The 100th Battalion, 442d Regimental Team cited in War Department General Orders 78, 12 September 1945:
The 100th Battalion, 442d Regimental Team, is cited for outstanding accomplishment in combat during the period 15 to 30 October 1944, near Bruyeres, Biffontaine, and in the Foret Domaniale de Champ, France. During a series of actions that played a telling part in the 442d Regimental Team's operation which spearheaded a divisional attack on the Seventh Army front, this unit displayed extraordinary courage, endurance, and soldierly skill. Jumping off in the attack on the morning of 15 October 1944, the 100th Battalion fought an almost continuous 4-day firelight in freezing and rainy weather. through jungle-like forests, to wrest the strongly fortified Hill A, dominating Bruyeres, from a fanatically resisting enemy. When, during the course of the attack, the progress of an assault company was delayed by a strong point consisting of 50 enemy riflemen and an SP gun, a second company of the battalion swept in on the enemy force from the flank and completely routed it. To attack Hill A proper, the battalion was forced to cross 150 yards of open terrain covered by seven enemy machine guns and heavy automatic weapon fire. Following an artillery barrage, limited because a draw lay between the two high hills, the battalion, with one company acting as a base of fire, launched a frontal attack. Covered by friendly tank fire, waves of platoon after platoon zigzagged across the open field into a hail of hostile fire. So skillfully coordinated was the attack that the strongly fortified hostile positions were completely overrun, numerous casualties were inflicted on the enemy, and the capture of the town was assured. During the 3-day operation, beginning on 21 October 1944, that resulted in the capture of Biffontaine, the 100th Battalion fought 2 miles into enemy territory as a self-contained task force. On the third day of the attack, the battalion launched an assault to capture the isolated town. In the first surprise onslaught the battalion captured large quantities of supplies and ammunition which it turned against the enemy. Counterattacking enemy troops and tanks approached and fired point-blank into their positions. Shouting defiance in the face of demands for surrender, the men of the 100th Battalion fired their rifles and threw captured hand grenades at the enemy tanks. Bitter fighting at close range resulted in the capture of the entire town. During this action the battalion captured 40 prisoners, killed or wounded 40 of the enemy, and destroyed or captured large quantities of ammunition and enemy materiel. On 27 October 1944 the 100th Battalion was again committed to the attack. Going to the rescue of the "lost battalion,'' 141st Infantry Regiment, it fought without respite for 4 days against a fanatical enemy that was determined to keep the "lost battalion" isolated and force its surrender. Impelled by the urgency of its mission, the battalion fought forward, risking encirclement as slower moving units left its flanks exposed. Fighting yard by yard through a minefield the battalion was stopped by an enemy strong point on the high ground which he had made the key to his defense. As the terrain precluded a flanking movement, the battalion was forced to the only alternative of a frontal attack against a strongly entrenched enemy. Attacking in waves of squads and platoons, and firing from the hip as they closed in to grenade range, the valiant men of the 110th Battalion reduced the enemy defense lines within a few hours. Between 50 and 60 enemy dead were found at their automatic weapon emplacements and dugouts. On the fourth day, although exhausted and reduced through casualties to about half its normal strength, the battalion fought doggedly forward against strong enemy small-arms and mortar fire until it contacted the isolated unit.
The extraordinary heroism, daring determination, and esprit de Corps displayed by the men of the 100 Battalion. 442d Regimental Team, during these actions live as an inspiration and add glory to the highest traditions of the armed forces of the United States.
(General Orders 360, Headquarters Seventh Army, 3 August 1945, as approved by the Commanding General European Theater (Main).)
The Nisei performed honorably, loyally and bravely, but they were assigned combat roles in Africa and Europe, not the Pacific.
Recent events seem to demonstrate a need for a return to a more prudent policy.