By: @thecontraire.bsky.social / A Road Back: In Exile and Out of Exile
💡 Appreciation for Thought & Script
“When you’re a child, you’re the center of everything. Everything happens for you. Other people? They’re only ghosts, furnished for you to talk to. But when you grow up, you take your place; and your own size and shape. Things go out of you to others and come in from other people. It’s worse; but it’s much better too.” — John Steinbeck, East of Eden
💐 Appreciation for the Art & Expression
🗿 Appreciation for Forgotten Heroes & Underrated Historical Cornerstones
Background
Earlier this week, I received an email from a relative. As part of the Trump Administration’s assault on DEI and wokeness, the Army website had taken down an article about the history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Shortly after public outcry, the article appears to have been republished to a different military website, just yesterday (March 15, 2025).
Article Summary
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was the most decorated unit of its size in U.S. military history, with approximately 14,000 Nisei (American-born sons of Japanese immigrants) serving and earning 9,486 Purple Hearts, 21 Medals of Honor, and eight Presidential Unit Citations. Activated in 1943, the unit consisted mostly of volunteers from Hawaii and mainland Japanese internment camps, despite facing discrimination at home.
Nicknamed “Go for Broke,” the 442nd trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and deployed to Europe in 1944. They fought in Italy, joining the 100th Infantry Battalion, and later participated in the invasion of Southern France. In the Vosges Mountains, they liberated towns and famously rescued the “Lost Battalion” of the 36th Infantry Division. Their heroic efforts earned multiple unit citations.
In 1945, the 442nd helped drive German forces out of Northern Italy, fighting alongside the all-African American 92nd Infantry Division. Pfc. Sadao Munemori received a posthumous Medal of Honor for his bravery. After the war, the 442nd was deactivated in 1946, but its legacy endures through the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry (Army Reserve), preserving its remarkable history of valor and sacrifice.
Go to full article: https://www.army.mil/article/283793
Visit the Sons & Daughters of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team Website