SEATTLE -- 85-year old Frank Nishimura is heading to Houston for a reunion with soldiers he helped rescue. The "Battle of the Lost Battalion" 65 years ago in France's Vosges mountains was brutal and costly, but Nishimura says his unit was ordered to save the battalion "at all cost."
The "Battle of the Lost Battalion" was the bloodiest for the 442nd, the all Japanese-American regimental combat team. Approximately 3,000 members of the 442nd were ordered to rescue 275 members of the 141st Infantry Division (36th Texas Division) who were surrounded by Germans. After three days of close fighting, the 442nd had suffered 800 casualties and 200 dead or missing -- to save 210 Texans.
"I think we were proud, in a sense, that we were being cannon fodder," reflected Nishimura. "We did our best.. Our unit could be trusted to carry out our mission. I think everybody just knew they had to do it. It might be our last, but that's what we're there for."
The sacrifice made even more significant because many of the 442nd soldiers volunteered for duty from American concentration camps, where the U.S. government wrongfully imprisoned their families. "I thought, 'There's something wrong here," said Nishimura. "There's something we have to prove and I'm going to do my share."
Nishimura was wounded in the shoulder during the battle and lost most of his hearing. But he's looking forward to the reunion with the Texas battalion. "I lost several buddies in that battle. I want to see the results of our effort."
The "Homecoming for Heroes" Gala will be held Sunday November 1 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Houston. Special invited guests include Secretary of Veterans Affairs General Eric Shinseki (Vietnam veteran) and Medal of Honor winner Senator Daniel K. Inouye.
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