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the gun to positions of relative safety. Because of the heavy casualties being inflicted on his company, Private First Class
Muranaga, who served as a gunner, attempted to neutralize the 88mm weapon alone. Voluntarily remaining at his gun position, Private First Class Muranaga manned the mortar himself and opened fire on the enemy gun at a range of approximately 400 yards. With his third round, he was able to correct his fire so that the shell landed directly in front of the enemy gun. Meanwhile, the enemy crew, immediately aware of the source of mortar fire, turned their 88mm weapon directly on Private First Class Muranaga's position. Before Private First Class Muranaga could fire a fourth round, an 88mm shell scored a direct hit on his position, killing him instantly. Because of the accuracy of Private First Class Muranaga's previous fire, the enemy soldiers decided not to risk further exposure and immediately abandoned their position. Private First Class Muranaga'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.
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opened direct fire on the company, causing the men to disperse and seek cover. Private First Class
Muranaga's mortar squad was ordered to action, but the terrain made it impossible to set up their weapons. The squad leader, realizing the vulnerability of the mortar position, moved his men away from
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Private First Class
Kiyoshi K. Muranaga distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 26 June 1944, near Suvereto, Italy. Private First Class Muranaga's company encountered a strong enemy force in commanding positions and with superior firepower. An enemy
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in an exposed position in an attempt to destroy an enemy self-propelled gun that was firing on his company. Muranaga fired three shells before being killed by the enemy's return fire, but his actions forced the enemy vehicle to retreat.
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293:. A 1990s review of service records for Asian Americans who received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II led to Muranaga's award being upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the
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442nd
Regimental Combat Team. This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland. Muranaga was killed on the first day of action for the 442nd in
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Muranaga's brothers were also soldiers. Kenichi (1924–2009) and Yoshio (1923–2008) also were in the 442nd. The youngest brother Tomi (born 1935) was a soldier in Korea.
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For his actions in June 1944, he was posthumously awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the
511:"21 Asian American World War II Vets to Get Medal of Honor" at University of Hawaii Digital History
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on June 21, 2000, his surviving family was presented with his Medal of Honor by
President
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soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the
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Private First Class
Muranaga's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
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456:"Medal of Honor Recipient Private First Class Kiyoshi K. Muranaga"
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599:"Army Secretary Lionizes 22 World War II Heroes" at Defense.gov
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430:"Tributes," Men of F Company, 2nd Battalion, Kiyoshi Muranaga
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WWII Army
Enlistment Record #37362102 (Muranaga, Kenichi K.)
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WWII Army
Enlistment Record #37356488 (Muranaga, Kiyoshi K.)
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WWII Army
Enlistment Record #37715182 (Muranaga, Yoshi K.)
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U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA),
475:"100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry" at Global Security.org
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555:"Japanese American Internee Data File: Tomi Muranaga"
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United States Army personnel killed in World War II
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387:List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
382:List of Asian American Medal of Honor recipients
680:American military personnel of Japanese descent
410:"Medal of Honor Recipients, World War II (M-S)"
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304:Muranaga, aged 22 at his death, was buried in
695:World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
35:Kiyoshi K. Muranaga, Medal of Honor recipient
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660:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
559:National Archives and Records Administration
334:On June 26, 1944, Muranaga was serving as a
278:Muranaga volunteered to be part of the all-
218:, February 16, 1922 – June 26, 1944) was a
16:United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
690:Burials at Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles
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454:Go for Broke National Education Center,
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255:He was interned with his family at the
492:First Experience of War," First Battle
488:"Kiyoshi K. Muranaga (KIA 06/26/1944)"
580:Medal of Honor Recipients: 1979-2008,
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259:in Colorado following the signing of
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408:US Army Center of Military History,
665:Military personnel from Los Angeles
331:fighting in central Italy in 1944.
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578:Gomez-Granger, Julissa. (2008).
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583:"Muranga, Kiyoshi," pp. 13-14
428:442nd Regimental Combat Team,
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257:Granada War Relocation Center
340:442nd Regimental Combat Team
166:442nd Regimental Combat Team
675:Japanese-American internees
670:United States Army soldiers
291:Distinguished Service Cross
246:immigrant parents. He is a
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323:Muranaga's Medal of Honor
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116:United States of America
319:Medal of Honor citation
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490:; Hawaii Nisei Story,
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238:Muranaga was born in
139:Years of service
342:. On that day, near
271:Muranaga joined the
261:Executive Order 9066
226:—for his actions in
604:Kiyoshi K. Muranaga
336:private first class
208:Kiyoshi K. Muranaga
156:Private First Class
23:Kiyoshi K. Muranaga
516:2012-03-17 at the
497:2013-11-04 at the
461:2011-02-03 at the
415:2008-04-30 at the
368:self-propelled gun
306:Evergreen Cemetery
220:United States Army
133:United States Army
91:Evergreen Cemetery
486:Discover Nikkei,
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51:February 16, 1922
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562:. Retrieved
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299:Bill Clinton
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228:World War II
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200:Purple Heart
176:World War II
172:Battles/wars
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66:(1944-06-26)
56:, California
650:1944 deaths
645:1922 births
310:Los Angeles
295:White House
96:Los Angeles
54:Los Angeles
639:Categories
393:References
325:recognized
240:California
234:Early life
104:Allegiance
47:1922-02-16
629:Biography
329:frontline
142:1943–1944
514:Archived
495:Archived
459:Archived
413:Archived
376:See also
344:Suvereto
244:Japanese
212:Japanese
122:Service/
72:Suvereto
338:in the
273:US Army
267:Soldier
78:†
615:Portal
541:NARA,
529:NARA,
352:mortar
182:Awards
124:branch
113:
348:Italy
284:Italy
280:Nisei
249:Nisei
70:near
566:2019
365:88mm
216:村永 清
162:Unit
147:Rank
61:Died
41:Born
606:at
242:to
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401:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
