The most decorated military unit in U.S. history was the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the U.S. Army.
The 442nd was comprised of “Nisei’s” — first generation Japanese-Americans. All were enlisted men led by Caucasian officers. All were volunteers and most hailed from Hawaii.
After Pearl Harbor, all Japanese-Americans were classified as “4C” (enemy alien) and not allowed to enlist in the Armed Forces. FDR reversed that decision, and on 2/1/1943, Nisei’s began to join up.
They saw fierce fighting in eight major campaigns in Europe, in Italy, France and Germany. Casualties were high. The original unit strength of 3800 was replaced three times.
The unit’s members earned a total of an unheard of 18143 decorations for valor, including twenty Medals of Honor, 560 Silver Stars, 4000 Bronze Stars and 9436 Purple Hearts.
Ironically, as these men fought bravely for their country, the backlash after Pearl Harbor against people of Japanese descent in the U.S. resulted in their relatives languishing in internment camps for fear of “fifth column” sabotage action in the U.S.
“Go for Broke” became the unit’s motto. It is a gambling expression describing players who would risk all their money on a single roll of the dice.
