442nd Regimental Combat Team

The 100th Infantry Battalion began as part of the Hawaii National Guard. On June 5, 1942, 1,432 men left Hawaii for training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, and later at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. The 100th shipped out to North Africa on August 23, 1943, and saw heavy action in Italy. Because of its heavy casualties and many honors, the 100th became known as the "Purple Heart Battalion." The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was initially formed in 1943 from Japanese American volunteers from Hawaii and the mainland. Perhaps not surprisingly, only about 1,250 Japanese Americans volunteered from the concentration camps. In Hawaii, where there was no mass removal, almost 10,000 volunteered. The 442nd arrived in Italy in June 1944 where the battle-tested 100th Infantry Battalion became its 1st Battalion. In seven major campaigns, the 442nd became the most decorated unit for its size and length of service; the unit suffered 9,476 casualties, more than 300 percent of its original strength.

World War II (231)
Military service (2806)
442nd Regimental Combat Team (2911)

Related articles from the Densho Encyclopedia :
442nd Regimental Combat Team, Mark W. Clark, Sadamitsu Neil Fujita, Go for Broke! (film), Stanley Hayami, Daniel Inouye, Mike Masaoka, Kazuo Masuda, Rescue of the Lost Battalion

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2911 items
Soldier (ddr-densho-201-533)
img Soldier (ddr-densho-201-533)
Caption in album: "Henry Matsui / Tacoma."
View of a building at the Florence American Cemetery (ddr-densho-201-786)
img View of a building at the Florence American Cemetery (ddr-densho-201-786)
Caption in album: "United States Military Cemetery / Castelfioro [sic] Italy / Aug. 19, 1946."
Japanese American soldier in field (ddr-densho-201-196)
img Japanese American soldier in field (ddr-densho-201-196)
Japanese American soldier sitting in a field. Caption on reverse: "Jim Tateoka."
USO show and 442nd Orchestra (ddr-densho-201-544)
img USO show and 442nd Orchestra (ddr-densho-201-544)
Caption in album: "Gedi Italy /1945 June/July / USO Show & 442 Orchestra."
Masao Sakagami and Bill Omoto (ddr-densho-201-745)
img Masao Sakagami and Bill Omoto (ddr-densho-201-745)
Caption in album: "Me, Bill Omoto / Monterey, California / Bill Omoto / 1947 or 7 / C. Co.."
Mt. Carchio and Mt. Belvedere (ddr-densho-201-572)
img Mt. Carchio and Mt. Belvedere (ddr-densho-201-572)
Caption in album: "On April 5 '45 the final spring offensive started on this mountain / Mt. Carchio and Mt. Belvedere was occupied by 442nd Infantry / Gothic Line / The battle ground of 'final push' made by 442nd Infantry Regt. / Last push! Some boys died on this hill. April 5, 1945."
Ted Kawachi (ddr-densho-201-805)
img Ted Kawachi (ddr-densho-201-805)
Caption in album: "Ted Kawachi / Hood River, Oregon."
img "Rev. Geo. Aki" (ddr-densho-201-383)
Caption on front: "Rev. Geo. Aki." Japanese American man posed next to a sign that reads "U.S. Military Cemetery at Castelfiorentino. Buried here are the honored dead. They deserve your respect and homage. Please be quiet! Do not walk in the cemetery when services are in progress. Pictures will not be taken. Do not touch any …
Four soldiers on a bridge (ddr-densho-201-100)
img Four soldiers on a bridge (ddr-densho-201-100)
Four Japanese American soldiers in uniform on a bridge. Caption on reverse: "Chick Kawata, Akira Washio, 'Blackie' Toyama, George Sakata."
Gravesite for Hissie Iwai at the Florence American Cemetery (ddr-densho-201-785)
img Gravesite for Hissie Iwai at the Florence American Cemetery (ddr-densho-201-785)
Caption in album: "Hissie Iwai / Auburn, Wash. / Castelfioro [sic] Italy / Aug. 19, 1946."
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