Posted on Apr 5, 2016
What Is The Most Decorated Military Unit In US History?
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The 442nd Regiment was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare.
The US Army's 442 Regimental Combat team, built around the 442 Inf Regiment (Go For Broke")composed of Japanese Americans, some recruited directly out of internment camps to fight for the US when it was imprisoning their families.
"The 442nd Regimental Combat Team is an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the Army Reserve. The regiment was a fighting unit composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry who fought in World War II. Most of the families of mainland Japanese Americans were confined to internment camps in the United States interior. Beginning in 1944, the regiment fought primarily in Europe during World War II,[2] in particular Italy, southern France, and Germany.
The 442nd Regiment was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare.[3] The 4,000 men who initially made up the unit in April 1943 had to be replaced nearly 2.5 times. In total, about 14,000 men served, earning 9,486 Purple Hearts. The unit was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations (five earned in one month).[4]:201 Twenty-one of its members were awarded Medals of Honor.[2] Its motto was "Go for Broke"."
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/442nd_Infantry_Regiment_%28United_States%29
The US Army's 442 Regimental Combat team, built around the 442 Inf Regiment (Go For Broke")composed of Japanese Americans, some recruited directly out of internment camps to fight for the US when it was imprisoning their families.
"The 442nd Regimental Combat Team is an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the Army Reserve. The regiment was a fighting unit composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry who fought in World War II. Most of the families of mainland Japanese Americans were confined to internment camps in the United States interior. Beginning in 1944, the regiment fought primarily in Europe during World War II,[2] in particular Italy, southern France, and Germany.
The 442nd Regiment was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare.[3] The 4,000 men who initially made up the unit in April 1943 had to be replaced nearly 2.5 times. In total, about 14,000 men served, earning 9,486 Purple Hearts. The unit was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations (five earned in one month).[4]:201 Twenty-one of its members were awarded Medals of Honor.[2] Its motto was "Go for Broke"."
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/442nd_Infantry_Regiment_%28United_States%29
442nd Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team is an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the Army Reserve. The regiment was a fighting unit composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry who fought in World War II. Most of the families of mainland Japanese Americans were confined to internment camps in the United States interior. Beginning in 1944, the regiment fought primarily in Europe during World War II,[2] in...
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Capt Lance Gallardo
I didn't read the link until, after I posted my response. Pretty much everyone who know US WWII and US Military History has come to the same conclusion about the 442nd. US Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who lost an arm in the War as part of the 442nd, and just recently passed away after serving as a US Senator for a little more than a half a century it seems. He was maybe the most famous member of that illustrious unit, the fighting 442nd: in 1962 he was first elected to the U.S. Senate. Inouye was the most senior U.S. senator at the time of his death (December 17, 2012 (aged 88)).
He is one of the longest-serving U.S. Senators in history, second only to Robert Byrd. Inouye was the first Japanese American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the first in the U.S. Senate. He never lost an election in 58 years as an elected official, and exercised an outsize influence on Hawaii politics. At the time of his death, Inouye was the second-oldest sitting U.S. senator, after Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, who also died soon afterwards.
Because of his seniority, following Senator Byrd's death on June 28, 2010, Inouye became President pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in the presidential line of succession after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a Medal of Honor recipient and a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He is one of the longest-serving U.S. Senators in history, second only to Robert Byrd. Inouye was the first Japanese American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the first in the U.S. Senate. He never lost an election in 58 years as an elected official, and exercised an outsize influence on Hawaii politics. At the time of his death, Inouye was the second-oldest sitting U.S. senator, after Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, who also died soon afterwards.
Because of his seniority, following Senator Byrd's death on June 28, 2010, Inouye became President pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in the presidential line of succession after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a Medal of Honor recipient and a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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Capt Lance Gallardo
Warning "salty" language used by author in the following link about Danuiel Inouye MOH, 442nd Inf, WWII:
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/inouye.html
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/inouye.html
Badass of the Week: Daniel Inouye
The ultimate list of all badasses past and present.
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Suspended Profile
Very cool... of course there are certain special operations units whose decorations are classified, so we'll never know...
Sgt Joe LaBranche it is really sad that we allowed ourselves to treat our own in that manner. It would have been very easy for Japanese Americans to turn into what the internment camps feared. Instead they fought honorably for this nation. Maybe they just figured if they got the job done fast enough everyone could go back to their homes. Not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand it is a great article about a great bunch of men. On the other hand it is against the backdrop that if they were not in uniform, they would have been in a camp. Bittersweet. Thanks for sharing.
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Gerard Choo
The 100th Bn was all Hawaiian Japanese. The 442nd RCT was 2/3 Hawaiian & 1/3 Mainland American Japanese. At least when both units were first raised. Hawaiian Japanese were never interned as 1/3 of the Hawaiian population was of Japanese ethnicity. Internment would have crippled the Hawaiian economy. It was only mainland American Japanese who were interned.
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