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Observing a machine gun nest 50 yards from his position, Technical
Sergeant Kobashigawa crawled forward with one of his men, threw a grenade and then charged the enemy with his submachine gun while a fellow soldier provided covering fire. He killed one enemy soldier and captured two prisoners. Meanwhile, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa and his comrade were fired upon by another machine gun 50 yards ahead. Directing a squad to advance to his first position, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa again moved forward with a fellow soldier to subdue the second machine gun nest. After throwing grenades into the position, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa provided close supporting fire while a fellow soldier charged, capturing four prisoners. On the alert for other machine gun nests, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa discovered four more, and skillfully led a squad in neutralizing two of them. Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa'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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upon military review on June 21, 2000. The review examined whether or not Asian
Americans who fought in uniform during the war were treated unfairly due to prejudice. Twenty-two Americans of Asian ancestry who had fought in World War II were awarded the Medal after the review. Kobashigawa was one of
281:
Technical
Sergeant Yeiki Kobashigawa distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 2 June 1944, in the vicinity of Lanuvio, Italy. During an attack, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa's platoon encountered strong enemy resistance from a series of machine guns providing supporting fire.
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only a handful still alive in 2000 to receive the Medal during a White House ceremony. After the war, Kobashigawa worked as a maintenance mechanic.
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267:. His grave can be found in the Columbarium Section CT8-E, Row 500, Site 536.
244:. This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii.
208:, on September 28, 1917. He is the son of immigrants who were born in
398:"Salute to Yeiki Kobashigawa" at 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans
386:"Salute to Yeiki Kobashigawa" at 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans
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https://goforbroke.org/medal-honor-recipients/yeiki-kobashigawa/
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455:"Army Secretary Lionizes 22 World War II Heroes" at Defense.gov
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WWII Army
Enlistment Record #30101851 (Kobashigawa, Yeiki)
411:"21 Asian American World War II Vets to Get Medal of Honor"
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U.S. National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA),
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For his actions in June 1944, Kobashigawa was awarded the
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Burials in the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
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357:"Go For Broke Monument, Fifth Anniversary Tribute,"
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298:List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
259:Kobashigawa died March 31, 2005, and is buried in
293:List of Asian American Medal of Honor recipients
516:American military personnel of Japanese descent
344:"Medal of Honor Recipients, World War II (G-L)"
551:World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
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546:United States Army personnel of World War II
511:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
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261:National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
82:National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
237:Kobashigawa volunteered to join the all-
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328:"Yeiki Kobashigawa, World War II hero,"
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188:. He is best known for receiving the
436:Medal of Honor Recipients: 1979–2008,
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415:University of Hawaii Digital History
342:US Army Center of Military History,
130:Company F, 100th Infantry Battalion
359:June 5, 2004; retrieved 2012-12-7.
333:May 13, 2005; retrieved 2012-12-7.
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526:Hawaii people of Okinawan descent
521:Hawaii people of Japanese descent
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434:Gomez-Granger, Julissa. (2008).
536:Military personnel from Hawaii
226:One month before the Japanese
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439:"Kobashigawa, Yeiki," p. 12
531:United States Army officers
249:Distinguished Service Cross
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230:, Kobashigawa joined the
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242:100th Infantry Battalion
204:Kobashigawa was born in
271:Medal of Honor citation
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400:; retrieved 2012-12-7.
388:; retrieved 2012-12-7.
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228:attack on Pearl Harbor
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109:Years of service
331:Honolulu Advertiser.
167:Maintenance mechanic
355:Bramlett, David A.
55:Territory of Hawaii
234:in November 1941.
232:United States Army
186:United States Army
103:United States Army
48:September 28, 1917
460:Yeiki Kobashigawa
326:Blakeman, Karen.
212:, Japan. He is a
174:Yeiki Kobashigawa
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153:Bronze Star Medal
121:Second Lieutenant
32:Yeiki Kobashigawa
20:Yeiki Kobashigawa
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157:Purple Heart
139:World War II
135:Battles/wars
66:(2005-03-31)
506:2005 deaths
501:1917 births
420:December 7,
495:Categories
304:References
200:Early life
89:Allegiance
44:1917-09-28
485:Biography
276:Citation:
112:1941–1945
287:See also
178:Japanese
97:Service/
210:Okinawa
471:Portal
182:小橋川 栄喜
145:Awards
99:branch
77:Buried
239:Nisei
215:Nisei
422:2012
127:Unit
117:Rank
61:Died
51:Hilo
38:Born
462:at
192:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
