‘Go For Broke’ reservists mobilize for deployment

WASHINGTON (Army News Service)—One of the Army’s most decorated units and the Army Reserve’s only ground combat unit is prepping for mobilization and eventual deployment to Iraq.

The 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, Army Reserve, will round out the Hawaii National Guard’s 29th Infantry Brigade as it mobilizes Aug. 16 and moves to Fort Bliss, Texas, by the end of the month for deployment training, per Department of Defense mobilization orders signed July 16.

The Army Reserve primarily consists of combat service and combat service support units. Other than the 100th Infantry Battalion, the only other combat unit in the Army Reserve is an attack aviation unit based in the New England area.

The 100th Infantry Battalion has units in Guam, American Samoa and Saipan.

The 29th Infantry Brigade, the largest unit in the Hawaii National Guard, is headquartered on Oahu.

The timing of the 100th Infantry Battalion mobilization order was fortunate as it was already scheduled for its annual training in Hawaii—allowing “Go For Broke” Soldiers to undergo a Soldier Readiness check, said Howard Sugai, spokesman for the 9th Regional Readiness Command. Those checks include personnel, training and medical administrative reviews of individual records, to ensure each Soldier is prepared for deployment.

The 100th Infantry Battalion of the 442nd draws its lineage from World War II’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It conducted combat operations in the European theater during the war.

The 100th was the first all-Japanese-American combat unit and was made up of mostly National Guardsmen from Hawaii. They were already fighting in Italy when the also mostly Japanese-American 442nd was formed. The 442nd joined the 100th in Italy in June of 1944 and by August, the 100th had become the first battalion of the 442nd.

Since their first action in World War II, Soldiers of the 442nd not only acquired the motto “Go for Broke,” but also more than 18,000 individual decorations. Among the 18,000 are 33 Distinguished Service Crosses, 559 Silver Stars, 28 Oak Leaf Clusters to the Silver Star, 4,000 Bronze Stars and 1,200 Oak Leaf Clusters to the Bronze Star and nearly 9,500 Purple Hearts. The 442nd was also recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation eight times.

Until 2000, the achievements of 100th and 442nd only included one Medal of Honor. Former President Bill Clinton changed that in 2000 when he awarded 22 Medals of Honor to Asian-Pacific Army World War II veterans. The belated medals were given after the Army reviewed war records and found 22 Soldiers were awarded with the Distinguished Service Cross when they were actually deserving of a Medal of Honor. Nineteen of the 22 were Soldiers in the 100th and 442nd, giving the 442nd a total of 20 Medals of Honor.

“To fill the shoes of those veterans, takes some good Soldiers,” said Tolani Teleso, civilian aide to the secretary of the Army for American Somoa, and a Korean War veteran. He said the current Soldiers of the 100th are also “gung ho” and ready to go.

The Army Reserve Soldiers of the 100th and National Guard Soldiers of the 29th Infantry Brigade have been training together for some time and look forward to deploying together “as a team,” Teleso said.

“I believe our whole island community is supporting this,” he added.