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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: The veteran earned the Medal of Honor for his service at Hill 617 near Biffontaine, France on 10/29/1944. He was hit by shrapnel while his unit was trying to rescue the "Lost Battalion" (1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division) on Hill 617.
  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 36th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Camp Blanding, Florida; Camp Shelby, Mississippi; Oran, Algeria; Naples, Italy; Biffontaine, France; Germany; European Theater
  • Highest Rank: Private

View full service history

“We rescued the lost battalion of 280 men. But 800 of us were shot or wounded or killed.” (Video interview, 41:12)

Like many young men of Japanese American descent who came of age during World War II, California native George Taro Sakato enlisted in the Army as soon as he was able, in order to prove his loyalty to and love for his country. Despite his passion for aviation, he was assigned to an infantry regiment, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Sent to the European Theater, Sakato saw intense fighting in the Vosges Mountains region in France, where he battled the enemy in dense forest conditions and helped to rescue the “Lost Battalion,” more than 200 soldiers trapped by the Germans. His valor in combat was not recognized until 2000, when he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Clinton.

Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • George Taro Sakato Collection

Names

  • unknown interviewer
  • Wilkerson, Thomas
  • Sakato, George Taro
  • Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation (CMOH)

State of Birth

  • CA

Home State

  • CO

Headings

  • -  Sakato, George Taro
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Notes

  • -  Veteran's biographical form lists race/ethnicity as Japanese-American.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Asian

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Service History Note: The veteran earned the Medal of Honor for his service at Hill 617 near Biffontaine, France on 10/29/1944. He was hit by shrapnel while his unit was trying to rescue the "Lost Battalion" (1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division) on Hill 617.
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 36th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Camp Blanding, Florida; Camp Shelby, Mississippi; Oran, Algeria; Naples, Italy; Biffontaine, France; Germany; European Theater
    • Highest Rank: Private
    • Dates of Service: 1944-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Biographical information [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/12/2002)
  • Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/12/2002)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 09/12/2002)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/89776

Cite as

  • George Taro Sakato Collection (AFC/2001/001/89776), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Unknown Interviewer, Thomas Wilkerson, George Taro Sakato, and Congressional Medal Of Honor Foundation. George Taro Sakato Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.89776/.

APA citation style:

Unknown Interviewer, Wilkerson, T., Sakato, G. T. & Congressional Medal Of Honor Foundation. (1944) George Taro Sakato Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.89776/.

MLA citation style:

Unknown Interviewer, et al. George Taro Sakato Collection. 1944. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.89776/>.