Jimmie Kanaya |
Jimmie Kanaya, 2004 | World War II, 1939-1946; Korean War, 1950-1955; Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Army
3rd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT)
Pacific; European Theater; United States; also: Korea; also: Vietnam
Colonel
Yes
Clackamas, OR
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As a youth, Jimmie Kanaya became fascinated with the military, and at 20 he jumped at the chance to enlist in 1941months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. After helping his parents relocate from their Oregon home to an Idaho internment camp, Kanaya took his skills as a medic to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He aggressively looked out for his men, even negotiating a halt to fighting to bring in casualties from the battlefield. Captured by German troops, he escaped three times and at wars end was the only non-Caucasian in his POW camp. Kanaya continued to serve his country during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
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