WASHINGTON — Thousands of Japanese-Americans who fought in the fiercest battles of World War II and became some of the most decorated soldiers in the nation’s history were given an overdue thank-you from their country Wednesday when Congress awarded them its highest civilian honor.
Nearly seven decades after the war, Congress awarded three Army units the Congressional Gold Medal. The units that were honored at a ceremony Wednesday are the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service.
“This has been a long journey, but a glorious one,” said Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii., who lost his right arm fighting with the 442nd and was one of the honorees Wednesday.
About 1,250 people attended the award ceremony at the Capitol. About a quarter of those present were former soldiers, now in their 80s and 90s.
Hiroshi Kaku, originally from Hawaii, was there for his older brother, Haruo, who served with the 100th while he served with the 442nd. He said he volunteered for the military because he had something to prove.
“We wanted to show American citizens that we loved our country,” Kaku said. “We were born and raised here.”
After Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Japanese-Americans were viewed with suspicion. Nearly 110,000 were sent to internment camps.
Lawson Sakai learned how much the world had changed for Japanese-Americans when he drove with some of his buddies to the local Navy recruiting station and tried to enlist. While his white friends were accepted, Sakai was an “enemy alien” and could not join.
Sakai then watched as the FBI rounded up Japanese- American leaders in Los Angeles.
When the federal government authorized the relocation of people with Japanese ancestry, a sister and some of his friends were sent to internment camps.
“We were blackballed,” Sakai said. “Basically, they took away our citizenship.”
Sakai’s story is similar to thousands of other “Nisei,” or second-generation Japanese-Americans. Even as they fought in Europe, many Japanese-American troops had family members who would spend much of the war in U.S. internment camps. American officials, citing concerns that those of Japanese ancestry could be security risks during war with Japan, sent men, women and children to camps around the country.
Sakai, 88, was wounded four times and received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He said the years following the war were difficult and that he often drank to deal with his memories. Now, he said, he’s able to take pride in his peers’ accomplishments and the subsequent congressional recognition.
“We certainly deserved the record that we produced. It was done by shedding a lot of blood,” he said. “As far as I know, we didn’t give up an inch of ground. We were always attacking and the Germans were always on the higher ground.”
The 442nd
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team consisted of volunteers, about two-thirds from Hawaii and the rest from the mainland. The 442nd experienced some of the most horrific fighting in Europe and became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service. In just 10 months of combat, more than 700 were killed or listed as missing in action.
