U.S. Army

Service Branch:

U.S. Army

Rank:

Technician 5th Class WWII

Hometown:

Salinas

Honored By:

The Higashioka Family

Service Activity:

Born and raised in California, G. Shigeru Higashioka enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, while his family spent three years in Poston WRA Camp in Arizona where they were among the 120,000 Japanese Americans unjustly incarcerated based on their ancestry. In 1944, Higashioka was assigned to Company A of the 100th Infantry Battalion, the first battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit composed of Japanese Americans. Higashioka fought in the Anzio, Rome-Arno, Rhineland, North Apennines and Po Valley Campaigns in Europe. In 1944, during the Liberation of Biffontaine in northeastern France, he was awarded a Bronze Star for exposing his position and firing on enemy gun placements, allowing a squad of his comrades to withdraw to safety. Higashioka participated in the attack to break the Gothic Line, the last major defensive stronghold of the German army in Italy. The 442nd, together with the 100th, broke through a section of the Gothic Line, an achievement that previous Allied forces had been unable to attain for the past six months. He was proud to have served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, one of the most decorated units in U.S. Military for its size and length and service.