Yoko Sakato and Valerie Matsunaga, both family members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated U.S. Army unit whose troops were of Japanese descent – known as Nisei –took part in the July 11 commemoration event at Camp Darby, near Pisa, Italy VIEW ORIGINAL
PISA, Italy – When Yoko Sakato approached Camp Darby’s memorial for Pvt. Masato Nakae, she felt emotions well up as she thought about her father – a Nisei Soldier who fought in Italy during World War II.
Sakato was among a group of 14 family members of Nisei veterans who visited Camp Darby July 11 to attend a Nisei commemoration event – one week before the 80th anniversary of nearby Livorno’s liberation. The event honored the legacy of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated U.S. Army unit whose troops were of Japanese descent – known as Nisei.
VIEW ORIGINAL
“I was feeling close to my father, close the other men that I knew growing up, the veterans,” she said. “And I felt a kinship to the military guys who are here now serving to protect us. I felt gratitude and kinship.”
Hundreds of U.S. Army Soldiers, U.S. Air Force personnel and Italian civilian workers attended the event. Italian WWII reenactors, wearing authentic uniforms and driving vintage vehicles from the 1940’s, set up a camp nearby that gave community members a feel for the era. Some were dressed as combat infantrymen, others as officers and nurses.
In 2006, the piazza near Camp Darby’s post exchange was named for Pvt. Masato “Curley” Nakae, of Hawaii, who earned the Medal of Honor for heroic combat actions near Pisa on August 19, 1944, while serving with the 100th Infantry Battalion, a Nisei unit. His story and image are on a brass plague attached to a large white stone.
Yoko Sakato and Valerie Matsunaga, both family members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated U.S. Army unit whose troops were of Japanese descent – known as Nisei –took part in the July 11 commemoration event at Camp Darby, near Pisa, Italy VIEW ORIGINAL
It was there, at the memorial, that Staff Sgt. Michael Rosado, a military police noncommissioned officer and Installation Management Command, Europe’s “Best Warrior,” brought Sakato and Valerie Matsunaga for a presentation of flowers. Nearby, a bugler from the Italian Folgore band played “Il Silenzio,” which sounds similar to Taps.
Sakato’s father, Staff Sgt. Henry Sakato, died in 1999. He seldom spoke of the war.
“They were young, it must have been scary, but they never talked about it,” she said.
VIEW ORIGINAL
During his remarks, Col. Jordan Simmers, representing Maj. Gen. Todd Wasmund, the Commanding General of Southern European Task Force, Africa, encouraged the gathered crowd to think about the motto of the 442nd, “Go For Broke” as he detailed their valorous efforts in the liberation of Tuscany in the summer of 1944.
Livorno, adjacent to Camp Darby, was liberated on July 19, 1944. Local residents will commemorate the event in the coming week. Pisa was liberated by early September, as the Nisei units moved north toward the Gothic Line, Germany’s last stronghold in Italy’s Apenine mountains.
“We are honored to have the descendants of the Nisei warriors, who traveled from the U.S. – Los Angeles, Hawaii and Colorado – to be with us here today,” Simmers said.
Then, Roberto Simoncini, a local Italian World War II historian presented a plaque to Kirk and Joni Miyashiro with memorabilia of Sgt. Kiyoshi Iguchi, who was killed near Pisa – 80 years ago to the day. Several years earlier, Simoncini received an authentic regimental patch from Kirk Miyashiro.
During her remarks, U.S. Consul General in Florence Daniela Ballard said she was glad to see so many Italians in attendance, to include Camp Darby’s valued civilian workforce and many local leaders from Pisa and Livorno.
“Your interest in today’s event reminds me of how strong the bonds are between the United States and Italy,” Ballard said. “We must not forget, those bonds originate from the sacrifice young American soldiers gave in fighting alongside Italy and supporting the country's liberation.”
Social Sharing