[TrudyM]

My heroes are those who served in the all-Japanese 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion during World War II.

Nesei, or second-generation Japanese Americans, forced from their homes and incarcerated in internment camps, accused of disloyalty toward the American government, yet guilty of nothing but their Japanese heritage who signed up to fight as soon as they were allowed to serve.

They lost everything and fought bravely even though their families were still in the camps. They taught their families not to be bitter and not to hate, that it was fear, ignorance and fate that had changed their lives.

As a military unit, their record in North Africa and Europe was extraordinary. After almost two years of fighting, the 100th/442nd emerged from the war the most highly decorated unit in U.S. military history