World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseJoe Mauri Nishimoto was born in Fresno, California, United States in 1919 to Japanese immigrants Giichi and Kiyo Nishimoto. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the US government rounded up its own citizens of Japanese ancestry and placed them in internment camps. Nishimoto was interned at the Jerome War Relocation Center in southeastern Arkansas, United States, while his parents were taken to nearby Rohwer War Relocation Center. In Jan 1943, he was released from the internment camp by the US government, and he briefly lived in Marion, Ohio, United States where his two sisters had settled prior to the war. Between Jan and Jul 1943, he worked at the Olds Poultry Farm and Hatchery. In Oct 1943, he enlisted in the US Army and volunteered to join the 442nd Regimental Combat Team which was consisted mostly of Japanese-Americans. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was deployed to Italy in Jun 1944. In Aug 1944, he earned a Silver Star medal by leading a daring daylight crossing of a river in which he provided cover for other soldiers, then destroyed a machine gun post and captured enemy equipment. His unit was relocated to southern France shortly after. On 7 Nov 1944, near La Houssière, France, Private First Class Nishimoto crawled toward a first German machine gun position and destroyed it with a grenade, then proceeded to crawl toward a second machine gun position and silenced it with his submachine gun, killing two, wounding another, and forcing the final German to flee. He then charged a third machine gun position, forcing its gunners to abandon their weapon. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross medal for the day's actions. On 15 Nov 1944, he was killed in combat. His parents received the notification of his death while still interned at Rohwer War Relocation Camp. He was buried at Washington Colony Cemetery in Fresno. In 2000, his Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor, and it was presented by US President Bill Clinton to Nishimoto's eldest sister, Akie Ishida. In 2014, his family donated the Medal of Honor to the National Museum of American History in Washington DC, United States to be part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection.

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