Nisei Soldier Monuments around the World
100/442nd Regimental Combat Team Monument Hill 555
The mountaintop peak includes two memorials: one to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team – an all Japanese-American Unit (442nd Regimental Combat Team) in WW2; and, a monument marking where the Gothic Line crossed the peak (Italy).
The site includes a monument to a Medal of Honor recipient, Sadao S. Munemori, of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team (Italy).
100th Battalion (442nd Regiment) Marker
A bronze plaque mounted to a large rock on the bank of the Gari (Rapido) River. The top of the marker includes a smaller plague indicating that the marker was provided by the French city of Biffontaine (Vosges, France), where the 100th Battalion also fought in October 1944. The monument is inscribed in French “TO THE MEMORY AND HONOR OF THE MEN OF THE 100th INFANTRY BATTALION UNITED STATES ARMY 5TH ALLIED ARMY 2ND WORLD WAR” (France).
442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Battalion Medal of Honor Memorial
The monument remembers the 21 Japanese-Americans who fought with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (and 100th Infantry Battalion) who were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II in both France and Italy. The monument sits in the hills where the 442nd fought in the latter stages of the battle of the Gothic Line in April 1945. The monument is inscribed “THE 21 JAPANESE AMERICAN WORLD WAR II 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM AND 100TH INFANTRY BATTALION MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS EUROPE BARNEY F. HAJIRO, MIKIO HASEMOTO, JOE HAYASHI, SHIZUYA HAYASHI, DANIEL K. INOUYE, YEIKI KOBASHIGAWA, ROBERT T. KURODA, KAORU MOTO, SADEO S. MUNEMORI, KIYOSHI K. MURANAGA, MASATO NAKEA, SHINYEI NAKAMINE, WILLIAM K. NAKAMURA, JOE M. NISHIMOTO, ALLAN K. OHATA, JAMES K. OKUBO, YUKIO OKUTSU, FRANK B.ONO, KAZUO OTANI, GEORGE T. SAKATO, TED T. TANOUYE ‘GO FOR BROKE’” (Italy).
Final Gothic Line Battle Monument- 442nd RCT
The monument remembers the battle that occurred near here to break through the Gothic Line in April 1945. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) – a Japanese-American unit along with Italian Partisans fought in this battle. The monument is inscribed in Italian “SET IN THE HILLS ENCRUSTED IN THIS MAGNIFICENT NATURE, DURING THE FINAL BATTLE OF THE GOTHIC LINE ON 23.04.1945 THE SACRIFICE OF JOE E TADAO ‘BEANIE’ HAYASHI SOLDIERS OF THE 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM AND WITH THEM, FROM 14 TO 24 APRIL FALLING VALOROUSLY FOR THE LIBERATION OF THE LOWER LUNIGIANNA 52 FELLOW COMRADES AND MANY PARTISANS OF DIVERSE RELIGIONS AND POLITICAL CREEDS BUT UNITED IN THE IDEALS OF JUSTICE AND LIBERTY. THEY DESERVE THE GRATITUDE OF POPULATION OF TENDOLA WHO WERE PROVIDED ASYLUM AND COMFORT” (Italy).
Biffontaine
The site is very isolated; and features a stone monument dedicated to the 36th Infantry Division (Texas), the 100th Infantry Battalion (Hawaii), the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the 1st Infantry Battalion, the 141st Infantry Regiment (Texas Infantry) (France).
Biffontaine Town Hall
The site has a memorial plaque for Sergeant George W. Suyama of the 442nd Infantry Regiment (France).
Sergeant George W. Suyama Plaque
A black plaque that honors the only MIA soldier during the liberation of Bruyères and Biffontaine, Sergeant Suyama. Written in English and French colored text, together with the USA and France flags, the 100th Infantry Battalion, and 442nd Infantry Regiment insignias, and at the bottom right is Sergeant Suyama’s photo. Inscribed in French “IN MEMORY OF SERGEANT GEORGE W. SUYAMA 100TH BATTALION – 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM KILLED IN COMBAT ON OCTOBER 23,1944, AGED 26 YEARS OLD, DURING THE LIBERATION OF BRUYERES AND BIFFONTAINE AS THE ONLY MISSING IN ACTION IN THE BATTLE FOR BRUYERES AND BIFFONTAINE SERGEANT GEORGE WASHINGTON SUYAMA’S BODY WAS NEVER RECOVERED. REST EASY, SLEEP WELL MY BROTHERS. KNOW THE LINE HAS HELD, YOUR JOB IS DONE. REST EASY, SLEEP WELL OTHERS HAVE TAKEN UP WHERE YOU FELL, THE LINE HAS HELD. PEACE, PEACE AND FAREWELL … JAMES CASEY” (France).
