The 442nd would
prove themselves time and time again. Their
casualties were astounding and theirs would be
one of the most decorated units of the US Army
in World War Two.
On
June 30, 1941, Itmusu Sasaoka was inducted into
the US Army at Schofield Barracks, Oahu (serial no. 30101548). He trained
at Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Camp McCoy,
Wisconsin and Camp Shelby, Mississippi. He was assigned to the 298th
Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Battalion, 1st Battalion, Company
A.
S/Sgt Sasaoka was
a battle-hardened veteran of the campaigns in
North Africa and Italy when his unit was moved
to France in the summer of 1944.
After the breakout
from the Normandy beachhead, the Allied forces
had the Germans on the run. In October
1944, the 100th Battalion had been sent to France to
become the 1st battalion of the newly formed
442nd Regimental Combat Team. This new unit was
sent to the Vosges area to join the attack here.
The Germans meanwhile had set up strong
defensive positions in the Vosges.
On October 22, the
Battalion prepared an attack on Biffontaine.
Franz Steidl writes in Lost Battalions: "
On Sunday, 22 October, Rev. Hiro Higuchi held
services before the 2nd Battalion headed east
again. Christians and Buddhists prayed side by
side, reflecting on their own lives, mindful of
the irony inherent in fighting for a country
that kept their families in internment camps,
and stamped the Buddhists' dog tags as
"Protestant" as a matter of expediency.
Later that morning
Companies E and F engaged a company of German
bicycle troops who had infiltrated the Col de
Arnelle during the night. After a sharp
firefight, General Haeckel's men (the Germans)
cleared the field, leaving a number of dead and
six prisoners. And while the 3rd Battalion
mopped up pockets of resistance near Belmont,
the 100th Battalion established itself on the
high ground overlooking Biffontaine. Company B
had already cut the eastern approaches to the
village and shot up a German truck convoy, when
Grenadier Regiment 736 counterattacked. [...]
Soon firefights were raging on three sides of
the American Battalion, but the German thrust
was not strong enough to penetrate its defenses.
The protracted fighting left the Nisei short on
ammunition and water, and their medical
facilities overwhelmed with casualties.
To make the
matters worse, a supply column from Belmont was
ambushed in the hills just south of town. Lt.
David Novak’s infantry platoon, mounted on five light tanks,
made easy targets for the German machine guns.
The Americans lost three killed and several
wounded in the initial burst. As they tried to
turn, Lt Ray Gainey’s tank became mired in mud.
Staff Sgt Sasaoka, himself seriously wounded,
covered the withdrawal with stead stream of fire
from his gun. But as his tank lurched forward
and he fell off and was later listed as missing
in action."
Lyn Crost writes in Honor By
Fire:
"The 100th had advanced more than a mile from
the nearest friendly troops; the forest trail
over which it had come was patrolled by the
enemy, and Germans had tapped its phone line.
Ammunition was nearly exhausted and the men were
using captured German supplies. Water and food
couldn’t get through. An armored force carrying
water, food, and ammunition, with a platoon of
Nisei soldiers riding the tanks, fought to break
through German lines. It was ambushed by enemy
fire, but Sgt. Itsumu Sasaoka stayed on top of
his tank and kept firing his machine gun.
Critically wounded, he continued shooting until
the convoy passed the Germans. Then, weakened by
loss of blood, he fell from his perch. Although
the tanks were finally forced to retreat,
friends went back to search for Sasaoka. He was
never found."
This action is
also described in Ambassadors in Arms by
Thomas B. Murphy: "Pence
was becoming increasingly worried about the
100th. During the afternoon he sent an armored
task force down the soggy Belmont-Biffontaine
road to try to push through with rations, water,
and ammunition. Some soldiers of the Company A
platoon rode on the tanks, which soon ran into
Jerry small-arms fire. Sergeant Itsumu Sasaoka,
firing a machine gun atop one of the tanks, was
badly wounded but kept shooting until they had
pushed past the enemy fire. Then, weakened by
loss of blood, he fell to the ground. Later
reported missing in action, he was awarded a
DSC. The tanks struggled ahead a little
farther, but were finally stopped by a roadblock
defended by fifty Jerries. Some of the riflemen
tried to push on through the woods, but none
reached Biffontaine that day."
