100th Infantry Battalion (United States)
The 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry is the only remaining combat arms unit in the U.S. Army Reserve, the other units in the Army Reserve being combat support or combat service support.
Historically, the unit is referred to as the "Purple Heart Battalion", with the motto "Go For Broke". One of the most famous members of this unit was U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye who was part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He lost his arm from wounds sustained in combat.
History of the 100th Battalion
The 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate)—known as the "One-Puka-Puka" (Puka means "hole" in Hawaiian) -- was activated on June 12, 1942, a force of over 1,400 predominantly Nisei (Second Generation Americans of Japanese Ancestry), led by a handful of "haole" (Caucasian) officers. The troops were from the Territory of Hawaii, which led to many pidgin phrases becoming common in the Battalion and in the subsequently-formed 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
Currently serving Nisei had been removed from service in Hawaiian territorial and police units following the Pearl Harbor attack, but the Hawaiian Military Governor Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons chose not to use his option of deporting those of Japanese descent for internment on the mainland. Soon, he had been petitioned by the Nisei eager to return to military service to defend their homeland. This eventually resulted in the formation of the 100th Battalion. The battalion commander and some of the company-grade officers were Caucasian; most of its officers and enlisted men were Nisei, but the unit included men of Korean descent as well.
The unit number was an indication of the Army's recently formulated plan for a modern organization for the Combat Arms. Under normal pre-war Army procedures, all Infantry battalions were organic to the Regiment they were a part of, and were known as, for instance, "1st Battalion, 5th Regiment." With the new system of organization, the Infantry Regiment was reorganized as a Headquarters with no Organic battalions, but with three Separate Battalions attached. The Headquarters was organized into three Combat Commands that could be dispatched on separate combat actions with units that were attached. One Infantry Battalion would be assigned to a Combat Command, with attachments from the higher headquarters reserve.
After training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, and Camp Shelby, Mississippi, the battalion was ready to deploy, but was refused by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. General Mark Clark, commanding the Fifth Army, accepted the offer, and the One-Puka-Puka deployed to the Mediterranean in August 1943.
Fifth Army attached the battalion to the 34th Infantry Division. The unit entered combat on September 27, 1943, near Salerno in Southern Italy. The battalion fought well and took heavy casualties, leading Clark to tell the Army "Send me all you got!"
Impressed with the valor of the Nisei (including six awards of the Distinguished Service Cross in the first eight weeks of combat), the War Department recommended that more Nisei volunteers be sought, from both Hawaii and the mainland relocation camps, to form the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), activated on 1 February 1943, also to be sent to Italy. The 100th and 442nd were assigned to fight alongside each other.
The 100th Battalion fought at Cassino in January, 1944, and later accompanied the 34th Infantry Division to Anzio. In May and June, 1944 the battalion, joined by the 442d RCT, helped break out from Anzio and push the Germans north of Rome. The battalion was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) redesignated the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) for its actions on June 26–27.
On August 10, 1944, the 100th Battalion formally became part of the 442d RCT, for the final nine months of the War in Europe. The 442d RCT was demobilized and deactivated in August, 1946, leaving their honors, lineage and traditions to the 100th Battalion from which many had been inherited two years before. This lineage and these honors continue to be preserved by the 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry (US Army Reserve).
A nationwide campaign to urge the U.S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp to honor the contributions of the Japanese American soldiers of World War II was begun in 2006 in California. The Postal Service decision is p
Lineage
 Constituted 1942-06-04 in the Army of the United States as the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate)
Activated 1942-06-12 at Oakland, California, with personnel from the Hawaiian Provisional Infantry Battalion
Reorganized and redesignated 1943-11-25 as the 100th Infantry Battalion, Separate
Reorganized and redesignated 1944-08-10 as the 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry Regiment
Inactivated 1946-08-15 at Honolulu, Hawaii
Allotted 1947-03-27 to the Organized Reserves
Activated 1947-07-31 with Headquarters at Fort DeRussy, Hawaii
Organized Reserves redesignated 1948-03-25 as the Organized Reserve Corps;
Organized Reserve Corps redesignated 1952-07-09 as the Army Reserve
Reorganized and redesignated 1959-05-29 as the 100th Battle Group, 442d Infantry
Reorganized and redesignated 1964-05-01 as the 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry
Ordered into active military service 1968-05-13 at Fort DeRussy, Hawaii;
Released from active military service 1969-12-12 and reverted to reserve status
Location of Headquarters changed 1994-09-01 to Fort Shafter, Hawaii
Ordered into active military service 2004-08-16 at Fort Shafter, Hawaii
Redesignated 2005-10-01 as the 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry Regiment
Released from active military service 2006-03-13 and reverted to reserve status
Campaign Participation Credit
World War II:
* Naples-Foggia;
* Anzio;
* Rome-Arno;
* North Apennines;
* Rhineland;
* Po Valley
War on Terrorism:
* Iraq
Decorations
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for BELVEDERE
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for BIFFONTAINE
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for FRANCE AND ITALY
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for GOTHIC LINE
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for IRAQ 2005-2006
See also
442nd Regimental Combat Team
Go For Broke! This film dramatizes the lives and wartime heroics of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion's Hawaiian troops. The film stars Van Johnson as a young officer, reluctant about his assignment to the 442nd. He comes to respect the Nisei troops, eventually contesting a transfer back to his original Texas unit.
Go For Broke Monument
Japanese American internment
Manzanar
Young-Oak Kim
Only the Brave (2005), an independent film directed by Lane Nishikawa, which is a fictional account of the rescue of the Lost Battalion.
External links
World War II photographs of the 100th Infantry Battalion
U.S. Army page on the activation the 100th Infantry Battalion
The Go For Broke Educational Foundation's historical page on the 100th Infantry Battalion
The "Home of Heroes" website about the 100th Infantry Battalion
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