With the 4th of July coming up, I found it relevant to potentially remind readers of the valiant efforts of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team that bravely served in WWII. The unit was almost entirely composed of Japanese-Americans, who wanted to show their fellow countrymen that these soldiers - as well as their families and friends - could be trusted to be loyal American citizens. Indeed, many Japanese-Americans had been sent to the camps without due process, and while Japan was an axis power at the time, not nearly as many German-Americans nor Italian-Americans were subjected to these conditions, if at all.

Today, the 442nd is known as the most decorated unit in American military history, including over 4,000 Purple Hearts and 21 Medals of Honor. Arguably, one of the more well-known members of the 442nd was the late former senator Daniel Inouye, who eventually reached the status of president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate. This unit even has its own day of national commemoration: April 5th, which was when the 442nd's first Medal of Honor recipient, Sadao Munemori, was killed in action while fighting in Italy in 1945. The name for this day comes from the 442nd's motto: "Go For Broke."

Max Ian Engle

East Lyme