*Nakae, Masato
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army,
Company A, 100th/442nd Infantry. Place and date: Pisa, Italy, 19 August 1944. Birth:
Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii. Entered service at: Honolulu, Hawaii.
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.
