<Li> 679th Tank Destroyer Battalion (Colored) </Li> <P> The 442nd Regimental Combat Team is an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the Army Reserve . The regiment was a fighting unit composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry (mostly from Hawaii) 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 . </P> <P> 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". </P> <P> Most Japanese Americans who fought in World War II were Nisei, born in the United States to immigrant parents . Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Japanese - American men were initially categorized as 4C (enemy alien) and therefore not subject to the draft . On 19 February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing military authorities </P>

Accomplishments of the world war ii 442nd regiment