The 442nd Regimental Combat Team

Last week, I wrote about the death of Kenji Yatsushiro, a Japanese-American who served during World War II, despite all the bad feelings toward his group after Pearl Harbor. He was in the 442nd Regiment, comprised of all Japanese -Americans. /// The regiment's most famous member, the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) said that when the 442nd returned home after the war, they "found themselves to be ... the most decorated military unit in the history of the United States." He said that in 2011, when the whole regiment received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the country. /// They received 18,000 individual awards from September 1943 to September 1945. Included in this number were 21 Medals of Honor; 52 Distinguished Service crosses; 560 Silver Stars; more than 4,000 Bronze Stars; 9,486 Purple Hearts, and seven Presidential Unit Citations. /// No other unit has ever received so many honors. /// Pretty Impressive. --GreGen