The First Published History The Highest Decorated Unit of the U.S Military, the 442nd Combat Team of Japanese American Troops in WWII with Several Photos Of a Japanese American soldier

Japanese-Americans, 442nd Combat Team

Archive

The Story of the 442nd Combat Team Composed of 442nd Infantry Regiment, 522nd Filed Artillery Battalion, 232nd Combat Engineer Company. 1945, Italy. "Eduacation Section, MTOUSA, 1945." Original blue wrappers, stapled. 43 pages and folding map. The first published history of Nisei troops in World War II, issued by the famed Japanese-American unit in 1945. The 442nd was the most highly decorated military unit in the history of the United States Armed Forces, with twenty-one Medal of Honor recipients and 9,486 Purple Hearts. Their motto, which has since become famous and synonymous with the unit, was "Go for Broke!" the 42nd combat team fought with uncommon distinction in Italy, Germany, and Southern France. The present work was compiled by the members of the 442nd Combat Team themselves, and includes a history of the unit from "Activation and Training" through their service in Italy, including Rome, the Arno, the Battle of Bruyeres, and their return to Italy, where they helped bring about the end of the Wehrmacht. The last chapter is entitled, "The Forgotten Men," and celebrates the soldiers normally left out of military awards recognition, such as medics, wire crews, engineers, supply sections, and others. This section ends with a tally of the 1,002 decorations earned by the 442nd, as of August 7, 1945. The folding map shows the route of the combat team at the Battle of Bruyeres in 1944 and during Task Force Fukuda in April 1945. An n uncommon and important contemporary account of Wold War II and the history of Japanese Americans in combat, most of whom had families in internment camps at the time they were fighting for their own country, the United States. Soft vertical crease throughout, minor edgewear. Minor toning inside. Comes with a photo a Japanese-American soldier from WWII with 4 additional pictures post-war. The 5 pictures span from 1943 to 1960 and measure 5.5" x 3.5" to 2.5" x 4" - one photograph of the Japanese American soldier in U.S Army uniform posing in front of an army truck while in service in W.W.II. He writes on the photograph "from somewhere still in England - Franny Nov. 1943" -Ffollowing the Pearl Harbor attack, the US military stopped accepting all Japanese-American recruits in addition to sending civilian Japanese and Japanese-Americans to internment camps, however, there were still thousands whom had already enlisted such as this man. Other photos take place after the war and depict everyday life; he's sitting in a living room wearing a nice suit next to presumably his wife donning a kimono. Another photo from 1946 shows unidentified men shearing sheep. Japanese-Americans endured intense prejudice and persecution following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and many Japanese-Americans faced exclusion regardless of patriotically fighting for their country. All items in very good condition. Very scarce.

Item #18685

Price: $3,800.00