It’s one thing to shine the spotlight on one particular bad ass, but another when you have an entire regiment full of them. We're talking about the 442nd RCT. A US Army unit which saw action during World War 2 in Italy, France and Germany. Strictly volunteers and comprised mainly of Japanese-American soldiers, they went on to become the most ferocious and highest decorated American unit in history.
Despite the fact that, during those times, almost all Japanese-Americans were held in internment camps, these patriots still found a reason to love our country and despite the racial hate and segregation back home, they sacrificed their lives for it.
In 1943, the 442nd RCT began with only 4,000 men. By the time it was demobilized in 1946, it sustained so many casualties, that it had to be replaced nearly 2.5 times. In total, 14,000 men served in the 442nd while in Europe.
The unit was awarded a total of 18,431 medals to include:
- 21 Medals of Honor
- 9846 Purple Hearts - 8 Presidential Unit Citations (5 of them earned in one month) - 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, - 560 Silver Stars (plus 28 Oak Leaf Clusters) - 4000 Bronze Medals (plus 1,200 Oak Leaf Clusters)
- 22 Legion of Merit Medals “They were superb! They took terrific casualties. They showed rare courage and tremendous fighting spirit. Not too much can be said of the performance of those battalions in Europe and everybody wanted them.” – General George C. Marshall #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #ww2 #hardcore