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PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – Seven World War II veterans from Hawaii
received the French Nation Order of the Legion of Honor aboard the
French flor�al-class frigate FS Prairial (F731) July 2, 2014.
The honorees were Shiro Aoki, Yasunori Deguchi and Hiroo Endo,
who served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Edward Ikuma,
Yoroku Ito and Shuji Akiyama, who served with the 100th Infantry
Battalion, and Albert Brum, who was from Canada and fought with
British and U.S. forces in France.
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Hiro Endo, Yasunori Deguchi and Albert
Brum, all 100th Battalion World War II veterans, give honors during
the U.S. national anthem. During the ceremony, Rear Adm. Anne
Cullere, commander in chief of French forces in the Pacific,
presented the French Nation Order of the Legion of Honor aboard the
French Flor�al-class frigate FS Prairial (F731). For more than a
decade the government of France has presented the Legion of Honor to
U.S. veterans who participated in the liberation of France during
World War II. The ceremony took place during Rim of the Pacific, the
world's largest international maritime exercise. (U.S. Navy Photo by
Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Kolmel)
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For more than a decade, the government of France has
presented the Legion of Honor to U.S. veterans who
participated in the liberation of France during World War
II. The Legion of Honor is France's highest award. This
award can only be presented by someone who has received it
and is only given to living recipients.
Rear Adm.
Anne Cullere, commander in chief of French forces in the
Pacific, thanked the men for their courageous effort.
“This is a very special day today, we are gathered here
to honor seven men that decided fighting for freedom was
worth every effort unto the ultimate sacrifice,” Cullere
said. “Here we are 70 years later honoring the sacrifice of
too many of your comrades. We mourn with you. For what you
achieved in the streets of Bruyeres and the dark woods of
Vosges, we very heartily salute you. Today, I will bestow
the French Legion of Honor the highest, honorific medal in
France.”
The award meant a lot to Edward Ikuma, who
fought in France from October 1944 to March 1945.
“This is a great honor. At no point in my life did I ever
expect to receive an award like this,” Ikuma said. “This
means more to me than anything I can express.”
Yasunori Deguchi agreed with the significance of the award.
“There are no words that can express the appreciation
and the recognition of the impact of the Japanese Americans
during the war,” Deguchi said.
Adm. Harry Harris Jr.,
commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, said the award is well
deserved.
“This is a significant day and a huge honor
that the government of France is about to bestow on these
seven men sitting in front of me now,” Harris said. “This is
about a country saying thank you, a grateful nation saying
thank you to some folks that did amazing things in defense
of that country and liberating that country during World War
II.”
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was composed of
Japanese Americans most of them from Hawaii.
The
100th battalion fought in the Naples-Foggia campaign from
September 1943 to January 1944 before becoming part of the
442nd Regimental Combat Team which was also comprised of the
2nd Battalion, 3rd Battalion, 522nd Field Artillery
Battalion and the 232nd Combat Engineer Company. The 442nd
RCT fought in Italy, then in France before returning to
Italy.
The 442nd fought their most famous battle in
France where they rescued the “Lost Battalion” breaking
through the line to rescue 211 men that were cut off by
German troops. The 522nd FAB also participated in the drive
into Bavaria which freed inmates from Dachau prison that was
being marched to their death. The 442nd, including the
100th, was the most highly decorated unit in the history of
the United States for its size and length of service.
Brum, the lone Canadian honored, fought in France as a
member of 101st Airborne and British 6th Airborne Division.
After the war, he served in U.S. Army retiring as a colonel.
He later became a U.S. citizen and lives in Kaneohe, Hawaii.
The ceremony was held aboard Prairial, which is
homeported in Tahiti, here for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC)
2014 exercise. RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity
that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative
relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of
sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2014 is
the 24th exercise in the series that began in 1971.
By U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Kolmel
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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