Private Noboru Yoshimoto Company A, 100th Infantry Battalion 442nd Regimental Combat Team

[dmsusuki]

Private Noboru Yoshimoto

Company A, 100th Infantry Battalion

442nd Regimental Combat Team

 

Background –

Noboru Yoshimoto [husband]                                               Peggy Hisako Yoshimoto [wife]

Birth Date – 29 July 1918                                                        Birth Date – 20 September 1923

Enlistment City – Sacramento, California                             Internment Camp - Amache

Enlistment Date – 3 December 1941                                    Incarceration Location – Granada, Colorado

Discharge Date – 25 April 1945

Date of Death - 27 May 2009 [aged 90]                                Date of Death - 27 May 2009 [aged 85]

Burial Location - Green Hills Memorial Park                        Burial Location - Green Hills Memorial Park

Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles County, California       Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles, County, California                                                       

Plot - Coral Tree Gardens, 285, B                                           Plot - Coral Tree Gardens, 285, B

 

My neighbor was hard working and unassuming.  He was married and had two children.  Time always moves on and 27 May 2009 my neighbor passed away following his wife’s death hours earlier.  The husband was a veteran of Company A, 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and both the Veteran and his wife were born in Fresno, California.

 

Being a good neighbor, I tried to engage him and hoping he would tell me his history during World War II.  As many of you know many Veterans keep this part of their lives to themselves or with their unit members.  My father was the same.  After his death I spoke to the son, and asked about their father’s military memorabilia.  The son answered that all he had was his purple heart.

 

From what the veteran told me, he was assigned to Company A, 100th Infantry Battalion.  He was a replacement and would fight in one campaign [Rhineland] to rescue the Lost Battalion.  The WW2 Lost Battalion consisted of the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry of the 36th Infantry Division [Texas National Guard] which were surrounded by superior German forces in the Vosges Mountains on 24 October 1944.  The 442nd and 100th liberated the towns of Bruyeres and Biffontaine and with a short rest they were ordered to rescue the Lost Battalion.  From 26 to 30 October 1944 the 442nd broke the German defense and rescued 211 Texans at a cost of 800 casualties.

 

It was during this engagement my neighbor told me he was hit by a mortar or artillery blast which left him 100 percent disabled and a 2-year journey in and out of army hospitals.

 

USAHS Algonquin -

 

 

 

Images of USAHS Algonquin from open sources from the internet.  The USAHS Algonquin transported many wounded servicemen from the battlefields of Europe to Charleston, South Carolina.  These service members were taken care of by a full crew of seaman and medical personnel from the 203rd Hospital compliment.  After hostilities ended the Algonquin repatriated service personal and United States civilians back to America.

 

In 1946 the Algonquin made two back to back voyages to Naples, Italy to transport Italian war brides to the United States.  The third image on the right memorializes one of these voyages from Naples to America.  In 1956, with no other missions the USAHS Algonquin was sold for scrap.

 

Dumpster Diving –

 

The children cleaned out the house and left piles of black trash bags which every week I would fill the appropriate container for disposal.  The Veteran told me all he came home with was his medical department PJ’s.  Being curious, I open every bag and soon saw the aged “magazines” the Barnacle.  This was the newspaper of the USAHS Algonquin.  This was his transportation home.  I soon found his GI glasses and finally his overseas cap [garrison cap].

 

Treasure in the Trash Can –

 

Two copies of the periodical from the USAHS Algonquin

GI dark glasses

His garrison Cap [note how faded and discolored the infantry blue piping changed.]

Also note the veterans name written on the inside of the leather sweatband.

 

In Conclusion-

 

this grouping would not be considered spectacular in the eyes of collectors.  According to the 442nd unit history, “Americans”, [Infantry Journal Press 1946]. Private Noboru Yoshimoto was awarded the Distinguished Unit Badge [Presidential Unit Citation]. 

 

“Bruyeres, Biffontaine, and in the Foret Domaniale de Champ, France 1944

War Department General Orders 78, 12 September 1945: 15 to 30 October 1944 – The 100th Battalion was again committed to the attack. Going to the rescue of the "lost battalion", 141st Infantry Regiment, it fought without respite for 4 days against a fanatical enemy that was determined to keep the "lost battalion" isolated and force its surrender. On the fourth day, although exhausted and reduced through casualties to about half its normal strength, the battalion fought doggedly forward against strong enemy small-arms and mortar fire until it contacted the isolated unit.”

 

This resource did not list his Purple Heart.  Even so, he spent two years in Army hospitals and was classified at 100 percent disabled by the Veterans Administration [came home with one leg shorter than the other] he lived the American dream by working hard [plasterer] raised his family and left his children with millions in real estate.

 

Thank you for reading this article

 

Respectively

dmsusuki

 

 

 

 

 

[36thIDAlex]

Thanks for sharing, always great to see more from 442nd vets. 

[dmsusuki]

36thIDAlex,

Thanks for the kind words and I know that 442nd veterans such as my father would be happy to hear your post.  In the future will be posting many 442nd groupings and Military Intelligence Service groupings.

respectively,

dmsusuki

[36thIDAlex]

On 12/21/2024 at 2:58 PM, dmsusuki said:

36thIDAlex,

Thanks for the kind words and I know that 442nd veterans such as my father would be happy to hear your post.  In the future will be posting many 442nd groupings and Military Intelligence Service groupings.

respectively,

dmsusuki

That's very cool to hear, what unit was he of the 442nd? My g grandfather was just south of them on the line with the 142nd IR while they were rescuing the lost battalion, I visited the battlefield a few months ago, have several groups from them myself, and published my history thesis on them. They're an incredible unit and near to my heart as well. Looking forward to seeing the other groups you've got!