An Army reserve unit bearing the name of a legendary World War II battalion has completed of a month of intensive training at Pohakuloa Training Area.
The 100th Infantry Battalion of the 442nd Infantry Regiment — the lineal descendant of the battalion known colloquially as the “One-Puka-Puka” — celebrated Wednesday with a catered dinner from Don’s Grill at PTA’s USO and a post-meal concert featuring the band Body and Soul and a solo set by Darryl Castillo. Some of the soldiers performed, as well.
The regiment, founded as the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, is known as the most decorated in U.S. military history.
Originally composed almost entirely of second-generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry, the 442nd, with its motto, “Go for broke,” served with honor and distinction in the European theater during World War II. At the same time, those brave soldiers faced prejudice and discrimination on the home front, including about 120,000 Japanese Americans — including some soldiers’ family members — being forcibly relocated by the government to concentration camps in the western U.S.
“Take a step back and reflect on that,” said Lt. Col Kevin Cronin, the PTA base commander. “This is what’s special about serving in the U.S. Army. We’re a living historical community, you know, and we trace our lineage to heroes like the 442nd.”
The original 100th Battalion of the 442nd sustained so many casualties, it became known as “the Purple Heart Battalion.”
The current 100th is the only infantry battalion in the U.S. Army Reserve. Headquartered at Fort Shafter in Honolulu, it’s part of the 9th Mission Support Command and has the responsibility of maintaining a maximum state of readiness in the event it is needed in a combat zone. In addition, the battalion has units in American Samoa, Guam, Saipan and at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash.
“This is probably the best training I’ve had in 12 years of military service,” said Capt. Wesley Fuller, the battalion’s executive officer. “At least 29 days a year some of our soldiers are chosen to do additional missions. I can’t really talk much about those, but we do missions all over the Pacific area.”
Lt. Col. Alan Perkins, the 100th’s commanding officer, described the exercises as “learning leadership at the team and squad level.”
The training could be the difference between returning home alive or in a U.S. flag-draped casket.
In August 2004, the 100th was mobilized for duty in Iraq and stationed 50 miles northwest of Baghdad at Logistical Support Area Anaconda. During its tour of duty, four soldiers were killed in action before the unit returned to Hawaii in January 2006. One platoon in Charlie Company discovered and destroyed more than 50 large weapons caches containing mortars, ammunition and rockets.
The 100th was again deployed in 2009 to Kuwait and Iraq, performing over 1,500 combat missions covering 1.3 million miles of roads. Before returning to Hawaii in August 2009, the battalion lost two soldiers.
Fuller said the battalion’s legacy “is ingrained in us from the moment we put on the 100th patch.”
“We have a song. We have a rich history. And we have some very, very spirited soldiers,” he said.
The 100th’s soldiers learned at least part of the 442nd’s rich history on a personal level, earlier in the month, with a visit from WW II veteran Sgt. Wataru Kohashi from Hilo, who will turn 100 this year. Kohashi served in France and Italy, was wounded twice, and received two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star, Distinguished Unit Badge and Good Conduct Medal.
“The military lined up on both sides,” said retired Army Col. Deb Lewis, the Hawaii state commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. “Wataru came through there, and then he turned around and saluted them. And then every (unit) gave him a coin. When I saw that … that’s when I started crying.
“The deputy for the reserve component was here, a two-star general. And Wataru said, ‘You know, I’ve never met a two-star general.’”
The current soldiers of the One-Puka-Puka met not only a two-star general, they met a two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship champ and UFC Hall of Famer.
BJ Penn, who has done numerous events for the troops in combat zones as well as at home, entertained a long line of service members, autographing publicity photos of himself and posing for pictures with soldiers.
And there were no tears on Wednesday, just soldiers exhibiting the spirited behavior Fuller referred to. The catered meal was an obvious hit for the soldiers, a break from the chow hall and military MREs, or the meals ready-to-eat that troops pack for battle and sometimes for training exercises, as well.
For a good portion of the evening meal, there was dinner music provided by a classically trained pianist, Spc. Stone Wang, a Manchurian born in China who’s been a soldier about seven months. Wang, who’s a few credits shy of a music degree from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, improvised a flawless medley of pop hits, oldies and jazz standards after he noticed a Yamaha electric piano just inside the USO building’s entrance.
“I started playing when I was 5,” said Wang, who also played onstage during the post-meal concert, to raucous applause and cheers from his comrades-at-arms.
Asked what he knew about his battalion’s history, Wang replied, “I’m pretty much the newest soldier here, but I read a story about the Purple Heart Battalion. They were a great unit during World War II.”
Lt. John Hiduchick-Nakayama, the unit’s chaplain and organizer of the celebration, described it as “this amazing event.”
“This is the first time the battalion has been able to assemble with all of their companies from Hawaii, Guam and American Samoa together in one place since 2018,” said Hiduchick-Nakayama, who goes by the name “Chaplain Johnny.”
“I am hoping to do this every year.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.