HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

206

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

CONGRATULATING THE UNITED STATES ARMY 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM ON ITS SEVENTY-YEAR ANNIVERSARY.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the UNITED STATES ARMY 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM was an infantry regiment comprised of Americans of Japanese ancestry and was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service, in the entire history of the United States military; and

 

     WHEREAS, soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, all Japanese Americans were reclassified to 4C, enemy alien status, and were not allowed to enlist in the United States military; and

 

     WHEREAS, in February of 1943, President Roosevelt and the War Department decided to allow these citizens to fight for their country, as volunteers, in an all Japanese American regiment; and

 

     WHEREAS, approximately 3,000 volunteers from Hawaii and 1,500 from the mainland stepped forward without hesitation to serve their country and assembled for training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi, where they trained in the surrounding hills and swamps, before joining the 100th Infantry Battalion for combat duty in Naples, Italy, a year later; and

 

                WHEREAS, the troops of the UNITED STATES ARMY 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM fought eight major campaigns in Italy, France, and Germany, including battles at Belmont, Bruyeres, and Biffontaine; and

 

     WHEREAS, at Biffontaine, the UNITED STATES ARMY 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM fought its most famous battle, the "Rescue of the Lost Battalion", in which it lost more than 800 troops, while rescuing 211 members from the Texas 1ST Battalion of the 141ST Regiment; and

 

     WHEREAS, in less than two years of combat, the UNITED STATES ARMY 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM earned more than 18,000 individual decorations, including one Medal of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Silver Stars with 28 Oak Leaf Clusters to the Silver Star, 4,000 Bronze Stars with 1,200 Oak Leaf Clusters to the Bronze Star, 9,486 Purple Hearts, and seven Presidential Unit Citations, the nation's top award for combat units; and

 

     WHEREAS, in June 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded an additional 20 Medals of Honor to members of the UNITED STATES ARMY 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM and the 100TH Battalion, as a result of a re-examination of dozens of Japanese American soldiers' files, to see if any of them were denied awards because of possible prejudice; and

 

            WHEREAS, one of these recipients was Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii's former United States Senator, whose right arm was shattered by a grenade while successfully destroying three German machine gun nests; and

 

                WHEREAS, the people of the State of Hawaii are proud to recognize the UNITED STATES ARMY 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM on its seventy-year anniversary for their tremendous valor, sacrifices, and contributions, and for exemplifying the true meaning of being loyal Americans, despite the enormous hardships they faced; now, therefore,
     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that this body hereby commends and congratulates the UNITED STATES ARMY 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM and extends to them its warmest aloha and appreciation on the occasion of their seventy-year anniversary.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Congratulating the United States Army 442ND Regimental Combat Team on its Seventy-Year Anniversary.