Takushi Sodetani, Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 442nd RCT
Takushi Sodetani was born on March 25, 1924, in Waihee Village, Lahaina, Maui, T.H. He was one of two sons and two daughters of Magoichi and Mutsumi (Haioka) Sodetani. When he was two years old, his father died as the result of a tragic accident at the Pioneer Mill Co. Magoichi had arrived in 1904 as a teenager from Saiki, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.
Takushi signed his WWII Draft Registration card in Wailuku on June 30, 1942. He was a summer worker at the Pioneer Mill Co. Ltd., and was 5’5-3/4”, 123 lbs.
On March 23, 1943 Sodetani enlisted in the U.S. Army. On March 29, he was among the 2,600 soldiers who were given a community farewell ceremony in front of Iolani Palace in Honolulu before leaving a few days later on the SS Lurline for San Francisco. He completed his basic and special training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. The 442nd left Camp Shelby on April 22, 1944, and sailed for the Mediterranean Theater from Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia, on May 2. He served in Italy and France in all the campaigns of the 442nd: Rome-Arno Campaign; Vosges Campaign; Maritime Alps Campaign; and North Apennines-Po Valley Campaign.
Sodetani was awarded the Distinguished Unit Badge and the Combat Infantryman Badge for his wartime service. He returned from the war on December 6, 1945, one of 551 soldiers who sailed from San Francisco to Pier 2 in Honolulu on the USAT Aconcagua.
On August 23, 1952, Takushi married Yaeko Muriel Yamanaka in Honolulu. They lived in Honolulu and he was an installer for the Hawaiian Telephone Company. He was an active member of the 442nd Veterans Club. His wife died in 1979.
Takushi Sodetani died on September 20, 2015, in Waipahu. He was survived by a son, two daughters, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.