This WWII issue of the Army-Navy Screen magazine tells the story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an infantry regiment of the United States Army, that was composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry who fought in World War II. Most of the families of mainland Japanese Americans were confined to internment camps in the United States interior. Beginning in 1944, the regiment fought primarily in Europe during World War II, in particular Italy, southern France, and Germany.
Beginning at the 7:10 mark another segment entitled “The American Way” tells the story of the presidential election of 1944. This wartime election pitted Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Democratic nominee against Republican Thomas E. Dewey. Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term after the Tuesday, November 7, 1944 election. Turnout was great despite the fact that many Americans were overseas fighting the war, and the newsreel shows the ways that Americans were able to vote despite being overseas and working in support of the war effort.
The 442nd Regiment was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare. The 4,000 men who initially made up the unit in April 1943 had to be replaced nearly 2.5 times. In total, about 14,000 men served, earning 9,486 Purple Hearts. The unit was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations (five earned in one month). Twenty-one of its members were awarded Medals of Honor. Its motto was “Go for Broke”.
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