Famed 100/442 took out Germany's best
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By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Led by the seasoned 100th Battalion, on the first day the 442nd Regimental Combat Team saw action — at Belvedere, Italy, on June 26, 1944 — the regiment destroyed the Third Reich's entire Herman Goering combat battalion, considered the best Germany could muster.
This stunning accomplishment began the story of how the legendary "Go For Broke" 100/442 made military history while dispelling doubts once and for all about the loyalty of Americans of Japanese ancestry in World War II. The unit won about 10,000 purple hearts and 18,000 individual citations.
The 60th anniversary reunion of the famed 442nd begins tomorrow in Waikiki and runs through Sunday.
Scheduled events
- Friday: Reunion, USS Missouri tour, history workshops, welcome reception.
- Saturday: Memorial service 9 a.m. National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl); USS Missouri premiere of "Daniel K. Inouye: An American Story," 5:30 p.m., $150 per ticket for Missouri restoration, information: 455-1600, ext. 223.
- Sunday: Reunion banquet, Sheraton Waikiki, registration, sales, entertainment from 9 a.m., luncheon 12:10 p.m. with tribute to and remarks by U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye.
For more information, call the 442nd Veteran's Club at 949-7997.
