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 was a brave soldier from the United States Army. He was born on April 25, 1917, and passed away on August 26, 1992. He received the Medal of Honor, which is the highest award a soldier can get in the U.S. military. He earned it for his heroic actions during World War II.
Early Life
Kaoru Moto was born in Hawaii. His parents had moved there from Japan. He was a Nisei. This means he was a Japanese-American whose parents were immigrants. He was part of the second generation of his family in America.
A Soldier's Story
In March 1941, Kaoru Moto joined the U.S. Army. This was about ten months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Moto chose to join the 100th Infantry Battalion. This special army unit was made up mostly of Nisei soldiers. Many of them were Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland United States.
Heroic Actions in Italy
On July 7, 1944, Private First Class Kaoru Moto was serving in Italy. His unit was near a place called Castellina Marittima. Moto was working as a scout. This means he went ahead to check for enemy positions.
During this mission, he showed incredible bravery. He found two enemy machine gun nests. He attacked them all by himself and stopped them from firing. Even after being seriously wounded, he went on to destroy a third enemy position.
For his amazing courage in this battle, he first received the Distinguished Service Cross. This was the Army's second-highest award.
Medal of Honor
Kaoru Moto left the Army as a Private First Class. He passed away at age 75. He was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Years later, in the 1990s, the military reviewed the records of Asian American soldiers. They looked at those who had received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II. Because of this review, Kaoru Moto's award was changed to the Medal of Honor.
On June 21, 2000, a special ceremony was held at the White House. President Bill Clinton presented the Medal of Honor to Kaoru Moto's family. Twenty-one other Asian American soldiers also received the medal that day. Most of these awards were given after the soldiers had passed away.
See Also
