“Hawaii is our home; the United States our country. We know but one loyalty and that is to the Stars and Stripes. We wish to do our part as loyal Americans in every way possible, and we hereby offer ourselves for whatever service you may see fit to use us.” - Japanese-Americans of Hawaii ("442nd")
Japanese-American infantrymen of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team hike up a muddy French road in the Chambois Sector, France, in late 1944. ("Go For Broke")
President Obama collectively awards members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team the Congressional Gold Medal, acknowledging the bravery of the Japanese-American combat team ("Asakawa")
Over the course of World War II, the question of Japanese-American loyalty to the United States government was questioned frequently. However, staunch examples of Japanese-American loyalty exist in the case of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit for its size and length of service, in the entire history of the U.S. Military ("442nd"). Composed almost entirely of Japanese-Americans, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team fought a two front war, that of the Germans in Europe and prejudice in America ("442nd").
On the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, nobody rejected the help of the Japanese-American Nisei, or second-generation Japanese born in America, from helping the wounded, bury the dead, or to give blood ("442nd"). But on January 19, 1942, the Army discharged all Japanese-Americans from the ROTC program, and changed their draft status to 4C - "enemy alien" ("442nd").
Seeing the hard work and dedication of Japanese-Americans to the war effort, the War Department announced that it was forming an all-Nisei combat team, and called for 1,500 volunteers from Hawaii, of which 10,000 applied to join ("442nd").
Soon after, the War Department chose to send a small group of these Japanese-Americans to visit a Japanese-American internment camp in Arkansas ("442nd"). Seeing the guard towers, barbed wire fences, machine guns pointed at camp residents, and rough barracks with little privacy, the Nisei group understood how important it was to prove their loyalty to the United States in combat. Immediately, the men that would form the 442nd Regimental Combat team would become strongly united.
From May 1943 through February 1944 the men trained for combat, excelling in maneuvers and learning well how to work as a team ("442nd"). In April the regiment packed up, and on May 1, 1944 the men boarded ships destined for Europe ("442nd").
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service, in the entire history of the U.S. Military ("442nd"). In total, counting the constant replacement of the Regimental unit, about 14,000 men served, ultimately earning 9,486 Purple Hearts , 21 Medals of Honor and an unprecedented eight Presidential Unit Citations ("442nd"). The 442nd Regimental Combat Team proved their loyalty and determination in serving a country that had turned its back on them.