HONOLULU — A veteran of a Japanese-American unit that liberated two northern French towns during World War II is being awarded France’s highest military honor, the Legion of Honor. Masao Tamura, a member of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team,
HONOLULU — A veteran of a Japanese-American unit that liberated two northern French towns during World War II is being awarded France’s highest military honor, the Legion of Honor.
Masao Tamura, a member of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team, is now 88 and lives in Kaua‘i. He will be honored Thursday during a ceremony at Honolulu Hale.
More than 30 people from one of the liberated towns, Bruyeres, are scheduled to be there along with fellow members of the 442nd.
Tamura was wounded after the towns were liberated, on the second day of a battle to rescue a trapped unit from Texas known as the “Lost Battalion.”
The award comes as Honolulu celebrates the 50th anniversary of its sister-city relationship with Bruyeres.
