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 (239)
Military service (3285)
442nd Regimental Combat Team (3015)

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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3015 items
Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-123)
img Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-123)
Nisei soldier's caption: Victory Arch. We were able to visit Milan quite often from Ghedi and Lecco.
Nisei soldiers in France (ddr-densho-164-21)
img Nisei soldiers in France (ddr-densho-164-21)
Nisei soldier's caption: Our entry into France. Miyano, Hamamura, Iwamoto, Kimura. Marseille, after a rough 2 day trip where nearly everyone got seasick. Pretty tough trying to get the gals to understand. Cigarettes sold for $20 to $25 a carton.
Nisei soldiers crossing the Rhone River (ddr-densho-164-25)
img Nisei soldiers crossing the Rhone River (ddr-densho-164-25)
Nisei soldier's caption: The Rhone River. As we headed for the Vosges, we crossed the river. The vacation at Marseilles couldn't last forever. The gas and vehicle shortage gave us three weeks of rest, but finally in the latter part of September we headed for the Vosges Mtn. near the German, Swiss border. Battling the inclement …
Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-122)
img Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-122)
Nisei soldier's caption: Taken at the top of the hill.
Nisei soldiers in Venice (ddr-densho-164-111)
img Nisei soldiers in Venice (ddr-densho-164-111)
Nisei soldier's caption: Our gondola we rented took us slowly to see the sights. Nothing but dirty buildings.
Hotel in France (ddr-densho-164-54)
img Hotel in France (ddr-densho-164-54)
Nisei soldier's caption: Menton is a resort city with more hotels than one can count. But it was deserted as all the civilians were evacuated partly for security reasons and for their protection. But the jerries seemed to know which building our C.P. was. Our first C.P. was shelled so we moved to another hotel, the …
Nisei soldiers visiting Rome (ddr-densho-164-6)
img Nisei soldiers visiting Rome (ddr-densho-164-6)
Nisei soldier's caption: The world famous St. Peter's Cathedral. Vatican City.
Nisei soldier in France (ddr-densho-164-70)
img Nisei soldier in France (ddr-densho-164-70)
Nisei soldier's caption: Taking it easy Massena Square. Nice, France. A city known as Miami or LA of France with a tropical climate, vegetables grown the year round. Center of perfume industry with most manufactured at Grasse some 20 miles away. Beautifult resorts by the beach.
U.S. Army officers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-77)
img U.S. Army officers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-77)
Nisei soldier's caption: Our officers pose during a brief rest period. R to L: Col. Conley, Chaplain Yost, Capt. Khetani, Capt. Dimailo.
Nisei soldiers visiting the Colosseum,  Rome (ddr-densho-164-7)
img Nisei soldiers visiting the Colosseum, Rome (ddr-densho-164-7)
Nisei soldier's caption: The Colosseum in Rome. Way back the people watched gladiators. Now in our modern coliseum we watch football, track, and etc.
Nisei soldier in France (ddr-densho-164-61)
img Nisei soldier in France (ddr-densho-164-61)
Nisei soldier's caption: Monte Carlo. Our R.T. Platoon were M.P.s in the famous little province. They had a great time.
USO show in Italy (ddr-densho-164-104)
img USO show in Italy (ddr-densho-164-104)
Nisei soldier's caption: Marilyn Hare sings. We were fortunate to see again good old American beauty when "The Jinx" visited us in Lecco. Cameras really were clicking.
Nisei soldiers in Venice (ddr-densho-164-113)
img Nisei soldiers in Venice (ddr-densho-164-113)
Nisei soldier's caption: Our gondola we rented took us slowly to see the sights. Nothing but dirty buildings.
Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-84)
img Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-84)
Nisei soldier's caption: Pontoon bridge across Po. On our way to Ghedi we crossed this bridge some 1/4 mile long.
Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-73)
img Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-73)
Nisei soldier's caption: Apennines. Our boys advancing hills after hills. In April again we finally hit Italy and took part in the final drive to clear Italy of the jerries. Hill Georgia Ohio 1.2.3. will never be forgotten. Our outfit fought with the 92nd, a Negro outfit, who were doing everything but killing jerries. Scared of …
Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-117)
img Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-117)
Nisei soldier's caption: San Pellogrini where our 442nd rest camp was located. If we couldn't go to some other place on pass we came here to take it easy for four days.
Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-76)
img Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-76)
Nisei soldier's caption: Entering an Italian village.
Statue in France (ddr-densho-164-67)
img Statue in France (ddr-densho-164-67)
Nisei soldier's caption: Statue in Nice. Nice, France. A city known as Miami or LA of France with a tropical climate, vegetables grown the year round. Center of perfume industry with most manufactured at Grasse some 20 miles away. Beautifult resorts by the beach.
Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-119)
img Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-119)
Nisei soldier's caption: Casino at San Pellogrini. San Pellogrini where our 442nd rest camp was located. If we couldn't go to some other place on pass we came here to take it easy for four days.
Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-78)
img Nisei soldiers in Italy (ddr-densho-164-78)
Nisei soldier's caption: Margioso, Ham near a house. Germans surrenders in Italy, Finito La Guerra. After running all over Northern Italy the victory was in sight for us. The Germans finally gave up May 1945. What a relief it was, no more fighting. Now what we were going to do was a big question. After a …
Nisei soldiers in France (ddr-densho-164-24)
img Nisei soldiers in France (ddr-densho-164-24)
Nisei soldier's caption: Staging area, Marseilles. Just relaxin' with all comfort.
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