Medal of Honor, Masato Nakae, World War II, August 19, 1944
“In the hills near Pisa, Italy, one soldier stood alone against overwhelming odds. Though wounded and outnumbered, Private Masato Nakae refused to yield, holding his position with grenades, rifle fire, and sheer determination until the enemy broke."
August 20, 2025
Name: Masato Nakae
War: World War II
Date: August 19, 1944
Summary of Action
On the night of August 19, 1944, near Pisa, Italy, Private Masato Nakae of the famed 100th Infantry Battalion (442nd Regimental Combat Team) faced the fury of a determined German assault. When his submachine gun was rendered useless by a shell fragment, he immediately seized the rifle of a wounded comrade and fired rifle grenades at the advancing enemy.
As the enemy drew closer, Nakae hurled six hand grenades with deadly accuracy, halting their advance and forcing them to fall back. Moments later, the enemy regrouped and unleashed a crushing mortar barrage. A shell fragment tore into Nakae, seriously wounding him, but he refused evacuation and would not abandon his post. Instead, he gritted through his pain, raised his rifle once more, and poured fire into the oncoming enemy ranks.
His defiance shattered the assault. Inflicting heavy casualties, Nakae broke the enemy’s will to continue. The hostile force withdrew, leaving behind their dead and wounded. His one-man stand not only saved his position but also safeguarded his company from being overrun.
Medal of Honor Citation
Private Masato Nakae distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 19 August 1944, near Pisa, Italy. When his submachine gun was damaged by a shell fragment during a fierce attack by a superior enemy force, Private Nakae quickly picked up his wounded comrade’s M-1 rifle and fired rifle grenades at the steadily advancing enemy. As the hostile force continued to close in on his position, Private Nakae threw six grenades and forced them to withdraw. During a concentrated enemy mortar barrage that preceded the next assault by the enemy force, a mortar shell fragment seriously wounded Private Nakae. Despite his injury, he refused to surrender his position and continued firing at the advancing enemy. By inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy force, he finally succeeded in breaking up the attack and caused the enemy to withdraw. Private Nakae’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.
