HANAPEPE — They had no one to “watch their backs.” They were considered the enemy following the days after the Pearl Harbor attack, said Capt. Aaron Cudnohufsky, the commanding officer at Pacific Missile Range Facility at Mana. But they were
HANAPEPE — They had no one to “watch their backs.”
They were considered the enemy following the days after the Pearl Harbor attack, said Capt. Aaron Cudnohufsky, the commanding officer at Pacific Missile Range Facility at Mana. But they were angered by the actions of their homeland and through their actions, showed the world “what they were made of.”
Cudnohufsky, the featured speaker at the Annual 100th Btn Memorial Service at the Hanapepe Veterans Cemetery, said the 100th Infantry Battalion was born of these seeds and had no one to cover their backs when they left for action in Italy.
Activated in June, 1943, the battalion was composed of more than 1,300 American-born Japanese from Hawai‘i, and following training at Camp McCoy and Camp Shelby, the unit was deployed to the Mediterranenan in August 1943.
The unit was in combat near Salerno, Italy, and fought well, but took heavy casualties.
The War Department was impressed with the valor demonstrated by the Hawaiian Nisei, states the United States Army Web site, noting the unit earned six awards of the Distinguished Service Cross in the first eight weeks of combat.
Impressed with this show of courage and valor, the War Department recommended that more Nisei be recruited for an all-volunteer Nisei combat
unit, giving birth to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team that was activated on Feb. 1, 1943.
The 100th Battalion was eventually put together with the 442nd unit and together liberated Bruyeres and Biffontaine. They also rescued a “lost battalion” that had become cut off from the 36th Division four miles behind enemy lines.
Surrounded by 6,000 German soldiers, the 100th battled on and received its second Distinguished Unit Citation.
“We owe much to them, then, and we owe much to them, now,” Cudnohufsky said, pointing out that in the Iraq conflict, four of the 100th Battalion soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Cudnohufsky said the nation’s gratitude and support for the work done by the 100th Battalion would never let them be forgotten.
“They showed great honor, forging ahead without looking back on how they were treated,” Cudnohufsky said. “They fought on without their backs being covered.”
There are only 11 known veterans surviving on Kaua‘i, three of whom could not make the service that coincides with the Sunday closest to Sept. 26, the date the unit suffered its first killed in action.
Thomas Arakaki, Jack Hada, Seichi Hoashi, Bunkichi Matsuyoshi, Fusetsu Miyazaki, Muggsy Morikawa, and Monty Kazuma Nishie each returned a smart salute to a Waimea High School Junior ROTC cadet who presented them lei in recognition of their honor and courage.
Ken Morikawa, the son of veteran Muggsy Morikawa, read the names of former 100th Battalion veterans who have passed on, inviting members of the audience to step forward to pin a flower on a memorial wreath.
Ken’s voice was loud, strong, and steady as he read each of 34 names, pausing while family members and relatives stepped forward to pin a rose on the wreath.
When completed, the family of Alan Horikawa and Kevin Yamase, representing veterans Shigeki Horikawa and Rokuro Yamase, respectively, made the presentation of wreaths, laying them at the base of the central flagpole at the veterans cemetery.
This triggered the Kaua‘i Veterans Council rifle squad into action followed by the echoing notes of “Taps” wafting in the brisk Hanapepe trades.
Throughout the morning, it was a time for remembering and reflecting for the seven veterans of the 100th Battalion.
They smiled. They gripped the hands of well-wishers, many from other military units, as well as Capt. Cudnohufsky and his wife Laura.
And they remembered their comrades while they shared the morning in the warm Hanapepe sun.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
