To rescue 211 soldiers, they sacrificed 800 men who “didn’t look American.”
October 25, 1944: The all-Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team began the rescue of the Lost Battalion.
Against the advice of his senior officers, Major General John E. Dahlquist had ordered the 141st Infantry Regiment (36th Division, Texas National Guard) advance toward Biffontaine, France. The Texans marched four miles through dense, foggy forest and occupied two hills, unaware 6,000 Nazis had encircled them. Landmines and machine gun nests were already set to prevent any retreat. It was a strategic blunder.
That battalion would come to be known as the “Lost Battalion.”
Meanwhile, the all–Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team had just completed a grueling nine-day campaign in Bruyères and Biffontaine. The men were supposed to rest. Most had barely slept in over a week.
Instead, they were roused in the middle of the night and ordered back into combat. Their new mission: to rescue the 275 men trapped behind enemy lines.
Outnumbered. Exhausted. And ordered to keep going.
At times, the 442nd was outnumbered four to one. Adolf Hitler himself reportedly learned of the encirclement and issued a direct order that the Lost Battalion must not be rescued — no matter the cost. But the 442nd kept going. Through mud and rain, through pine needles and bodies, through German artillery and landmines, the Nisei soldiers advanced inch by inch, taking horrific casualties.
Company I went in with 185 men. Only 8 came out unhurt. Company K engaged the enemy with 186 men. 169 were wounded or killed. By the time the rescue was finally complete, the 442nd had suffered over 800 casualties, with at least 117 dead.
And they weren’t even given rest. Dahlquist immediately ordered the depleted unit to continue chasing German forces through the forest to secure more territory. It would be another nine days before they were finally pulled out of combat.
More than three weeks of nonstop fighting.
One historian called it “one of the bloodiest and most heroic actions in American military history.”
Two weeks after the rescue, on November 12, Dahlquist called for a recognition ceremony. When he saw how few men were in formation, he allegedly reprimanded 442nd Lieutenant Colonel Virgil Miller:
“You disobeyed my orders. I told you to have the whole regiment.”
Miller looked him in the eye and replied:
“General, this is the regiment. The rest are either dead or in the hospital.”
Heroes America didn’t deserve.
Three men from the 442nd who fought in the Lost Battalion rescue — Barney Hajiro, James Okubo, and George Sakato — were originally awarded lesser medals largely due to racial prejudice. In 2000, all three were upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Okubo’s was awarded posthumously.
Their motto was, “Go For Broke.” Which meant to risk everything for a single great effort.
The men of the 442nd left no man behind. Even when America did.