After the attack on Pearl Harbor he volunteered for the US Army but was denied, being labelled an "enemy alien" despite being born and raised in California. When he was finally able to enlist in 1944 he was sent to France with a segregated platoon. Following a violent battle that left his platoon leader dead, he took control and was credited with single-handedly preventing an attack and neutralizing an enemy squad. During that battle he was wounded by shrapnel and medically discharged and sent back to the US. In an interview I read last year he talked about getting out of the hospital and going into a restaurant where he was denied service because he was Japanese. He was recommended for the highest award for military heroism: The Medal of Honor, but, like many Japanese American soldiers he did not receive it. It wasn't until 2000, 56 years after he left the battlefield, that the decision was reversed and President Bill Clinton presented the then 79 year old with his medal of Honor saying; 'Rarely has a nation been so well served by a people it has so ill treated."
I wrote to him earlier this year and asked if he would be willing to add his autograph to my collection and he graciously obliged.
No comments:
Post a Comment