List of Asian American Medal of Honor recipients

The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States. Due to the nature of this medal, it is commonly presented posthumously.

Of the 3,476 Medals of Honor presented as of September 15, 2011, 30 have been awarded to Asian American recipients. The first Asian American to receive the Medal was José B. Nísperos. He received it for his actions in the Philippine–American War.

In 1996, a study determined that Asian Americans were discriminated against in the awarding of medals during World War II; consequently, 22 had their medals upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Except for those awarded during the 1996 discrimination study the most recent Asian American recipient of the Medal of Honor was Rodney Yano. He received it for his actions during the Vietnam War.

## Philippine–American War and peacetime
The Philippine–American War was an armed military conflict between the United States and the First Philippine Republic. It was fought between 1899 and least 1902. The conflict started from a Filipino political struggle against U.S. occupation of the Philippines. Although the conflict was officially declared over on July 4, 1902, American troops continued hostilities against remnants of the Philippine Army and other resistance groups until 1913. Some historians consider these unofficial extensions part of the war.

## World War II
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict. It was started from the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts. The first began in Asia in 1937 as the Second Sino-Japanese War. The other began in Europe in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. This global conflict split the majority of the world's nations into two opposing military alliances. One was called the Allies. The other was called the Axis powers. It involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel. Thi makes it the most widespread war in history. It placed the participants in a state of total war. That erased the distinction between civil and military resources. This resulted in the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort. Over 60 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed. It is the deadliest conflict in human history. The Allies were victorious and the United States and Soviet Union emerged as the world's two leading superpowers.

During this conflict 464 United States military personnel received the Medal of Honor. 266 of them posthumously. By the end of the war only two Asian Americans had been awarded the Medal of Honor. One was to Sergeant Jose Calugas of the Philippine Scouts. The second was to Private Sadao S. Munemori of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. A 1996 study commissioned by the United States Army by order of Congress investigated racial discrimination in the awarding of medals during World War II. in a ceremony at the White House. Only two Asian American officers received the Medal of Honor during World War II: Captain Francis B. Wai who received it for drawing enemy fire to himself to reveal their positions and Second Lieutenant Daniel Inouye who received his medal for destroying two machine gun nests and continuing to fight after being wounded. Inouye became the first U.S. Representative for Hawaii and the first Japanese American congressman; he served as one of Hawaii's U.S. Senators from 1963 continuously until his death in 2012.

## Korean War
The Korean War was an escalation of border clashes between two rival Korean regimes, each of which was supported by external powers; each tried to topple the other through political and guerilla tactics. In a narrow sense, some may refer to it as a civil war, though many other factors were at play. After failing to strengthen their cause in the free elections held in South Korea during May 1950 and the refusal of South Korea to hold new elections per North Korean demands, the communist North Korean Army moved south on June 25, 1950 to attempt to reunite the Korean peninsula, which had been formally divided since 1948. The conflict was then expanded by the United States and the Soviet Union's involvement as part of the larger Cold War. The main hostilities were during the period from June 25, 1950 until the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. In the early stages of the war, President Harry Truman sometimes described the conflict under the aegis of the United Nations as a "police action" rather than use the term war.

One Asian American received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Korean War. Hiroshi H. Miyamura was captured by Chinese forces and held as a prisoner of war for 28 months. For his protection, news of his Medal of Honor award was classified until his release from captivity.

## Vietnam War
The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the American War, occurred from 1959 to April 30, 1975. The term Vietnam Conflict is often used to refer to events which took place between 1959 and April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the Communist-supported Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the United States supported Republic of Vietnam. It concluded with the defeat and failure of the United States foreign policy in Vietnam. On April 30, 1975, the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon fell to the communist forces of North Vietnam, effectively ending the Vietnam War. Over 8.7 million U.S. forces participated in the Vietnam War; of whom slightly over 47,000 were killed in battle and almost 11,000 more died of non-battle causes.

During the Vietnam War three Asian Americans received the Medal of Honor, all of them posthumously. Elmelindo Smith, although wounded multiple times was killed while fighting with his unit.

## Footnotes
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