Edward Yukio Ide
Private
Headquarters Company
100th Infantry Battalion (Separate)
Edward Yukio Ide was born on October 25, 1917, at Kaneohe, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. He was one of nine children born to Eikichi and Rai (Masumoto) Ide. His siblings were Charlotte Chiyoko, Kenneth Katsukto, Mitsuo Michael, Edith, Gladys Yoshie, Ayme, Florence, and Yoshio. Eikichi emigrated from the village of Kamo, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan; arriving on October 8, 1907, aboard the Asia Maru at Honolulu. Rai emigrated from Hiroshima Prefecture; arriving at Honolulu in 1908.
Eikichi initially was a day laborer doing odd jobs. By 1916, he was operating his own banana farm on the windward side of Oahu and by 1930, he was also working as a carpenter.
Edward attended Benjamin Parker Elementary and High School, and McKinley High School. He dropped out after his junior year to help support the family.
Edward registered for the draft on October 26, 1940, at Local Board 1, Benjamin Parker School, Kaneohe. He was employed by N. Harada Store and Service Station, Ltd., in Heeia. His point of contact was his father, and he was living with the family on Paleka Road in Kaneohe. He was 5’6” tall and weighed 132 pounds.
In September 1940, the President and Congress instituted the first peacetime draft. Simultaneously with implementation of the draft, the War Department federalized Hawaii’s Guard, reassigning command from the adjutant general of the Territory of Hawaii to the Hawaiian Department of the U.S. Army. By unit these were the 298th Infantry Regiment, which was based on Oahu, and the 299th Infantry Regiment, which was based on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Kauai and Molokai. On June 30, 1941, Edward was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was working as a sales clerk. Private Ide was assigned to the 298th Infantry Regiment, stationed at Schofield Barracks, where he went through basic and advanced training.
In May 1942, the Nisei of the 299th Infantry Regiment (men from the outer islands) and the 298th Infantry Regiment (men from Oahu) were formed into a new unit, the Hawaiian Provisional Infantry Battalion. It was an over-strength battalion of six rifle companies.
On June 5, 1942, Edward was shipped to the mainland on the S.S. Maui with the Hawaiian Provisional Infantry Battalion. Upon arrival in San Francisco on June 12, 1942, they were redesignated the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) and sent by rail to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, for training. Edward was assigned to Headquarters Company, Communications Platoon.
Nearly seven months later, the battalion was transferred to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, on January 7, 1943, for additional training. After seven months of additional training, Edward was among those 100th soldiers who left on August 11, 1943, for Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, the staging area for transport on the S.S. James Parker for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. They traveled by train to Brooklyn, New York, and ferried to Staten Island, where their ship sailed at dusk on August 21 in a convoy of troop ships.
The 100th arrived in Oran, Algeria, on September 2, 1943, and was assigned to the already battle-tested 133rd Infantry Regiment of the 34th (Red Bull) Division. They took the place of the 133rd’s 2nd Battalion. After 18 days of service in Oran, Algeria, they departed for Italy to serve in the Naples-Foggia Campaign during the Allied drive to Rome.
The 100th Infantry Battalion landed on the beachhead at Salerno in southern Italy on September 22 and began the march inland. After liberating several towns, in late October 1943, the 100th was ordered west toward the Volturno River. The men crossed the Volturno twice on their way to capturing several critical hills, part of the German/Italian Winter Line – a series of three lines of fortifications centered around Monte Cassino to defend a western section of Italy.
During the third crossing of the river and as the 100th advanced through mine fields in a fierce fire fight, a wire team was ambushed and all three men were killed – Private Edward Yukio Ide, Private First Class Harushi Kondo, and Private Himeo Hiratani. All three men were awarded Silver Star Medals for their heroic actions under fire.
Staff Sergeant Edward Yukio Ide was interred in the U.S. Military Cemetery at Carano, Italy, Section D, grave 177.
For his military service, Private Edward Yukio Ide was awarded the Silver Star Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze stars, World War II Victory Medal, and Combat Infantryman Badge. He was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on October 5, 2010, along with the other veterans of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team. This is the highest Congressional Civilian Medal.
On April 16, 1944, at a ceremony held at the Kaneohe Methodist Church at 2:30 p.m., Ide’s mother, Mrs. Eikichi Ide, was among 14 next of kin who received the posthumous Purple Heart Medal for their sons who were killed in the European Theater. The medals were presented by Lt. Colonel Kendall J. Fiedler, Assistant Chief of Staff for Military Intelligence, U.S. Army Pacific. In addition to an invocation by an Army Chaplain and a talk by Lt. Colonel Fiedler, a member of the Emergency Service Committee gave remarks, followed by a response from one of the family members. The service was for family and friends of the fallen soldiers.
On February 11, 1945, Windward Oahu’s Honor Roll Memorial Tablet of the names of over 500 soldiers in the Armed Forces was unveiled in a ceremony held at 4:00 p.m. in the Kaneohe Civic Center on Kamehameha Highway across from Kaneohe Courthouse. Gold Stars marked the names of the ten soldiers who fell in battle. The Memorial was unveiled by Mrs. Eikichi Ide, mother of Edward Y. Ide – the first Windward Oahu youth to be killed in battle. The program included remarks by local pastors, Lt. Colonel Farrant L. Turner of the 100th Infantry Battalion as the keynote speaker, and music by the Mormon choir at Laie and the Benjamin Parker High School Band. The Windward Oahu Community Association planned and hosted the program.
After the war, families were given the choice to have their soldier’s remains shipped to a larger military cemetery in Italy or France, or repatriated. Edward’s remains were returned to the United States at the request of his family.
Private Edward Yukio Ide arrived from San Francisco on the USAT Sgt. Truman Kimbro on October 18, 1948, to Pier 40 in Honolulu Harbor’s Kapalama Basin with 80 other war dead. Most of the remains came from U.S. Military Cemeteries in Italy, with a few from France. The men were eulogized in a shipside service by the Secretary of Hawaii, Oren E. Long, who said, We are proud to have had such sons. These men stood the test of action and added a new chapter of American heroism to our history. Prayers were offered by U.S. Army Pacific Chaplain Edwin L. Kirtley, Chaplain Joseph C. Canty, and Chaplain Hiro Higuchi, who was chaplain of the 442nd RCT in Europe. The 264th Army Band played three hymns. The flag-draped caskets were taken to the Army mausoleum at Schofield Barracks awaiting final burial arrangements.
On July 29, 1949, Staff Sergeant Edward Yukio Ide was reinterred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), Section D, grave 177.
GO No. 31, Hq 34th Inf Div, USA, 29 Apr 1944
Award of the Silver Star Medal
Edward Y. Ide
Private, Infantry, United States Army
For gallantry in action on 5 November 1943, in the vicinity of Pozzilli, Italy. Pvt Ide, a member of a wire team, was laying communications wire along a road to his Battalion forward CP when an enemy group armed with rifles and two machine guns opened fire at close range on the wire team. Unable to by-pass the position, Pvt Ide and his comrades determined to push forward to their destination and accomplish their mission in spite of the concentrated fire. Returning the enemy fire as best they could, Pvt Ide and his comrades continued laying the wire, but while so engaged he was fatally wounded. Pvt Ide’s devotion to duty at the cost of his own life reflects credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States. Entered military service from Honolulu, Hawaii Territory of Hawaii. Next of kin: Mr. Eikichi Ide (Father), Kaneohe, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii.
Edward’s brother, Michael Mitsuo Ide, served as a Staff Sergeant in 3rd Battalion, M Company.
Researched and written by the Sons & Daughters of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in 2022.