The question as to what makes an unit elite is one that is difficult to answer, and which has a fascination for all of us. Elite units should be very rare by nature, but all of us have a different answer as to those qualities that make them elite. The following unit is me of the few such American organizations which I feel meets all possible criteria. With the callup of the National Guard in 1940, and the start of the draft, the question arose as to how the segregated American Army should deal with those Japanese Americans who had been called up under Selective Service. The problem was especially important in the Territory of Hawaii where fully half of those called to service were Japanese Americans. In the end, the Japanese Americans were placed in the two infantry regimerits of the Hawaiian National Guard, the 298th and 299th Infantry Regiments. The outbreak of warfare at Pearl Harbor presented a challenge that was ignored until the battle of Midway loomed on the horizon. In late May the Japanese Americans in those regiments (some 1,432 officers and enlisted men) found themselves disarmed, and moved as a separate Infantry Battalion to the the United States. Upon arrival in Oakland they were renamed the 100th Infantry Battalion, and were sent to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. (Officially, the records claim that the Japanese Americans were not removed from the 298th and 299th until after replacements had arrived for the mainland, but in July the 299th was consolidated into the 298th). After being trained at Camp McCoy, the 100th Infantry Battalion was sent to the Mediterranean to serve in Italy. They landed in Italy in October, and were assigned to the 34th Division. They served with dash and courage in the winter of 1943-4, and their record was such that men the 442nd Regimental Infantry Combat Team was formed in 1943 from those Japanese Americans (many of whom were drafted out of internment camps), they too were sent to Italy. Personnel from the 100th Battalion were used to help form the 442nd, which actually was made up of the following units: The 442nd Infantry Regiment (Japanese American) The 522nd Field Artillery Battalion (105mm) (Japanese American) The 232nd Independent Engineer Company (Japanese American) The 100th Battalion was to be assigned to serve with the 442nd as its First Battalion when the RCT reached Italy in May of 1944. It requested that it be allowed to keep its title when it joined the 442nd, with the result that the 442nd Infantry Regiment has the following organization: Headquarters Company, 442nd Infantry Regiment Cannon Company, 442nd Infantry Regiment Anti-tank Company, 442nd Infantry Regiment 100th Infantry Battalion 2nd Infantry Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment 3rd Infantry Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment For organization, use the standard US Infantry Regiment for 1944, as well as the standard 105mm Artillery Battalion, and an Engineer Company form the Divisional Engineer Battalion. The rating of the 100th needs to keep in mind that unlike most American units of WWII, it was not called on again and again for cadre to form new units while warning in the States. While the excess officers and men were transferred to help form the 442nd, the 100th went into action with a force that had served together for over a year. When one adds in the factors that drove the 100th on, i.e. the need to prove they were loyal Americans, one can see how this unit achieved the record that it did during the War. I suggest that for 1943 it be rated as veteran, morale 10, and for mid 1944 on, it should be rated as elite, morale 10. The rest of the 442nd when it arrives should be rated as Veteran, Morale 9 when it arrives. For those wishing to model the 100th Battalion or the 442nd RCT in 20mm, you may want to look into Platoon 20s line of Vietnamese Army figures from their range of Vietnam War figures. Several of those figures are armed with M-1 rifles and carbines, and are true scale figures in that they are smaller in size than the normal 20mm figure. (When placed next to an normal "American" stand, the size difference shows very nicely.) Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Newsletter #7 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com