Medal of Honor: Joe Hayashi - World War II - April 20 & 22, 1945

Name: Joe Hayashi
Rank: Private
Branch: U.S. Army
War: World War II
Unit: 442d Regimental Combat Team
Date of Action: April 20 & 22, 1945
Location: Near Tendola, Italy

Summary of Action

On 20 and 22 April 1945, Private Joe Hayashi distinguished himself during heavy fighting near Tendola, Italy.

On 20 April, his unit was ordered to attack a strongly defended hill that controlled all approaches to the village.

Hayashi skillfully led his men to within seventy-five yards of enemy positions before they were discovered and fired upon.

When comrades were wounded, he dragged them to safety.

He then returned alone into hostile fire and deliberately exposed himself in order to direct and adjust mortar fire on enemy emplacements.

His actions helped neutralize three machine guns, kill twenty-seven enemy soldiers, and wound many others.

With the defenders shaken, Hayashi boldly led the remaining members of his squad and captured the objective.

Two days later, on 22 April, he again went into action during the assault on Tendola.

He maneuvered his squad up a steep terraced hill to within one hundred yards of the enemy.

Crawling through intense fire, he reached a machine-gun position and threw a grenade, killing one enemy soldier and forcing the rest of the crew to surrender.

Seeing four enemy machine guns firing on other elements of his platoon, he attacked again.

Another grenade destroyed a machine-gun nest.

He then crawled to the flank of another position, killed four enemy soldiers, and drove the rest into retreat.

As he attempted to continue the pursuit, Hayashi was mortally wounded by machine-pistol fire.

His fearless courage, battlefield leadership, and complete devotion to duty enabled his company to seize its objective and reflected the highest traditions of the United States Army.

Medal of Honor Citation

HAYASHI, JOE

Private Joe Hayashi distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 20 and 22 April 1945, near Tendola, Italy. On 20 April 1945, ordered to attack a strongly defended hill that commanded all approaches to the village of Tendola, Private Hayashi skillfully led his men to a point within 75 yards of enemy positions before they were detected and fired upon. After dragging his wounded comrades to safety, he returned alone and exposed himself to small arms fire in order to direct and adjust mortar fire against hostile emplacements. Boldly attacking the hill with the remaining men of his squad, he attained his objective and discovered that the mortars had neutralized three machine guns, killed 27 men, and wounded many others. On 22 April 1945, attacking the village of Tendola, Private Hayashi maneuvered his squad up a steep, terraced hill to within 100 yards of the enemy. Crawling under intense fire to a hostile machine gun position, he threw a grenade, killing one enemy soldier and forcing the other members of the gun crew to surrender. Seeing four enemy machine guns delivering deadly fire upon other elements of his platoon, he threw another grenade, destroying a machine gun nest. He then crawled to the right flank of another machine gun position where he killed four enemy soldiers and forced the others to flee. Attempting to pursue the enemy, he was mortally wounded by a burst of machine pistol fire. The dauntless courage and exemplary leadership of Private Hayashi enabled his company to attain its objective. Private Hayashi’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.