Bruyères
The site features a monument honoring the loyalty shown by the largely Japanese 442nd Regimental Combat Team during the Battle of Bruyères (France).
442nd Patch
Cross from the original monument in the same clearing. Monument A stone sculpture of pink granite quarried nearby. The 9-foot tall, 3.5-ton sculpture is of the shoulder patch of the 442nd Infantry Regiment. Sculpted by Daniel Petitgenet, it was dedicated on 15 October 2017. There is a plaque with text at the base of the sculpture (France).
442nd Regimental Combat Team Monument
Monument A granite monument sits atop a white pedestal decorated with a painted silver star. The monument features a bronze plaque with both English and French embossed text and the Great Seal of the United States at the top. A stone stairway leads up to the monument itself, and one flag pole sits on each side. The monument was presented by the Japanese American Citizens League and inaugurated in 1961 (France).
Camp Darby – Freedom Square
The site has one memorial remembering a Medal of Honor recipient, from the 100th Battalion, 442nd Combat Regimental Team. From the United States Army Garrison Italy website about Camp Darby, “Many of the men of the original 442nd RCT had been through all four campaigns. The last of the original members from Hawaii left the regiment on Oct. 29, 1945. The 100th Bn was presented the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation and the Italian Cross for Meritorious Warfare was presented to the Regimental Commander by the Italian government.” (Italy).
Private Masato “Curley” Nakae Memorial and Square (100th Battalion, 442nd RCT)
Located in the center of Freedom Square also known as “Curley” Nakae Square located in the main shopping area of Camp Darby. A brass plaque is attached to a large white stone. PVT Masato “Curley” Nakae served with the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), and earned the Medal of Honor in World War II while fighting near Camp Darby (Italy).
Gothic Line (Linea Gotica) – Western Terminus Marker
The 92nd Infantry Division “Buffalo Soldiers”: The US 92nd Division (African-American unit) with the attached 442nd Regimental Combat Team (Japanese-American Unit) fought through this area in 1944/45. 2LT Vernon Baker of the 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery and action under fire near this point in 1945. PVT Joe Hayashi of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was also awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery near this site in April 1945 (Italy).
442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Battalion Medal of Honor Memorial
The monument remembers the 21 Japanese-Americans who fought with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (and 100th Infantry Battalion) who were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II in both France and Italy. The monument sits in the hills where the 442nd fought in the latter stages of the battle of the Gothic Line in April 1945 (Italy).
5th Army, 34th & 45th Divisions Memorial
Three soldiers of the 100th Battalion (Part of the 442nd Infantry Regiment) which was attached to the 34thInfantry Division, won the Medal of Honor fighting near the town of Cerasuolo on 29/30 November 1943. The soldiers were PVT Mikio Hasemoto; PVT Shizuya Hayashi; and SGT Allan Ohata. The monument is inscribed “IN MEMORY OF ALL AMERICAN SOLDIERS OF THE FIFTH ARMY 34TH AND 45TH INFANTRY DIVISIONS WHO DIED AT THE BATTLE OF MONTE PANTANO AND OVER THE MOLISE REGION DURING THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN 1943-1944 THE CITY OF FILIGNANO REMEMBERS THEIR SACRIFICE” (Italy).
PVT Sagami Marker (442nd Infantry)
A granite stele with gold leaf inscription in French and English. The shoulder insignia of the unit is at the top and crossed US and French flags are at the bottom. Inscribed in French “Here died for freedom, Here died for liberty, YOHEI SAGAMI, 442 RCT, October 15, 1944, at the age of 22, Homage / Honor” (France).
Sadao S. Munemori (Medal of Honor Recipient) Monument
The monument known locally as the Mounumento al Soldato Alleato (Monument for the Allied Soldier) in the Piazza Caduti della Linea Gotica (Square of the Fallen of the Gothic Line) (Italy).
National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism during World War II
“While their families were confined, more than 33,000 Japanese Americans played a major role in the war effort. Why did they serve the nation under these difficult circumstances? Many of them loved their country enough to risk their lives in combat. For others, it was the chance to prove their loyalty and the honor of their families; this they did as members of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team fighting up the rugged Italian Peninsula and across Southern France. Others interrogated Japanese prisoners and translated Japanese documents in the Army’s Military Intelligence Section in the Pacific and China Burma-India Theaters. Over eight hundred Japanese Americans were killed in action serving their country.” (National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior) (Washington D.C.)
Go For Broke Monument
“From the base, black granite slopes upward to a height of nine feet. Engraved on the curved granite wall along the rear of the Monument are the names of 16,131 Nisei soldiers and their officers who served in WWII, including 37 Japanese American women. Inscribed stars indicate those who were killed in action. Above the names carved into the granite are 60 US Army patches from the units under which the Nisei soldiers served.” (Go For Broke National Education Center) (Los Angeles, California)
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