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TITLE Inouye receiving Medal of Honor DESCRIPTION Inouye receiving Medal of Honor President Bill Clinton awards Senator Dan Inouye the Medal of Honor at the White house ceremony where 22 Asian American soldiers, 20 of whom were members of the combined 100/442, were honored for their service during World War II. CONTEXT "First Lt. Daniel K. Inouye, now a U.S. senator, was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism on April 21, 1945, in the vicinty of San Terenzo, Italy. While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, Inouye directed his platoon through a hail of automatic weapons and small arms fire to capture an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force. The enemy, emplaced in bunkers and rock formations, halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. Inouye boldly crawled up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying it. Before the enemy could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest with submachine gun fire. Although wounded by a sniper's bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Despite intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions." Rudi Williams, "Army Secretary Lionizes 22 World War II Heroes" Armed Forces Press Service CREDIT Courtesy of Jeff Tinsley National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution DATE June 21, 2000 |
