442nd Regimental Combat Team

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Training, History

A Final Polish

After maneuvers the men came back to Shelby, scraped off the mud, and began again the endless task of cleaning up their equipment. The Combat Team was commended for proficiency by Major General Charles H. White, Commanding General of IX Corps, and Major General Charles L. Bolte, Commanding General of the 69th Division. The entire Combat Team now began the business of brushing up on its small-unit tactics, reviewing and correcting the weaknesses that had turned up during the last hectic weeks in the field. Twenty officers and 210 men left for George G. Meade, Maryland, for transhipment to Italy and the 100th Battalion. There was also a certain amount of combat firing and review work on marksmanship to be completed, as well as some...

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Training, History

Combined Units

The regimental commander, Colonel Pence, took his regiment into the field as a unit for the first time on December 13, holding exercises that ran until the day before Christmas. Training was getting into higher levels now. Battalion staffs learned to work with the regimental staff. Battalions attacked or took defensive positions side by side, coordinating their fires, helping each other out of tough spots, keeping contact in heavily wooded terrain. Tactics were going into high levels, but the privates in the rear rank, the guys who carried the rifles and brought up the ammunition, still wanted to know why. Why did the regimental commander do this? Why did we withdraw to this position instead of another one? The officers and the NCO’s did their...

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Training, History

From Civilian to Soldier

Basic training was hectic for these new soldiers, as it is for every new soldier. Heads buzzed with military courtesy and discipline, close order drill, manual of arms, and the nomenclature and functioning of all the weapons that make the present day infantryman a walking arsenal. Slowly they learned to hit the ground, to take advantage of every fold in the earth, and every bush for cover and concealment, to work as squads and sections. Muscles hardened, backs straighten, and civilians became men who lived war and thought war. Relations with civilians and other soldiers were not always easy. Most of the men on the post and the inhabitants of the nearby towns accepted the Nisei for what they were and for the job they...

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Training, History

Maneuvers

“D” Series maneuvers began on January 28, 1944, in the DeSoto National Forest, Mississippi. They were conducted by the 69th Infantry Division, Major General Charles L. Bolte commanding. The 442nd Infantry and the 232nd Engineers were attached to the Division for operations, working as a part of the Division for the first three problems and being the “red” or enemy force for the last three. The men probably learned more as a unit of the Division but they had a lot more fun being the enemy. Maneuvers being what they are, there were always a certain number of snafus. The umpires were the unhappiest people on the field no matter who won or lost the battle. There were not enough umpires to mark the simulated...

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Training, History

Operating as a Unit

Basic training was over; now began the even harder task of welding the Combat Team into a single fighting unit. The men knew their weapons; they knew how to take advantage of cover; they could find their way long distances on the blackest night; They had worked together as squads on small problems. It remained to make platoons out of squads, companies out of platoons, and battalions out of companies. During basic the GIs finished their training and came back to a hot shower, a hot meal, and a warm if not always comfortable bed. Unit training would wean them away from this, and enable them to live in the field for long periods, to endure cold, rain, inadequate blankets, to keep going even if...

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Training, History

The Cadre Prepare

On January 22, 1945, the War Department directed by a letter that a Japanese-American Combat Team should be activated on February 1, and should be composed of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion and the 232nd Engineer Combat Company. In accordance with these orders the 442nd Combat Team was activated on February 1, 1943 by General Orders, Headquarters Third Army. Colonel Charles W. Pence took command, with Lieutenant Colonel Merritt B. Booth as executive officer. Lieutenant Colonel Keith K. Tatum commanded the 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel James M. Hanley the 2nd Battalion and Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood Dixon the 3rd Battalion. Lieutenant Colonel Baya M. Harrison commanded the 522nd Field Artillery, and Captain Pershing Nakada commanded the 232nd Engineers. From the 1st to...

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Occupation, History

522nd Field Artillery Occupying Germany

Fire for Effect, the history of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion (written by the veterans) includes a brief description of their role in the Occupation of German, and several anecdotal contributions by individual veterans. The Occupation (pages 70-72) With the end of the war in the European Theater, the 522nd was detached from the 101st Airborne Division and attached to the 30th Field Artillery Group. On May 9, 1945 at 0815 hours, the Battalion moved out of Shaftlach and traveled 77 miles to the north by motor convoy over the autobahn past Munich to Steppach, a town on the outskirts of Augsburg, where the 522nd CP was established and occupied until May 17, 1945. Headquarters Battery then moved to Mertingen on May 17 where the...

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France, Rhineland-Maritime Alps (Champaign)

Jan 1945 Action Reports

The Champagne Campaign in the French Maritime Alps, Part 2 A brief summary of the “Champagne Campaign” was included in the November 2017 E-newsletter.  The 100th/442nd was assigned to protect the right flank of the Sixth Army Group along the French-Italian border in the French Maritime Alps from November 1944 to March 1945.  Despite the use of the term “champagne” and the liberty granted many of the men to Nice, Paris and other French towns and cities, there was still war at hand and daily patrols and fighting took place. Excerpts from the Headquarters 442D Regimental Combat Team Monthly Historical Report for the month of January 1945 will serve to highlight some of what the men lived through during this “campaign”. New Year’s Day 1945,...

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Commitment 1941 - 1942

100th Bn (Sep) Activated

1,432 Nisei soldiers, recruited before Pearl Harbor, depart Hawaii on S.S. Maui for training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. Before departure from Hawaii they had been formed as the Hawaiian Provisional Infantry Battalion. On arrival at Oakland, California, they are renamed as the 100th Infantry Battalion, a name destined to make military history. It is designated “Separate” to indicate it is not part of a larger Army unit.

