James Okubo facts for kids
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Okubo.
James K. Okubo (May 30, 1920 – January 29, 1967) was a United States Army soldier. He received the Medal of Honor because of his actions in World War II.
Contents
Early life
Okubo was born in Anacortes, Washington. His parents were Japanese immigrant parents. He was a Nisei, which means that he was a second generation Japanese-American.
The Okubo family was interned at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center in California; and then they were moved to the camp at Hart Mountain in Wyoming.
Soldier
Okubo joined the US Army in May 1943.
Okubo volunteered to be part of the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland.
For his actions in October 1944, Okubo was awarded the Army's third-highest decoration, the Silver Star. In the 1990s, there was a review of service records of Asian Americans who received the Silver Star during World War II. Okubo's award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, he was presented with his medal by President Bill Clinton. Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, but only seven of them were still alive.
Namesake
Okubo is the namesake of the Okubo Family Health Clinic at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.
The Okubo Barracks at the Fort Sam Houston in Texas are named after the Nisei soldier.
Related pages
