Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
What is the most decorated military unit in U.S. history?
Posted
June 26, 2026
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June 26, 2026
6,479
446
6.88%
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2:42Now PlayingAs we approach the nation's 250th birthday, PBS News is looking at some notable, but lesser-known, people and moments in American military history.
In the months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, life quickly changed for Japanese Americans, and with that, Japanese American soldiers. In January of 1942, the U.S. Army discharged all Japanese American soldiers, also known as Nisei, from ROTC programs and many from active duty. The army also changed Japanese Americans' draft status to an enemy alien classification, making them draft-ineligible.
Yet, this didn’t stop a group of Nisei ROTC students from answering the call of duty. They created a volunteer labor battalion that eventually became the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
PBS News' Cecilia Lallmann reports.
This post was produced by Cecilia Lallmann, Shyla Duff, Julia Griffin, Travis Daub and Dan Cooney.
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