World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMikio Hasemoto was born in Honolulu, Oahu, US Territory of Hawai'i in 1916 to immigrants from Japan. He enlisted in the US Army at the Schofield Barracks on Oahu in Jun 1941, and later volunteered to join the 100th Infantry Battalion, which was consisted mostly of Japanese-Americans. On 29 Nov 1943, near Cerasuolo, Italy, his platoon was flanked by about 40 German soldiers. Hasemoto fired on the leading German soldiers, ran 10 yards to rear to retrieve another weapon when his first automatic rifle became damaged, ran back to the front lines, and fired on the Germans until the second weapon jammed. He then again dashed to retrieve a M1 Garan rifle to continue fighting. He repeatedly and tirelessly fought back against German advances until he was struck down and killed by German fire. He was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, but the award would be upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 2000, the highest award of the US military. He was buried at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawai'i.

Mikio Hasemoto Interactive Map

Mikio Hasemoto Timeline