11-310 Garand Picture of the Day

[Snafu]

Men of the lost battalion 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry, 36th Division.Isolated in the Domaniale de Champ forest.(rudeerude)

Information

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[Mark in Rochester]

The Lost Battalion" refers to the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry (36th Infantry Division, originally Texas National Guard), which was surrounded by German forces in the Vosges Mountains on 24 October 1944.

Against the advice of his senior officers, the battalion was committed to an engagement by Maj. General John E. Dahlquist. After it was cut off by the Germans, two failed attempts were made to rescue the unit. The third attempt was conducted by the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a unit composed of mostly Japanese Americans. In five days of battle, from 26 October to 30 October 1944, the 442nd broke through German defenses and rescued about 230 men. The 442nd suffered over 800 casualties.[1] I Company went in with 185 men; eight walked out unhurt. K Company began with 186 men; 17 walked out.

The 442nd is the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service, with its component 100th Infantry Battalion earning the nickname “The Purple Heart Battalion.”

On October 28, 1944, Okubo was a technician fifth grade serving as a combat medic in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. During a battle on that day and the following day, in the Foret Domaniale de Champ near Biffontaine, France, he carried wounded soldiers to safety and treated over two dozen men despite intense enemy fire. One week later, on November 4, he again braved enemy fire to rescue a man from a burning tank. For his actions, Okubo was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but was instead given the Silver Star under the mistaken belief that medics were not eligible for higher awards. Okubo left the Army while still a technician fifth grade. He died at age 47 in a traffic accident,[1][2] and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan.[citation needed]

Okubo was interned with his family at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center.[3]

A 1990s review of service records for Asian Americans who were decorated in World War II led to Okubo being awarded the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, his surviving family was presented with his Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton. Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, all but seven of them posthumously.[4]

[edit] Medal of Honor citationOkubo's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Technician Fifth Grade James K. Okubo distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 28 and 29 October and 4 November 1944, in the Foret Domaniale de Champ, near Biffontaine, eastern France. On 28 October, under strong enemy fire coming from behind mine fields and roadblocks, Technician Fifth Grade Okubo, a medic, crawled 150 yards to within 40 yards of the enemy lines. Two grenades were thrown at him while he left his last covered position to carry back wounded comrades. Under constant barrages of enemy small arms and machine gun fire, he treated 17 men on 28 October and 8 more men on 29 October. On 4 November, Technician Fifth Grade Okubo ran 75 yards under grazing machine gun fire and, while exposed to hostile fire directed at him, evacuated and treated a seriously wounded crewman from a burning tank, who otherwise would have died. Technician Fifth Grade James K. Okubo'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.