In the autumn of 1944 in the Vosges Mountains of France, the 442nd spent two of the bloodiest weeks of World War II trying to save 275 Texans trapped behind fortified German lines, cut off from food, water, ammunition and medical support.

Two who were part of the rescue paused this week to give overlapping accounts of that mission impossible and what it meant for them.

For U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, 78, it would be the chance to prove once and for all that Japanese Americans were "just as good" as their neighbors. He and the others were well-aware that the effort would be costly.

"I think many of us concluded that this was the battle we had been waiting for — that 'this is the one that will make the difference,' " Inouye, D-Hawai'i, said yesterday from Washington.

"For one thing, we sensed that we were somehow expendable. We were grossly outnumbered. But if we accomplished the impossible act, no one would again call us a 'Jap.' "

For Ed Ichiyama, 79, of Diamond Head, talk of the battle unleashed a flood of bittersweet memories of Goro Matsumoto, an admired friend who enlisted for the 442nd on the same February day in 1943 as Ichiyama and two other friends, Isamu Minatodani and Tedsuo Ito.

All four men were working at a Honolulu shipyard repairing P.T. boats for the Navy when the call went out for Japanese Americans to volunteer for the all-Nisei combat unit.

Matsumoto, a journeyman shipwright who was a half dozen years older than the other three, made the suggestion.

"He said, 'All of us will have to volunteer for the 442,' " Ichiyama recalled. "I said, 'Goro, you're in a critical defense position as a shipwright, and they need people like you. So, let us kids volunteer, and you stay.' "

Matsumoto wouldn't hear of it. After training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi, Matsumoto was assigned to infantry while Ichiyama was assigned to artillery.

"That's where we parted company," Ichiyama said. "... Even though we were in the same regimental unit, infantry goes one way and artillery goes another."

Ed Ichiyama of Honolulu served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during WWII. He stands near a 442nd memorial in Waikiki. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Inouye, Ichiyama and the others of the 442nd were being driven by the sting of what Inouye called "the slap in the face" from the federal government, which after Pearl Harbor had classified all Japanese Americans as "enemy aliens." As such, they were deemed unfit to be soldiers.

Only an executive order by President Franklin D. Roosevelt permitted them to put on a uniform and fight for their country.

In the cold, dark Vosges Mountains in October 1944, came the battle that tested their fortitude.

Ichiyama recalled a chance encounter in the midst of it all:

"Before the final push up the hill, lo and behold, I meet Goro in the forest. I was so happy to see him, I said, 'Hi, Goro!'

"Instead of being happy, he bawled me out. 'What the heck you doing up front? You don't know how to fight!' he said. 'You're in artillery, you stupid kid!'

"I said, 'But I'm a forward observer, and it's my turn to come up.' "

Matsumoto then told Ichiyama to be careful, and moved out. Later that day, Matsumoto was killed. Minatodani died in battle the day before. Ito hadn't made it to the forest. He'd been killed in Italy in July.

"I was the only one who came home," Ichiyama said.

When the fighting was done and the Germans on the hill surrendered on Oct. 30, the 442nd had suffered 814 casualties to save 217 men.

Like Ichiyama, Inouye survived to fight again.

On April 21, 1945, Inouye led an infantry platoon through a hail of German machine-gun fire after taking a bullet in the gut that came out of his back. Then, losing his right arm to a rifle grenade, Inouye lobbed one last grenade with his left hand and continued returning fire until he was shot again and knocked down the hill.

"If I had it all to do over again, I would not hesitate," Inouye said. "I would just do the same thing."

Inouye and other members of Hawai'i's legendary 442nd were among 22 Asian and Pacific Island Americans awarded the Medal of Honor in June 2000 for their bravery during World War II. They received the nation's highest honor for valor after a 1996 federal law authored by U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, forced Army historians to re-evaluate the cases of Asian and Pacific Island Americans.

Earlier this week, Ichiyama visited National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and stood solemnly before grave No. 483, Section D:

"Goro Matsumoto; Sgt. 442 Infantry; World War II; Dec. 6, 1918 — Oct. 29, 1944."

Ichiyama has wondered many times why he lived and his friends did not. He has no answer. But he does know that every day since the war he has been grateful to be alive.

"I owe Goro a lot," he said. "I've learned to appreciate."