"Go for Broke" Day is celebrated on April 5th every year, most likely since the 442nd regiment's first Medal of Honor recipient Pfc. Sadao Munemori was killed in Italy on April 5th, 1945.
The 442nd was activated February 1st, 1943 and fought alongside the 100th IB in Italy. The 100th IB absorbed the "go for broke" motto and was ingrained into the unit's identity. The 442nd was reassigned in 1944 to southern France to help liberate a few cities and were reassigned again in 1945 to help drive the Germans out of northern Italy. The 442nd was very successful and inspired the government to draft out of the Japanese internment camps.As mentioned earlier, the 442nd regiment was a highly decorated division. Between the 442nd and 100th IB, they 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, 15 Soldier's Medals and 9,500 Purple Hearts.
Recently, in 2011, 450 soldiers from the 442nd regiment were awarded the highest civilian award for service, the Congressional Award medal. There was also a 1951 film about the regiment titled, unsurprisingly, "Go for Broke".
Even though there was severe discrimination against Japanese Americans during World War II, a few hundred of them were able to prove their loyalty to the US and successfully aid the Americans and the rest of the Allies in fighting the war.
Sources:
http://www.goforbroke.org/learn/history/military_units/442nd.php
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/04/05/this-japanese-american-army-unit-is-the-reason-we-celebrate-national-go-for-broke-day/
This was a well explain blog, and I really enjoy the different perspective you took on. Knowing that there were people that knew and were under discrimination by those they were fighting for and still kept fighting is very encouraging. I was mainly interested in the different awards and honors they received, so I did some figuring out. I found out that some of these honors are considered the highest and most prestigious decorations you could be awarded with like the Medal of Honor, and the Distinguished Service Crosses, both the two highest decorated medals that a serviceman could receive. Knowing that these Japanese American got the honor that they deserved is quite amazing.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_of_Honor
I thought this post was really interesting because the circumstances behind the formation of the 442nd Regiment are so unthinkable. I cannot imagine how the Japanese Americans who were put in internment camps were still willing to serve, especially after they were labeled “enemy aliens” and not allowed to enlist at the start of the war. It is understandable to sympathize with those who chose not to volunteer from the internment camps. While reading about the 442nd Regiment and other ways the Japanese Americans contributed to the war effort despite massive discrimination, I learned about the 6000 Japanese Americans who served in the Military Intelligence Service Most of them were also recruited from internment camps and helped the US with translational skills. All of the Japanese Americans who directly contributed to the US war effort demonstrate how unfounded the prejudice against them was that led to internment.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.history.com/news/unlikely-world-war-ii-soldiers-awarded-nations-highest-honor