The 442nd Regimental Combat Team: Most Decorated Unit in US History

The 442nd was composed almost entirely of Japanese-American soldiers, many of whose families were held in internment camps on American soil while they fought in Europe. They fought in North Africa, Italy, and southern France, becoming the most decorated unit for their size and length of service in US military history. They earned 21 Medals of Honor and over 18,000 individual decorations. Their motto was 'Go For Broke.' When rescuing the 'Lost Battalion' (1st Battalion, 141st Infantry from Texas) in October 1944, the 442nd suffered over 800 casualties in five days of brutal fighting in the Vosges Mountains to rescue 211 trapped Texans. The Japanese-American soldiers literally fought through a forest of German machine guns, artillery, and sniper nests to reach the surrounded Americans. When they finally broke through, one of the Texans yelled to a 442nd soldier: 'Who are you guys?' The reply: 'We're from the 442nd! The lost battalion is found!'