442nd Regimental Combat Team

              Price: $34.95
Go For Broke
"These are some of the best goddam fighters
in the U.S. Army. If you have more, send
them over." general mark w clark
This is the battle story of the 100th Infantry
Battalion and the 442d Regimental Combat
Team in World War II as told by the
veterans themselves. It includes over 240
photographs, 9 military maps, and a 40,000
word narrative.
The100/442d Regimental Combat Team
was composed almost entirely of volunteers,,
who were Americans of lapanese ancestry
As part of the Allies' Southern Croup of
Armies under the command of General
Jacob L. Devers, the Combat Team fought in
seven campaigns in two countries. They
made two beachhead assaults, captured a
submarine and opened the gates of Dachau.
They fought the toughest troops the Nazis
could throw at them — battle-wise veterans
of the Afrika Korps, SS Troops, Panzer brigades, and Soldaten from the Hermann
Goering Division and the Machine Gun Battalion Kesselring. Fighting together with the
great combat divisions of the 5th and 7th
Armies, the 100/442d hammered the Nazis
back — up the boot of Italy and through the
Vosges Forest in France.
At maximum strength, the 100/442d
numEered 4,500 men, vet they earned over
2gf000 individual decorations, including,
9^86 Purple Hearts and 5.200 Bronze Stars.
During 20 days of all-out fighting in France,
the Combat Team earned five Presidential
Unit Citations — an unparalleled achievement in military annals. It is little wonder
that the 100/442d earned the distinction of
being "the most decorated unit in United,
States military history . . .".
This is their magnificent and inspiring
story in their own words and pictures.
"They were superb: the men of the 10014426
took terrific casualties. They showed rare
courage and tremendous fighting spirit
... everybody wanted them"
rshall
GENERAL OF TH
About the Author
Chester Tanaka was born in 1919 in St Louis,
Missouri, where his parents, Haru and Jean
Tanaka, ran a small restaurant. In the fall
of 1943 he volunteered for the Army, and
served with Company K, 3d Battalion, 442d
Regimental Combat Team.
Tanaka was one of the few men in the
Combat Team to make it through all five of
their campaigns. He received the Presidential Unit Citation with Oak Leaf Cluster, the
Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart with Oak
Leaf Cluster. In October 1944, during the
rescue of the "Lost Battalion," K Company
dropped from 187 riflemen to 17 and suffered one of the heaviest casualty rates of
any company in the war. With all officers
killed or wounded, Sgt Tanaka assumed
temporary command of K Company and
was one of the first to contact the "Lost
Battalion."
He is one of the luckiest men I have
known and is uniquely qualified to write
this American regimental history. In Italy,
when he wasn't on the line fighting, he
helped produce the first history of the
regiment, 442d Combat Team. Now, in
retrospect, he tells how the 100th Infantry
Battalion and the442d Regimental Combat
Team originated, how they trained, how
they fought, and today, what they have won.
Chet Tanaka lives in Oakland, California, with his wife, Masako, and has three
grown children. A book and magazine
designer for 35 years, he is now the owner of
Ed Art Studios in San Francisco and has produced many educational and technical
publications.
Chet Tanaka not only wrote and edited
the manuscript of Co For Broke, but also
designed, produced, and supervised the
printing of this magnificent volume. This
book is truly a labor of love and we are all
the richer for the way he, as one of the combat veterans, has captured the thoughts,
memories, and perceptions of the men of
the 100th and the 442d.
ERIC SAUL, CURATOR
PRESIDIO ARMY MUSEUM
SAN FRANCISCO