This episode was
written down by Orville C Shirey (S-3 Operations
Officer of the 3d Battalion 442d Regimental
Combat Team), in AMERICANS, The Story of The
442d Combat Team, as follows:
"At 0830 October
22 [1944] the 3d Battalion moved out with all
three rifle companies abreast, slowly flushing
the remaining Germans from cover. The terrain
was extremely rough and the troops were under
artillery fire from the front, left front, and
right flank. Meanwhile the 100th Battalion had
disposed its companies so that they held a
semicircular defensive position overlooking
Biffontaine from three sides. The enemy, seeing
the move, launched a counterattack supported by
artillery, "screaming meemies", and flak
gunfire. Firefights were soon raging on three
sides of the battalion, but the enemy had not
sufficient strength to make good his attack. The
100th was still in a critical position, however.
The troops had almost exhausted their ammunition
supply in beating off the attack; there was a
critical shortage of water, and evacuation
facilities for the wounded were very inadequate.
To combat the supply problem five light tanks
from Task Force Felber took off from Belmont
with a platoon of Company A [100th Bn] riding
outside. They carried ammunition and water and
were attempting to break through to the 100th by
way of the Belmont-Biffontaine road. No sooner
had the tanks gotten into the hills when they
were ambushed by an enemy force of fifty men
defending the road. The infantry platoon was
practically defenseless. The first burst of fire
killed three men and wounded several others. The
heroism of one of the wounded, Staff Sergeant
Itsumu Sasaoka, was the only thing saved the
others. Manning a machine gun on the rear tank
Sasaoka was badly hit in the first burst of
enemy fire. In spite of his wound he clung to
his gun and kept a steady stream of fire on the
enemy positions alongside the road, until all of
the tanks had passed the enemy positions. Then
weakened by his wound and unable to hang on any
longer, he fell from the lurching tank. He was
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross,
although missing in action. The tanks did not
complete their mission, being unable to
negotiate the steep terrain. The infantry and
some of the tank crews tried to make contact on
foot, but they were unable to locate the
battalion."
S/Sgt Sasaoka was
captured by the Germans. Later he was sighted at
a German POW camp (Stalag III). When the
Russians were about to liberate the camp, most
POW's were forced to march to the west and
another camp. This was one of the so-called
Death marches. A group remained behind in the
camp. They woke up one day to find their camp
guards gone. Not much later the Russians
appeared and several Americans, holding a white
flag went to meet them. The Russians opened fire
and killed several, thinking they were Germans.
Something similar happened to the group that
were marched away. When the Russians caught up
with them, they thought they intercepted a
German column and opened fire. Again, several
Americans were killed. S/Sgt Sasaoka was one of
those killed. It is not known if he was with the
column or still in the camp. His
remains were never recovered. His DSC was
awarded posthumously.
His citation reads:
"The President of
the United States takes pride in presenting the
Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to
Itsumu Sasaoka (30101548), Staff Sergeant, U.S.
Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection
with military operations against an
armed enemy while serving with Company A, 100th
Infantry Battalion, 442d Regimental Combat Team,
attached to the 36th Infantry Division, in
action against enemy forces in France. On 22
October 1944, near Belmont, France, Staff
Sergeant Sasoka was assigned as a machine gunner
on the last tank of a task force during the
execution of a daring thrust through enemy-held
terrain in an effort to relieve a friendly unit
which had been surrounded and cut off by the
enemy. As the task force
advanced over a mountain trail, the enemy opened
fire from well dug-in positions on both sides of
the trail. Although seriously wounded by the
first burst of hostile fire, Sergeant Sasoka,
displaying a disdain for personal safety seldom
surpassed, clung to his machine gun and directed
a hail of bullets into the enemy positions in a
last desperate attempt to prevent the other
members of his platoon from being subjected to
the lethal enemy crossfire. Finally, unable to
hang on any longer due to his weakened condition,
Sergeant Sasoka fell from the lurching tank. His
magnificent courage and devotion to duty were in
large measure responsible for the successful
accomplishment of his platoon's mission and for
saving the lives of many of his comrades. Staff
Sergeant Sasaoka's intrepid actions, personal
bravery and zealous devotion to duty at the cost
of his life, exemplify the highest traditions of
the military forces of the United States and
reflect great credit upon himself, the 36th
Infantry Division, and the United States Army."
S/Sgt Sasaoka
was also awarded the Purple Heart, 2 Bronze Oak
Leaf Cluster to Purple Heart, Distinguished Unit
Badge, 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster to
Distinguished Unit
Badge, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, American
Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern
Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
Army records on
his time as a PoW state that he was reported MIA
on November 24, 1944 and that he died as a PoW
in Stalag 3C Alt Drewitz Brandenburg.
S/Sgt Itsumu Sasaoka
is mentioned on the Margraten Wall of the
Missing.
(picture courtesy of Mr. Jim Yamashita)
