List of Asian American Medal of Honor Recipients - World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict, the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts. The first began in Asia in 1937 as the Second Sino-Japanese War; the other began in Europe in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. This global conflict split the majority of the world's nations into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. It involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, and placed the participants in a state of total war, erasing the distinction between civil and military resources. This resulted in the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort. Over 60 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history. The Allies were victorious, and, as a result, the United States and Soviet Union emerged as the world's two leading superpowers.

During this conflict 464 United States military personnel received the Medal of Honor, 266 of them posthumously. By the end of the war, only two Asian Americans had been awarded the Medal of Honor, Sergeant Jose Calugas of the Philippine Scouts and Private Sadao S. Munemori of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. A 1996 study commissioned by the United States Army by order of Congress investigated racial discrimination in the awarding of medals during World War II. The Command History Office at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, California was tasked with identifying affected service-members and reviewing the records. After performing a review of the files, the study recommended that several Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II should be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On June 21, 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded the Medal to 22 Asian Americans, 21 from the aforementioned study, in a ceremony at the White House.

Of the 24 Asian American awardees, 21 earned the Medal while serving with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team or its component unit, the 100th Infantry Battalion, making the 442nd the most decorated regiment-sized unit of the war. Only two Asian American officers received the Medal of Honor during World War II: Captain Francis B. Wai who received it for drawing enemy fire to himself to reveal their positions and Second Lieutenant Daniel Inouye who received his medal for destroying two machine gun nests and continuing to fight after being wounded. Inouye became the first U.S. Representative for Hawaii and the first Japanese American congressman; he served as one of Hawaii's U.S. Senators from 1963 continuously until his death in 2012.

This with the * indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

Image Name Service Rank Date of action Place of action Unit Notes
Calugas, JoseJose Calugas Army E-05 !Sergeant 01942-01-16January 16, 1942 Culis, Bataan Province, Philippines 88-00-0088th Field Artillery Regiment, Philippine Scouts Under heavy fire, organized and led a gun crew after the original crew had been killed or wounded
Davila, Rudolph B.Rudolph B. Davila Army E-06 !Staff Sergeant 01944-05-28May 28, 1944 Artena, Italy 07-03-007th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Led his unit by example and, although wounded, single-handedly attacked an enemy-held house
Hajiro, Barney F.Barney F. Hajiro Army E-01 !Private 01944-10-19October 19, 1944,
01944-10-22October 22, 1944,
and 01944-10-29October 29, 1944
near Bruyères and Biffontaine, eastern France 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Assisted an attack on a house, captured a numerically superior force, and single-handedly silenced two machine gun nests
Hasemoto, MikioMikio Hasemoto* Army E-01 !Private 01943-11-29November 29, 1943 Cerasuolo, Italy 00-00-100100th Infantry Battalion With his squad leader, destroyed an enemy force despite having to run through heavy fire twice to retrieve new weapons
Hayashi, JoeJoe Hayashi* Army E-01 !Private 01945-04-20April 20, 1945
and 01945-04-22April 22, 1945
Cerasuolo, Italy 442nd Regimental Combat Team Led an attack on strongly defended positions and single-handedly silenced three machine guns
Hayashi, ShizuyaShizuya Hayashi Army E-01 !Private 01943-11-29November 29, 1943 Cerasuolo, Italy 00-100-00100th Infantry Battalion Single-handedly silenced a machine gun nest and an anti-aircraft gun
Inouye, DanielDaniel Inouye Army O-01 !Second Lieutenant 01945-04-21April 21, 1945 near San Terenzo, Italy 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Single-handedly destroyed two machine gun nests, continued to fight and lead his platoon after being wounded
Kobashigawa, YeikiYeiki Kobashigawa Army E-07 !Technical Sergeant 01944-06-02June 2, 1944 near Lanuvio, Italy 00-00-100100th Infantry Battalion Led successful attacks on four machine gun positions
Kuroda, Robert T.Robert T. Kuroda* Army E-06 !Staff Sergeant 01944-10-20October 20, 1944 near Bruyeres, France 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Single-handedly destroyed two machine gun emplacements
Moto, KaoruKaoru Moto* Army E-03 !Private First Class 01944-07-07July 7, 1944 near Castellina, Italy 00-00-100100th Infantry Battalion Single-handedly attacked two machine guns and, although wounded, captured a third
Munemori, SadaoSadao Munemori* Army E-03 !Private First Class 01945-04-05April 5, 1945 near Seravezza, Italy 00-00-100100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team Single-handedly attacked two machine guns before smothering a grenade blast with his body
Muranaga, KiyoshiKiyoshi Muranaga* Army E-03 !Private First Class 01944-06-26June 26, 1944 near Suvereto, Italy 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Engaged an artillery gun alone, using a mortar
Nakae, MasatoMasato Nakae* Army E-01 !Private 01944-08-19August 19, 1944 near Pisa, Italy 00-00-100100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team Held off an enemy attack and continued to fight after being wounded
Nakamine, ShinyeiShinyei Nakamine* Army E-01 !Private 01944-06-02June 2, 1944 near La Torreto, Italy 00-00-100100th Infantry Battalion Single-handedly destroyed a machine gun nest and led attacks on two others
Nakamura, WilliamWilliam Nakamura* Army E-03 !Private First Class 01944-07-04July 4, 1944 near Castellina, Italy 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Silenced a machine gun nest and stayed behind to provide covering fire as his unit withdrew
Nishimoto, Joe M.Joe M. Nishimoto* Army E-03 !Private First Class 01944-11-07November 7, 1944 near La Houssiere, France 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Single-handedly neutralized three machine gun positions
Ohata, Allan M.Allan M. Ohata* Army E-05 !Sergeant 01943-11-29November 29, 1943 –01943-11-30November 30, 1943 near Cerasuolo, Italy 00-00-100100th Infantry Battalion Together with a rifleman, held back an attack by a numerically superior force
Okubo, James K.James K. Okubo* Army E-04 !Technician Fifth Grade 01944-10-28October 28, 1944 –
01944-10-29October 29, 1944
and 01944-11-04November 4, 1944
Foret Domaniale de Champ, near Biffontaine, France 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Repeatedly exposed himself to intense fire to treat and evacuate wounded men
Okutsu, YukioYukio Okutsu Army E-07 !Technical Sergeant 01945-04-07April 7, 1945 Mount Belvedere, Italy 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Single-handedly silenced three machine gun positions
Ono, Frank H.Frank H. Ono* Army E-03 !Private First Class 01944-07-04July 4, 1944 near Castellina, Italy 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Held an advance position alone, treated wounded men, and remained behind to provide covering fire as his unit withdrew
Otani, KazuoKazuo Otani* Army E-06 !Staff Sergeant 01944-07-15July 15, 1944 near Pieve Di St. Luce, Italy 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Drew fire onto himself so his platoon could reach cover, killed while rescuing a wounded man
Sakato, George T.George T. Sakato Army E-01 !Private 01944-10-29October 29, 1944 Hill 617, near Biffontaine, France 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Charged an enemy strongpoint, took command of his platoon and led it in defense of their position
Tanouye, Ted T.Ted T. Tanouye* Army E-07 !Technical Sergeant 01944-07-07July 7, 1944 near Molino A Ventoabbto, Italy 442-00-00442nd Regimental Combat Team Although wounded, single-handedly attacked a series of enemy positions
Wai, Francis B.Francis B. Wai* Army O-03 !Captain 01944-10-20October 20, 1944 Leyte, Philippine Islands 34-00-0034th Infantry Regiment Took command of four assault waves and led by example, drew fire onto himself to reveal enemy positions

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