The 100th Battalion: Distrusted at Home, Proven in War

by Martha Hutchens

Manzanar Internment Camp, @rinderart, Deposit Photos

One of the most shameful episodes in America’s past is the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Much has been written about this, but less is known about the men who joined the United States Army, even while their families were being mistreated.

Because the population of Hawaii was strongly of Japanese descent during World War II, the people there did not face the same widespread internment. However, many who were attached to the military or the National Guard lost their jobs.

In June of 1942, the 100th Infantry Battalion of the US Army was formed. I have run across several stories of how and why it began, but everyone agrees that it was almost entirely manned by Americans of Japanese descent, mostly Hawaiian-born. Many of these men had been serving in the US Army prior to Pearl Harbor.

This group was sent into the heart of the fighting in Italy and later in France. Early on, it earned the nickname of the Purple Heart Battalion, due to the high number of injuries it received from being assigned some of the toughest objectives. Eventually, it was combined with the 442nd regimental combat team (RCT.) Generally, when a battalion was combined with a regimental team, it was designated as the first battalion or second battalion or third battalion under that team. However, by the time the 100th was joined to the 442nd, it was so decorated and so well known that it was allowed to keep its designation as the hundredth.

@swilphotos, Deposit Photos

How decorated were they? They would go on to receive an unprecedented eight Presidential Unit Citations (though I am not sure how many were before they joined the 442nd.) They received numerous Distinguished Service Crosses (which is one step below the Medal of Honor.)

The 442nd RCT was also almost completely manned by Japanese Americans. And by the end of WWII, 21 members of the 442nd would take actions that would eventually lead to them being awarded the Medal of Honor. I want to tell the story of two of these men.

Sadao Munemori was born and raised in California. In early November of 1941, he joined the United States Army. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, his family was relocated to Manzanar, a Japanese internment camp. In late 1942, he was selected for the Military Intelligence Language School. When he learned of the formation of the 442nd RCT, he volunteered to join it.

@wollertz, Deposit Photos

Munemori’s combat tour began in 1944. In 1945, he took part in intense fighting in Northern Italy. His Medal of Honor citation reads in part:

When his unit was pinned down by grazing fire… and command of the squad devolved on him with the wounding of its regular leader, he made frontal, one-man attacks through direct fire and knocked out two machine guns with grenades. Withdrawing under murderous fire…he had nearly reached a shell crater occupied by two of his men when an unexploded grenade bounced on his helmet and rolled toward his helpless comrades. He …dived for the missile, and smothered its blast with his body. By his swift, supremely heroic action Pfc. Munemori saved two of his men at the cost of his own life…

I watched a video of one of Munemori’s fellow soldiers describing this action. Even all these years later, the emotion in his face as he thought of Sadao’s sacrifice was clear to see.

Munemori was the only member of the 442nd to be awarded the Medal of Honor soon after the end of WWII, in 1946.

Decades later, the Army decided to review the medal awards of the 442nd RCT. At that time, it elevated 20 men who had received the Distinguished Service Cross to Medal of Honor. One of those men was Daniel Inouye.

Inouye was a 17-year-old high school senior preparing for church on December 7, 1941. Later that day, he rushed to a Red Cross station to help the wounded. He graduated in 1942, and entered the University of Hawaii, hoping to become a doctor. He was not allowed to join the military at that time because he was classified as an enemy alien.

@DmyTo, Deposit Photos

When he learned of the formation of the 442nd RCT, he immediately attempted to join. He was told that his work at the Red Cross was critical. Some accounts say the Army also considered his medical training vital, but he left both the Red Cross and the university in order to enlist.

In April of 1945, Inouye led an assault in Italy. He took out one machine gun nest before he was shot in the stomach. He kept moving forward and neutralized a second machine gun nest. When he approached the third nest, the Germans threw a grenade, which shattered his right arm. He still moved forward until he was shot in the leg. According to later accounts, when he regained consciousness as his men were pulling him back, he told them, “Nobody called off the war.”

Daniel went on to become the longest-serving senator at the time of his death in 2012. The man really didn’t know how to quit. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2010.

There were too many stories associated with the 442nd RCT to include here, but one more really stood out to me.

Young-Oak Kim was assigned to serve as an officer there. The Army asked him if that would be a problem because he was Korean, and the Japanese were occupying Korea at the time. Kim supposedly replied, “There are no Japanese here, only Americans.” Kim was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his own actions in Italy.

In the Korean War, One Japanese American soldier received the Medal of Honor in secret. The reason why is a story in itself. If you’d like to read it, click here.

Also, if you are wondering how the grenade shattered only Inouye’s arm, accounts differ. Many say he picked up the live grenade and threw it back at the enemy.

Best-selling author Martha Hutchens is a history nerd who loves nothing more than finding a new place and time to explore. She won the 2019 Golden Heart for Romance with Religious and Spiritual Elements. A former analytical chemist and retired homeschool mom, Martha occasionally finds time for knitting when writing projects allow.

Martha’s debut novel, A Steadfast Heart, is now available. You can learn more about her books and historical research at Martha Hutchens.com.

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