page_title: Military history of Asian Americans
section_title: Iraq War
hierarchical_section_title: Military history of Asian Americans / 21st century / Iraq War
caption_attribution_description: Sgt. Neal Naputo, a native of Zambales, Philippines, prepares to launch an unmanned aerial vehicle at Camp Taji, northwest of Iraq, Nov. 15. Naputo is the oldest of six children. Prior to joining the Army, he worked as a commercial spear fisherman. His hobbies consist of chess playing, where he once was a member of the All-Army Chess team, and playing guitar at the Tigris River Chapel. He serves as a technician for the Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems Platoon assigned to Troop D &quot;Diamondback,&quot; 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment &quot;Strykehorse,&quot; 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team &quot;Warrior,&quot; 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad.
context_page_description: Asian Americans, who are Americans of Asian descent, have fought and served on behalf of the United States since the War of 1812. During the American Civil War Asian Americans fought for both the Union and the Confederacy. Afterwards Asian Americans served primarily in the U.S. Navy until the Philippine–American War.
  At the beginning of the 20th century, Asian Americans began to attend U.S. military academies, and the first Asian Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor. World War I saw Asian Americans serving as "non-whites" in the National Army. After World War I, Asian American service fell into obscurity until World War II when significant contributions by Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and Korean Americans were documented.
  With the desegregation of the U.S. military in 1948, segregated Asian American units ceased to exist, and Asian Americans served in integrated armed forces. Asian American combatants in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts were awarded the Medal of Honor, and Asian Americans have continued to serve into the present day.
context_section_description: Hundreds of Asian Americans have deployed to Iraq out of the 59,000 plus that are serving in active duty as of May 2009, with one study stating that 2.6 percent have been Asian American. The 100th Infantry Battalion (USAR) was activated in 2004 for its first deployment in Iraq, their first activation since the Vietnam War. At the end of that deployment the unit was authorized to wear the 442nd's shoulder sleeve insignia as a combat patch, the first time this had occurred since World War II. The 100th Infantry Battalion was activated, and deployed to Iraq, for second time from 2008 to 2009. With Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn having ended, 78 Asian American service members died during the conflict.
caption: SGT Naputo with a RQ-7 at Camp Taji
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