Masato Nakae

{{short description|United States Army Medal of Honor recipient}}

{{Infobox military person

|name= Masato Nakae

|birth_date= {{birth date|1917|12|20}}

|death_date= {{death date and age|1998|9|4|1917|12|20}}

|birth_place= Lihue, Hawaii

|death_place=

|placeofburial=National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii

|placeofburial_label= Place of burial

|image= MasatoNakae dateunknown.jpg

|image_size= 180px

|caption=

|nickname= Curly

|allegiance= {{flag|United States of America}}

|branch= 25px United States Army

|serviceyears= 1942 - 1945

|rank=23px Private First Class

|commands=

|unit=100th Infantry Battalion

|battles= World War II

|awards= 23px Medal of Honor
23px Purple Heart

}}

Masato Nakae ({{langx|ja|中江正人}}, December 20, 1917 – September 4, 1998) was a Japanese American United States Army soldier.Vachon, Duane. [http://www.hawaiireporter.com/a-silent-hero-pfc-masato-nakae-u-s-army-wwii-medal-of-honor-1917-1998/123 "A Silent Hero -- PFC Masato Nakae, U.S. Army, WWII, Medal of Honor, (1917-1998),"] Hawaii Reporter. May 19, 2012; retrieved 2012-12-7. He is best known for receiving the Medal of Honor because of his actions in World War II.US Army Center of Military History, [https://web.archive.org/web/20071221032013/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/wwII-m-s.html "Medal of Honor Recipients, World War II (M-S)"]; retrieved 2012-12-7.

Early life

Nakae was born in Hawaii to Japanese immigrant parents. He was a Nisei, which means that he was a second generation Japanese-American.

Soldier

Two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Nakae joined the US Army in February 1942.U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), [https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&tf=F&q=masato+nakae&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=2127110 WWII Army Enlistment Record #30102831 (Nakae, Masato)]; retrieved 2012-12-7.

Nakae volunteered to be part of the all-Nisei 100th Infantry Battalion.{{cite web | url=https://goforbroke.org/medal-honor-recipients/masato-nakae/ | title=Masato Nakae – Go for Broke }} This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii.[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/100-442in.htm "100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry" at Global Security.org]; retrieved 2012-12-7.

For his actions in August 1944, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/japanese_internment/medal_of_honor.cfm "21 Asian American World War II Vets to Get Medal of Honor" at University of Hawaii Digital History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317120442/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/japanese_internment/medal_of_honor.cfm |date=2012-03-17 }}; retrieved 2012-12-7. This award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor after Congress directed the Secretary of the Army to review all awards of the DSC to Americans of Japanese and Pacific Islands descent to determine if racial bias had influenced the awards process. Nakae was one of 22 Americans of Japanese descent who received the Medal of Honor on June 21, 2000 (about two years after his death) by President Bill Clinton.

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1963, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to

for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Private Masato Nakae distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on August 19, 1944, near Pisa, Italy. When his submachine gun was damaged by a shell fragment during a fierce attack by a superior enemy force, Private Nakae quickly picked up his wounded comrade’s M-1 rifle and fired rifle grenades at the steadily advancing enemy. As the hostile force continued to close in on his position, Private Nakae threw six grenades and forced them to withdraw. During a concentrated enemy mortar barrage that preceded the next assault by the enemy force, a mortar shell fragment seriously wounded Private Nakae. Despite his injury, he refused to surrender his position and continued firing at the advancing enemy. By inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy force, he finally succeeded in breaking up the attack and caused the enemy to withdraw. Private Nakae’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.

Gomez-Granger, Julissa. (2008). Medal of Honor Recipients: 1979-2008, [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf "Masato, Nakae," p. 14 [PDF 18 of 44]]; retrieved 2012-12-7.

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20121028212638/http://www.defense.gov/specials/medalofhonor/ "Army Secretary Lionizes 22 World War II Heroes" at Defense.gov]
{{Find a Grave|7814668|Masato Nakae|}}

Category:1917 births

Category:1998 deaths

Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients

Category:United States Army soldiers

Category:American military personnel of Japanese descent

Category:People from Kauai County, Hawaii

Category:United States Army personnel of World War II

Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)

Category:World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor

Category:Burials at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific