b. 20/11/1921 Los Angeles, California. d. 18/05/1951 Korea.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 18/05/1951 P’ungch’on, Korea.
Wataru Nakamura MOH
Wataru Nakamura was born on Nov. 20, 1921, in Los Angeles, California, the second of seven children. After graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School, he went to San Francisco to work at a relative’s business to help support the family. When Executive Order 9066 was signed in 1942, which required Japanese Americans to live in internment camps, he rejoined his family, who were assigned to a relocation center in Rohwer, Arkansas. He enlisted in the Army in 1944. He was sent to Europe to serve with the 442nd Regiment (Company K). After being discharged, he lived in Chicago, Illinois, until he was called back to active duty in 1950.
In May 1951, Pfc. Nakamura was serving with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, in Korea. At approximately 4:30 a.m. on May 18, 1951, Nakamura volunteered to check and repair a damaged communications line. Unaware that the enemy had infiltrated and captured heavily fortified friendly positions, he moved forward until he came under a withering hail of hostile fire. Disregarding his safety, he made a one-man assault, destroying a machine-gun and its crew with his carbine and bayonet and destroying two other enemy positions with grenades. When his ammunition was expended, he was forced to withdraw in the face of overwhelming odds. After falling back, he met a carrying party, briefed the officer in charge, replenished his ammunition and returned to engage the hostile force. Supported by rifle fire, he wiped out an enemy position and attacked the remaining bunker, killing one and wounding another enemy soldier before he was mortally wounded.
On January 3, 2025, Nakamura was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor from President Joseph R. Biden at The White House.
MOH CITATION:
Pfc. Wataru Nakamura distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company I, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, in the vicinity of P’ungch’on-ni, Korea on May 18, 1951. Around daybreak, Nakamura volunteered to check and repair a communications line between his platoon and the command post. As he made his way along the line, he was brought under fire from an enemy force that had surrounded friendly positions and were threatening to break the company defense lines.
Immediately, without regard for his own safety and without waiting for help, Nakamura rushed the enemy with a fixed bayonet and single-handedly destroyed a hostile machine gun nest and drove the enemy from several bunkers they had captured. When his ammunition was depleted, he withdrew under intense enemy fire. He then met an ammunition party ascending the hill. After quickly briefing the officer in charge, Nakamura rearmed himself and returned to the fight.
In a fierce charge, he killed three of the enemy in one bunker, then killed and seriously wounded another in the last enemy-held bunker. Continuing to press the attack, he was mortally wounded by an enemy grenade.
Nakamura’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
BURIAL LOCATION: EVERGREEN CEMETERY, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
SECTION A, 442ND NISEI MEMORIAL.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
