Shinyei Nakamine (January 21, 1920 – June 2, 1944) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

soldier. He is best known for receiving the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

because of his actions in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.US Army Center of Military History
"Medal of Honor Recipients, World War II (M-S)"
retrieved 2012-12-7.

Early life

Nakamine was born in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

to Okinawan immigrant parents. He was a ''

Nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...

'', which means that he is a second generation Japanese-American.

Soldier

One month before the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, Nakamine joined the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in November 1941. Nakamine 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. For his actions in June 1944, Nakamine was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

Medal of Honor citation

Nakamine received the medal for advancing on enemy forces when his own unit was pinned down. He was subsequently killed during this engagement and was awarded the

which was eventually upgraded to the Medal of Honor upon military review in June 2000. Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company B, 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate). Place and date: La Torreto, Italy, June 2, 1944. Entered service at: Honolulu, Hawaii. Born: January 21, 1920, Waianae, Oahu Citation:

Private Shinyei Nakamine distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 2 June 1944, near La Torreto, Italy. During an attack, Private Nakamine's platoon became pinned down by intense machine gun crossfire from a small knoll 200 yards to the front. On his own initiative, Private Nakamine crawled toward one of the hostile weapons. Reaching a point 25 yards from the enemy, he charged the machine gun nest, firing his submachine gun, and killed three enemy soldiers and captured two. Later that afternoon, Private Nakamine discovered an enemy soldier on the right flank of his platoon's position. Crawling 25 yards from his position, Private Nakamine opened fire and killed the soldier. Then, seeing a machine gun nest to his front approximately 75 yards away, he returned to his platoon and led an automatic rifle team toward the enemy. Under covering fire from his team, Private Nakamine crawled to a point 25 yards from the nest and threw hand grenades at the enemy soldiers, wounding one and capturing four. Spotting another machine gun nest 100 yards to his right flank, he led the automatic rifle team toward the hostile position but was killed by a burst of machine gun fire. Private Nakamine's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.Gomez-Granger, Julissa. (2008). ''Medal of Honor Recipients: 1979-2008,'
"Nakamine, Shinyei," pp. 14-15 [PDF 18-19 of 44
/nowiki>">DF 18-19 of 44"> "Nakamine, Shinyei," pp. 14-15 [PDF 18-19 of 44
/nowiki> retrieved 2012-12-7.

References

External links

"Army Secretary Lionizes 22 World War II Heroes" at Defense.gov

Shineyei Nakamine at Hall of Valor
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamine, Shinyei 1920 births 1944 deaths United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American military personnel of Japanese descent United States Army soldiers Hawaii people of Okinawan descent People from Hawaii Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

Early life

Soldier

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

External links