Presidential Unit Citation Is Given
to Company L of
442nd In Ceremonies After V-E Day
WITH
THE FIFTH ARMY, Italy—Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr., Fifth Army commander,
recently flew from his headquarters to Novi, Italy, to review the Victory Parade
of the 442nd Japanese American Combat Team, and to decorate one of its units and
123 of its heroes.
The veteran troops of 2 campaigns stood at
attention in massed formation at the Novi Airport as General Truscott arrived.
He was received by Major General Edward M. Almond,
Commanding General of the 92nd "Buffalo" Division, and Colonel Virgil
R. Miller, Commanding Officer of the 442nd Combat Team.
Behind the reviewing officers flew General
Truscott'e 3-star red flag and General Almond's 2-star flag. For the first
time in the history of the organization, all the jeeps, trucks, anti-tank guns and
howitzers, pulled by their prime movers, followed the men and passed in review.
Three abreast, with the assistant drivers sitting arms folded before their chests,
102 vehicles, 15 anti-tank guns and 6 Cannon Company howitzers, the motor
might of the Combat Team, passed in review.
In the course of the Awards Ceremony,
which was a part of the Victory Parade, 123 individual decorations and 1 Presidential
Distinguished Unit Citation were presented.
In a Divisional Letter of Commendation on
the fighting spirit of the Japanese American doughboys, who sparked the Fifth Army's
spring offensive up the Ligurian Coast sector, which was read to the troops, General
Almond said:
"The performance
by units and by individuals has been a magnificent example of speed,' drive and
endurance in combat against an enemy entrenched in most difficult terrain and
employing every known device of modern combat.
"The task assigned your regiment was a most difficult one.
The endurance, stamina and courage of the individuals of this regiment under these
difficult conditions deserve the highest commendation. This has been accorded by
the Army Commander, Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr., to which I add my
sincere thanks and appreciation for your splendid service to the Nation, the
United States Army, and, in particular, to the 92nd Infantry Division."
General Truscott presented 3 Distinguished Service Crosses,
one Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation, two Legion of Merit Medals and 21
Silver Stars. General Almond awarded 94 Bronze Stars and 3 Division
Commendations. The occasion held special significance to 1 of the men who was
given a Silver Star.
Corporal George Morishita, Del Ray, Cal., of
3rd Battalion Headquarters, served under General Truscott, then a Colonel, at
Camp Bliss, Texas, in 1942. At that time Truscott commanded the "Fighting"
5th Cavalry Regiment of the Ist Cavalry Division.
"I received a big thrill,"
Morishita said, "but I was too flabbergasted to call it to his attention when
he was giving me the medal."
Other men of the 442nd Combat Team who served
under Truscott at Camp Bliss and fought under him as part of the Fifth Army in crushing
all German resistance in Italy are:
Corporal
Frank Yano, San Francisco, of the Medical Detachment;
Corporal
Yoshio Oshiki, Hawthorne, Cal., of Cannon Company;
Technical
Sergeant Makoto Mochizuki, Torrance, Cal., of 3rd Battalion Headquarters;
Staff Sergeant Kay K. Kashiwabara, Penryn, Cal., of Company X, who was wounded in
action and is now back in the states;
Staff Sgt George Eto, Gardena, Cal., of the 206th Army Ground Force Band of the 442nd (family incarcerated at Poston), and
Sgt Kazuo Kunishige, Reedley, Cal., of Company G (family incarcerated at Poston).
Both General Truscott and General Almond
were happily greeted by the Italians who watched the Victory Parade. Less than
a month had passed since they had been liberated
by the men under the command of these officers.
The men and the unit to be decorated were presented
by Lieutenant Colonel James M. Hanley of Mandan, N. D., Executive Officer of
the 442nd. Colonel Hanley led the troops in the parade.
General
Truscott fastened a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation streamer to Company
L's guidon, which was dipped by its bearer, Private First Class George M. Hata
of Gresham, Ore.
First Lieutenant Roger Smith, Monroe
County, Rush, N. Y., Commanding Officer of
the company, accepted on behalf of his men. General Truscott pinned the gold- rimmed
blue ribbon on Lieutenant Smith. More than 200 men of Company L received
the Unit Badge.
Company
L, together with Company F, composed the Task Force O'Connor, which with brilliant
conception and execution destroyed a German main line of resistance east of Bruyeres,
eastern France, during the 442nd Japanese American Combat Team's drive while attached
to the 36th "Texas" Division.
The Task Force for distinguishing itself in the action, was
signally honored by being awarded the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation.
Company F was decorated at a 2nd Battalion Ceremony held at Antibes on the
French Riviera shortly before the 442nd Combat Team moved to Italy.
The 2nd Battalion was unable to attend the Victory Parade and
Awards Ceremony, as it was on special duty at Cuneo near the France-Italian border,
100 miles away.
The Fifth Army's commanding general also presented 3
Distinguished Service Crosses, 2 of them posthumously, for extraordinary Heroism
in Action.
Private First Class Matsuichi Yogi, Company X bazooka man from Waipahu, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii,
gave his life in aiding the 442nd Combat Team effect the Rescue of the
"Lost Battalion" of this war, a 86th Division Unit, in the Vosges Mountains
of eastern France.
Sergeant
Larry T. Tanimoto, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, Company I squad sergeant,
was killed as he dueled with an enemy machine gun while he walked toward it.
By his extraordinary heroism he saved the lives of his wounded scout and the
members of his combat patrol, which had been pinned down by the German weapon.
General Truscott pinned the Distinguished Service
Cross on Staff Sergeant Fujio Miyamoto, Honolulu, T. H., squad leader of Company
K. Sergeant Miyamoto destroyed an enemy machine gun and killed six snipers in the
course of an extremely bitter and dangerous 2-hour fire fight.
General Truscott also presented Legion of
Merit Medals to Lieutenant Colonel James M. Hanley of Mandan, N. D., and to Colonel
Virgil R. Miller of Winneconne, Wis.
Twenty-one
officers and enlisted men were presented Silver Stars by the General.
The Presentation Ceremony was concluded with the playing
of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by the 206th Army Ground Forces Band of
the 442nd Combat Team.
The entire unit, men and mechanized units,
led by Colonel Hanley, then passed in review before General Truscott, General Almond,
Colonel Miller, Colonel James Notestein, Commanding Officer of the 371st Infantry
Regiment, and Colonel John Armstrong, Commanding Officer of the 365th Infantry Regiment.
Led by the 206th Band, the veteran troops marched
by the reviewing stand. Then the 442nd jeeps, trucks, anti-tank guns and
howitzers followed.
Source: Pacific Citizen June 9,
1945, p.3
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