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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd Arrives in Italy

Most units of the 442nd arrive at Naples, Italy. Due to port congestion, some of the units arrive later. The last to arrive this day are the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion and most of 2nd Battalion, whose ships land at Brindisi and Bari on the east coast of Italy. They move by train boxcars to the Naples area to join up with the 442nd.
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd Cannon Company Activated

Cannon Company of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team is activated at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Its primary weapon is six light, truck-drawn, 105mm howitzers. They will provide close support to the regiment’s three infantry battalions, supplementing the fire power of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion.
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd Departs the US

The 442nd boards troop ships at Hampton Roads, Virginia. They join a large convoy of ships and set to sea, bound for Europe. The soldiers have not been told were they are going, but get a good clue when Italian language booklets are passed out. Sealed orders are opened once at sea and confirm they are on their way to Italy.
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd Moves to Anzio Beachhead

Over several days, the 442nd sails by LST and LSI to the Anzio beachhead. Following closely on the heals of the breakout and liberation pf Rome, the 442nd convoys to an assembly area north of Rome near Citivitavecchia. Here they will have final combat training and make preparations to move to the front line.
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd Moves to France

442nd embarks on Navy transport ships Thurston, Dickman, Chase, and Henrico at Naples, Italy, and sails for southern France. On September 29 they debark at Marseilles and begin preparations to move to the battlefront in northeast France.
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd RCT Activated

Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team authorized by War Department, composed of: 1 infantry regiment, 1 field artillery battalion, 1 engineer company, 1 medical detachment, and an army band. The cadre to organize, train, and lead the combat team is quickly formed and sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to prepare for the arrival of the thousands of young Nisei men who are expected to respond to the call to volunteer. The officers selected are almost all experienced Caucasian soldiers and are given orders to report to Camp Shelby typically within 2 weeks. The enlisted cadre are AJA soldiers, many of whom had been drafted before Pearl Harbor and are now sidelined in menial tasks because of their ancestry.

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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd RCT Breaks Through Gothic Line

442nd RCT is key to Allied success in breaching the Nazi’s Gothic Line in northern Italy. Intended as a diversionary attack, the 442nd climbs in secret at night to the ridgeline and mountaintop German defenses, attacks at dawn, and completely defeats the enemy positions. What follows is a series of continuing attacks by the 442nd, chasing the Germans north into the Po Valley. The diversionary attack becomes a full breakthrough of the Gothic Line in the west, successfully drawing off German units from the center of the Gothic Line, and then defeating them as well. By the time the German Army in Italy surrenders, lead elements of the 442nd are in Turin, Italy.
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd RCT Departs Camp Shelby

Their training now complete, the 442nd travels from Camp Shelby, Mississippi, by train for several days, arriving at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. Here they will prepare for shipment to the combat theater in Europe. The orders are secret and they do not know where they are going to land.
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd RCT Reassigned to Southern France

The battles to drive the Germans from the Bruyères and Biffontaine region and rescue the “Lost Battalion” presented the 7th Army with an unexpected opportunity to flank their lines and force them in retreat. This was the first time in recorded history that an attacking force had broken through the Vosges Mountains. But the 442nd paid a very high price for this victory, with 140 men dead and about 1,800 in field hospitals. It was no longer battle-capable and was sent to man defensive positions on the French-Italian border in the Maritime Alps to the sea at Menton, France. Here the regiment rebuilds its strength and prepares for the final battles to win the war in Europe. The 442nd soldiers dub this the “Champagne Campaign.”
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

442nd RCT Sent to Mainland

The 2,686 volunteers from Hawaii for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team are sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, for training. Over 100 have fathers in internment camps. They sail on the S.S. Lurline for Oakland, California, where they board three trains that will take separate routes to Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

522nd FA Bn Enters Combat in Germany

522nd Field Artillery Battalion is detached from the 442nd RCT to fight in the Central Europe Campaign; it is the only Nisei unit in combat in Germany. They convoy by truck departing March 9, 619 miles north to reach the front lines on the German border. On March 13 they fire their first rounds in support of the attack to breach the Seigfried Line. By March 26 they are firing in support of the 45th Division crossing of the Rhine River.
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

522nd FA Bn Liberates French POWs

On April 30 the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion liberates a large number of French Army soldiers and captures their German Army prisoner of war guards near Moerlbach, Germany. It is likely that these French soldiers were captured in the failed attack on Moerlbach on 1-2 March 1945 by the 1st French Army Group.
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

Call for Volunteers for the 442nd

The War Department plans for the 442nd RCT call for 4,000 men, 1,500 to come from Hawaii and 2,500 from the Mainland concentration camps where the west coast AJA families have been imprisoned. However, the expectation from the concentration camps is not met and the quota from Hawaii is increased. 10,000 volunteer in Hawaii and 2,686 are enlisted beginning Mar 23, 1943. They are sent to Schofield Barracks on Oahu island to organize and prepare for shipment to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to be trained as a combat-ready regiment.

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Acceptance & Opportunity 1945 - Today

President Truman Awards 442nd

President Harry S. Truman presents the Presidential Unit Citation to the 442nd RCT. Awarded for its battle to break through the vaunted Nazi Gothic Line in the rugged North Apennine Mountains of Italy, this is the 7th PUC garnered by the 100/442nd. His words echo over America: “You fought not only the enemy, you fought prejudice–and you won. Keep up that fight, and we will continue to win–to make this great Republic stand for just what the Constitution says it stands for: the welfare of all the people all the time.”
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Sacrifice 1943 - 1945

VE Day – Victory in Europe

Germany surrenders all forces unconditionally in Reims, France, on May 7. Victory in Europe is declared the next day, May 8. The 442nd in Italy becomes part of the occupation force, ultimately stationed in Livorno. In Germany, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion also transitions to occupation duty. It is assigned responsibility for a district in Bavaria and headquartered in Donauwörth.
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