,000 internees -- to serve their country in
a time of war," he said.
It was those Soldiers who
served in units like the 442nd RCT, the 100th Infantry
Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service, Peterson
said.
Among those three units, he said, the average
number of individual awards per Soldier was three awards for
heroism.
"They are the most decorated unit in U.S.
military history of its size and duration of the conflict,"
he said.
See story >
Japanese-American Vets Earn Nation's Highest Civilian Honor
More photos
of the ceremony for the 40 World War II Soldiers from the all-Japanese-American units
By C. Todd Lopez
Army News Service
Copyright 2011
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