03.31.08
65 years, 1 legacy
A little more than 65 years ago, 2,600 young Japanese-American soldiers, who had all volunteered to join the Army’s segregated unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team , stood in formation in new khakis bedecked with orange leis and gas masks hanging from their shoulders in front of Iolani Palace just before they left for the battlefields of Europe. Today, when Lt. Col. Michael Peeters, who commands the Army Reserve unit that took the 442nd’s battle flag into Iraq three years ago, calls the roll, nearly 300 of the same soldiers will march into a Waikiki banquet hall.
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