Ambassadors in Arms: The Story of Hawaii's 100th Battalion Hardcover by Murphy

By Thomas D. Murphy

Hawaii's 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) was the first U.S. Army combat unit composed of Americans of Japanese ancestry. Its original members were inducted before Dec. 7, 1941. Sometimes called the Purple Heart Battalion, the 100th established itself as one of the most decorated units in the history of the U.S. Army. The 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate) was activated on 12 June 1942, composed of more than 1,400 American-born Japanese called "Nisei" (NEE-say), or second generation. The War Department had removed them from Hawaii out of fear of renewed Japanese attacks. The War Department had also stopped accepting Nisei for military service. The battalion commander and some of the company-grade officers were Caucasian; the rest of its officers and enlisted men were Nisei. After training at Camp McCoy, Wisc., and Camp Shelby, Missippi, the battalion deployed to the Mediterranean in August 1943. The unit entered combat on 27 September 1943, near Salerno in Southern Italy. The battalion fought well and took heavy casualties. Impressed with the valor of the Hawaiian Nisei (including six awards of the Distinguished Service Cross in the first eight weeks of combat), the War Department recommended that more Nisei be recruited for an all-volunteer Nisei combat unit.