Joe Hayashi facts for kids
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Hayashi.
Joe J. Hayashi (August 14, 1920-April 22, 1945) was a United States Army soldier. He received the Medal of Honor because of his actions in World War II.
Early life
Hayashi was born in Salinas, California. He was the son of immigrants who were born in Japan. He is a Nisei, which means that he is a second generation Japanese-American.
Soldier
Six months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hayashi joined the US Army in May 1941.
Hayashi 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 April 1945, Hayashi was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). In the 1990s, there was a review of service records of Asian Americans who received the DSC during World War II. Hayashi's award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, his family 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.
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