Joe Hayashi Joe J . Hayashi ( August 14 , 1920 – April 22 , 1945 ) was a United States Army soldier . He is best known as a recipient of the United States military ' s highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in World War II . Early life . Hayashi was born at Salinas , California . He is the son of immigrants who were born in Japan . He is a " Nisei " , which means that he is a second generation Japanese - American . Soldier . Working as a mechanic before the war , Hayashi enlisted in the Army from Los Angeles in May 1941 . Hayashi volunteered to be part of the all - " Nisei " 442nd Regimental Combat Team . This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland . On April 20 , 1945 near Tendola , Italy , Hayshi exposed himself to hostile fire in order to direct mortar fire onto enemy positions . Two days later , he single - handedly silenced three hostile machine guns but was killed while pursuing enemy soldiers . For his actions during the battle , he was awarded the Army ' s second - highest decoration , the Distinguished Service Cross . A 1990s review of service records for Asian Americans who received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II led to Hayashi ' 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 . Hayashi , aged 24 at his death , was buried in Evergreen Cemetery , Los Angeles , California . He was posthumously re - promoted to Sergeant . Medal of Honor citation . Hayashi ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : Private Joe Hayashi distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 20 and 22 April 1945 , near Tendola , Italy . On 20 April 1945 , ordered to attack a strongly defended hill that commanded all approaches to the village of Tendola , Private Hayashi skillfully led his men to a point within 75 yards of enemy positions before they were detected and fired upon . After dragging his wounded comrades to safety , he returned alone and exposed himself to small arms fire in order to direct and adjust mortar fire against hostile emplacements . Boldly attacking the hill with the remaining men of his squad , he attained his objective and discovered that the mortars had neutralized three machine guns , killed 27 men , and wounded many others . On 22 April 1945 , attacking the village of Tendola , Private Hayashi maneuvered his squad up a steep , terraced hill to within 100 yards of the enemy . Crawling under intense fire to a hostile machine gun position , he threw a grenade , killing one enemy soldier and forcing the other members of the gun crew to surrender . Seeing four enemy machine guns delivering deadly fire upon other elements of his platoon , he threw another grenade , destroying a machine gun nest . He then crawled to the right flank of another machine gun position where he killed four enemy soldiers and forced the others to flee . Attempting to pursue the enemy , he was mortally wounded by a burst of machine pistol fire . The dauntless courage and exemplary leadership of Private Hayashi enabled his company to attain its objective . Private Hayashi ' 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 .