Kaoru Moto facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kaoru Moto
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Kaoru Moto, Medal of Honor recipient
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| Born | April 25, 1917 Makawao, Territory of Hawaii |
| Died | August 26, 1992 (aged 75) Makawao, Hawaii |
| Place of burial |
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii
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| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ |
United States Army |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Private First Class |
| Unit | 100th Infantry Battalion |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Bronze Star Purple Heart Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare |
Kaoru Moto (April 25, 1917 – August 26, 1992) was a United States Army soldier. He was posthumously awarded the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Early life
Moto was born in Hawaii to Japanese immigrant parents. He is a Nisei, which means that he is a second generation Japanese-American.
Soldier
Ten months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the US Army in March 1941.
Moto volunteered to be part of the all-Nisei 100th Infantry Battalion. This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland.
On July 7, 1944, Moto was serving as a private first class in the 100th Infantry Battalion. On that day, near Castellina Marittima, Italy, he single-handedly silenced two enemy machine gun positions while acting as a scout, and then destroyed a third despite being seriously wounded. For his actions in battle, he was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross.
Moto left the Army while still a private first class. He died at age 75 and was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
A 1990s review of service records for Asian Americans who received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II led to Moto's award being upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, his surviving family was presented with his Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton. Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, all but seven of them posthumously.
See also
