Joe Hayashi

Joe J. Hayashi (August 14, 1920-April 22, 1945) was a United States Army soldier. "Joe Hayashi Memorial" at Pasadena Public Information Office; retrieved 2012-12-7. He received the Medal of Honor because of his actions in World War II.US Army Center of Military History (CMH), "Medal of Honor Recipients, World War II (G-L)" ; retrieved 2012-12-7.

Early life
Hayashi was born in Salinas, California. He was the son of immigrants who were born in Japan. He is a Nisei, which means that he is a second generation Japanese-American.Bramlett, David A. "Go For Broke Monument, Fifth Anniversary Tribute,"  June 5, 2004; retrieved 2012-12-7.

Soldier
Six months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hayashi joined the US Army in May 1941.U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), WWII Army Enlistment Record #39233508   (Hayashi, Joe); retrieved 2012-12-7.

Hayashi volunteered to be part of the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team.Go for Broke National Education Center, "Medal of Honor Recipient Private Joe Hayashi" ; retrieved 2012-12-7. This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland. "100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry" at Global Security.org; retrieved 2012-12-7.

For his actions in April 1945, Hayashi was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). In the 1990s, there was a review of service records of Asian Americans who received the DSC during World War II. Hayashi's award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the White House on June 21, 2000, his family was presented with his medal by President Bill Clinton. Twenty-one other Asian Americans also received the medal during the ceremony, but only seven of them were still alive. "21 Asian American World War II Vets to Get Medal of Honor" at University of Hawaii Digital History ; retrieved 2012-12-7.

Medal of Honor citation
Hayashi's Medal of Honor recognized his conduct in frontline fighting in northern Italy in 1945.  He led an attack on strongly defended positions; and without help from others, he silenced three machine guns.CMH,  "Asian Pacific American Medal of Honor recipients" ; retrieved 2012-12-28.

The words of Hayashi's citation explain:
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.Gomez-Granger, Julissa. (2008). Medal of Honor Recipients: 1979-2008,  "Hayashi, Joe," pp. 9-10 [PDF 13 of 44]; retrieved 2012-12-7.

Related pages
 List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
 List of Asian American Medal of Honor recipients
 Posthumous recognition

 References 
120px|right|thumb|Medal of Honor

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


Category:1920 births
Category:1945 deaths
Category:American military personnel of World War II
Category:Military people from California
Category:Military people killed in World War II
Category:People from Monterey County, California
Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients